Three ‘dry’ areas in Nova Scotia to vote on whether to allow liquor sales

Flag of Nova Scotia (Photo By Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain)

HALIFAX — It sounds like something from the days of Prohibition, but voters in three parts of Nova Scotia will decide next month whether to allow the sale of alcohol in their communities.

Plebiscites are scheduled for May 8 in districts three and four in Annapolis County and district eight in Colchester County.

Andy LeBlanc of Elections Nova Scotia said there are about 100 districts in the province still considered “dry.”

The question on the plebiscite is: “Are you in favour of the sale of liquor in your municipality in accordance with the Liquor Control Act?”

LeBlanc said the request comes from the municipalities.

“They make a request to the Nova Scotia Liquor Corp., and in turn they make a request to us, and we administer the entire process for the vote,” he said.

In the case of Annapolis County, the request is to allow a microbrewery to sell its products, while in Colchester County, Raging Crow Distillery has taken to social media to encourage a “yes” vote so they can open a tasting bar and have retail sales on site.

Each of the three areas have more than 1,000 eligible voters who are over the age of 19 years old.

There have been 40 similar plebiscites across the province over the last 20 years and LeBlanc says most of them approved the sale of alcohol.

“There have been a few that were opposed, but they’ve generally been in favour,” he said.