Identity area
Type of entity
Authorized form of name
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
License Branch
Other form(s) of name
Ontario. Liquor License Branch
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
History
The License Branch was created in 1876 following the passage of the Crooks Act (as it was commonly known), which increased the restrictions on the sale of alcohol in the province. The Act required the creation of Boards of License Commissioners at the municipal level, and a License Branch at the provincial level to administer the act. The License Branch formed part of the Ontario Department of the Provincial Secretary.
In 1915, the License Branch was replaced with the Board of License Commissioners for Ontario, which replaced the Local Boards of License Commissioners and centralized enforcement of laws regulating the sale of alcohol. The following year, the Ontario Temperance Act was passed which severely restricted the sale of alcohol in the province, and the Board of License Commissioners for Ontario took over responsibility for administration of the act.
Places
Legal status
Functions, occupations and activities
The License Branch of the Ontario Department of the Provincial Secretary was responsible for the regulation of alcohol sales in Ontario, primarily by issuing licenses to establishments that sold alcohol.
Address
An Act to amend the Law respecting the Sale of Fermented or Spiritous Liquors, Statutes of Ontario 1875-76, Chap. 26.
Internal structures/genealogy
General context
Relationships area
Related entity
Identifier of related entity
Category of relationship
Type of relationship
Dates of relationship
Description of relationship
Related entity
Identifier of related entity
Category of relationship
Type of relationship
Dates of relationship
Description of relationship
Access points area
Subject access points
Place access points
Epithet
Control area
Authority record identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
RAD: Rules for Archival Description, 2nd edn (2008)
Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation, revision and deletion
2026-11-16: migrated to AtoM
Language(s)
Script(s)
Sources
Reports of the Hon. the Provincial Secretary on the Working of the Tavern and Shop Licenses Act, 1876- 1885.
Reports on the Operation of Liquor License Acts, Ontario, 1876-1890.
Reports on Inspection of Liquor Licenses, 1899-1905.
McTaggart, Hazel. Publications of the Government of Ontario, 1901-1955 (1964).
Maintenance notes
Agency not found in Canadiana Name Authorities, 1996-12-24. The form of name for this agency is derived mainly from the reports mentioned above, which in the late 1870's begin using the term "License Branch". Hazel MacTaggart has this listed as "Liquor License Branch", but I cannot find this form in the original reports.
Archivist(s):
Bob Krawczyk