Cardston has been a dry town for 100 years, but residents signal they're open to change

A century after the end of prohibition, one dry town in southern Alberta is a step closer to allowing liquor to flow in certain es‐ tablishments.

The town of Cardston, lo‐ cated roughly 225 kilometres south of Calgary, held a plebiscite Monday in line with the provincial election on po‐ tentially changing a bylaw to allow restaurants and large venues to serve liquor.

The results in the town, which is home to many nondrinking Mormons, or mem‐ bers of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, were close — 491 residents (or 53 per cent) voted yes, 441 voted no.

CBC News reached out to

Mayor Maggie Kronen for comment on the results, but did not hear back in time for publication.

Tanner Leavitt, who owns Guero Taco along the town's Main Street, is among several people in the town's business community who have pushed for the bylaw change. He said he was surprised by Mon‐ day's results.

"I am hopeful for what this could bring," he said. "The councillors I've reached out to seem willing to move forward based on this."

The results of Monday's plebiscite were non-binding. However, they will be used to inform council on the public's views on the matter as the town moves forward with po‐ tentially changing the bylaw. The next step will be a public hearing.

Specifically, Cardston is considering changes to a land-use bylaw that would al‐ low Class A and B licences, which are for food-first restaurants and large facili‐ ties, where alcohol could be consumed on-site. Covered under the large facilities li‐ cense would be the communi‐ ty's golf course and Agridome. What the bylaw change wouldn't do is allow liquor stores to open.

According to Leavitt, the last time the Cardston council considered allowing liquor li‐ cences in town, opinions among council were split: four against the change ver‐ sus three who were support‐ ive. This division was part of what led to the recent vote.

"I reached out to the coun‐ cillors who were against, and they wanted to do a plebiscite to see how they could better represent the town, because they were going off the re‐ sults from the last plebiscite," Leavitt said.

The last plebiscite was held in 2014, when nearly 70 per cent of voters opted not to change Cardston's dry status, which has been in place since 1923.

Cardston, which has a population of 3,724 according to the 2021 census, remains among a handful of dry towns in southern Alberta. Others are Raymond and Magrath, both of which also have large Mormon populations.

A matter of choice Marsha Negrych, the own‐ er of the century-old bed-andbreakfast Cobblestone Manor, has been advocating alongside her husband, Ivan, to allow certain liquor li‐ censes in Cardston.

In a phone call Tuesday, she said that allowing venues such as the golf course or the Agridome to serve alcohol will offer growth opportunities for the small town. Often, she said, event organizers are turned off by the dry rules and opt to host their tourna‐ ments or rodeos elsewhere. Besides, visitors are already bringing their own alcohol from outside.

"We can't book any tour‐ naments because you can't buy a drink," she said. "And yet, when [visitors] bring their golf carts back, after people have rented them, they are full of empties. So people are drinking. I mean, it's ridicu‐ lous."

Negrych and her husband are Mormon. So is Leavitt. They abstain from drinking al‐ cohol. However, they say visi‐ tors to their town should be able to drink if they so choose.

"It's 2023, and we're the only place around where you can't buy a beverage to your preference," Negrych said. "It's not right. It's not right to deny people their free agency of choice."

Changing the bylaw would help Negrych, who is 75 and looking to retire, to sell the bed-and-breakfast and relat‐ ed restaurant. When potential buyers hear they can't cur‐ rently get a liquor license for the historic property, they walk away.

For Leavitt, if the bylaw were to change, he'd open a patio in the back of his restau‐ rant. He said the option to sell alcohol would keep more tourist dollars in town.

"Often, when we tell them it's a dry town, they ask where else they can go, so they either move on or go to dinner elsewhere," he said. "So, from a business stand‐ point, I think we would be able to keep a lot more busi‐ ness here in town, and attract more people that don't have the same beliefs as the resi‐ dents."

No comment from the church

CBC News reached out to the local Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for a response to the plebiscite results. In a statement, a spokesperson said that the church did not take a stance on the issue prior to the plebiscite and will not take a stance after.

"The Church does not en‐ dorse a political party or a candidate. Members of The Church are encouraged to be good citizens, to consider the issues and to vote according to their conscience," the statement said.