If You’re A Millennial, Toronto's Junction Still Had A Ban On Alcohol When You Were Born

If you were looking to buy a beer in Toronto's Junction neighbourhood just 25 years ago, that would have been illegal.

In this episode of Then&Now, Toronto historian Morgan Cameron Ross highlights the unique history of the Toronto west-end neighbourhood that had prohibition in place for nearly a hundred years.

Deriving its name from the convergence of railways, The Junction area "in the late 1800s was fairly far from the city and it was one of the larger manufacturing hubs around" Ross explains. It was also "one of the main areas for the slaughter of animals for well over a century."

But perhaps most notable among the history of the neighbourhood would be the alcohol ban that was imposed in 1904, a few years prior to the area becoming part of the City of Toronto.

While prohibition laws would be repealed in the early 20th century in many areas throughout Canada, the alcohol ban in The Junction would persist and would not end for almost a century later.