Category: The 1920s

Portrait of Maxime Albert.

Initially a farmer and merchant, Maxime Albert was also very involved in smuggling alcohol. He quickly became the richest businessman in Saint-Hilaire. A great fishing enthusiast, in the early 1920s […]

The Lévesque family visiting the Sisters of Saint-Rosaire, Rimouski.

Alfred Lévesque and his wife Albertine Collin in the years 1925-1930.

The rich couple were well known for their great generosity. They gave to the poor, to churches, to missions and all charitable work.

Unloading cases of champagne in Saint-Pierre-and-Miquelon.

The nature of this small fishing village, which had been severely hit by the recession, was radically transformed. Unemployment disappeared overnight. The men stopped fishing in order to become […]

Liquor police operations in the 1920s and 1930s.

The trend of smuggling was growing in the big cities, but even more so in border areas like Témiscouata. This region borders the State of Maine, which adopted the Maine Prohibition Act in […]

Dismantling a still in San Francisco.

Operations carried out jointly by the Liquor Police and other Quebec, Canadian and US police forces, led to large-scale operations. Together, they carried out major seizures and arrested […]

Police officers examining cans during a raid.

Two liquor police officers, (Roch L’Écuyer on the left) examine an illegal still during a raid.  Violent crimes such as murders and kidnappings also increased in areas known for alcohol […]

The Québec Liquor Commission, forerunner of the SAQ established in 1921

In its first year of operation the Québec Liquor Commission establishes its test laboratory, opens 64 stores, and offers 383 products for sale. It has 45 employees. Sales […]

An example of a temperance cross on show at the Bootlegger Festival.

A symbol of the clergy’s fight against alcohol, the temperance cross was found in many homes at the beginning of the 20th century.