[citation needed] All other provinces maintain government ownership and control over much of the liquor industry, especially with respect to distilled spirits.
)[citation needed] Prohibition achieved the result that family savings doubled within a short time, and the use of mental asylums and prisons dropped.
[citation needed] However, there grew a hard-core of bootleggers who used guns against police enforcing the law – resulting in the death of two policemen, George Osgoode and Stephen O. Lawson, in Alberta.
[citation needed] Beer off-sales were permitted from hotels starting in 1934, however the sale of wine and hard liquor remained more tightly controlled.
[citation needed] The socially conservative governments of Premiers William Aberhart and Ernest Manning were slower to relax liquor laws compared to most of their contemporaries in other provinces.
[citation needed] In the 1957 Alberta Liquor Plebiscite, voters in and near Edmonton and Calgary voted overwhelmingly to de-segregate beverage rooms; however, men and women were not allowed to drink together province-wide until 1967.
[citation needed] Having repealed the requirement for customer signatures on counter slips to purchase alcohol in 1965, in 1969 the ALCB opened its first self-serve liquor store in Edmonton.
[citation needed] The Progressive Conservative government replaced the Socreds in 1971, and moved to loosen restrictions further, lowering the drinking age from 21 to 18.
[citation needed] Under Municipal Affairs Minister Steve West, privatization was carried out, and the 202 ALCB liquor stores were systematically sold off.
[citation needed] Liquor stores that were not economically viable in the private sector were closed down with the properties sold to the highest bidder.
Distribution delays by Connect Logistics became a problem in 2006 with complaints from liquor retailers that they were not receiving stock on time and had empty shelves as a result.
In response, AGLC hired a 3rd-party consultant, Price Waterhouse Coopers, to review the province's liquor distribution system.
It recommended that Connect Logistics remain in its role and continue to warehouse and distribute wine, spirits, and imported beer to maintain "stability" in the system.
[11]: 4 The biggest difference in this arrangement would now require a formalized contract between Connect Logistics and AGLC including "performance indicators" for things like consumer service and on-time delivery.
In July 2008, the Alberta government responded to complaints by police and other groups[14] by introducing new regulations to restrict the sale of alcohol in restaurants and bars.
On November 26, 2010, AGLC temporarily halted registration of beers with an alcohol content higher than 11.9% (while allowing current retail stocks to still be sold).
[16] The restriction was lifted three weeks later on December 16, once a new policy had been developed to deal with a potential influx of ultra-high alcohol beers.
[18] On February 6, 2018, Premier Rachel Notley ordered AGLC to cease importing wine from British Columbia, as an economic sanction against the province's decision to perform further environmental reviews over a proposed expansion of the Trans Mountain Pipeline.
The corporation acts as the operational arm of the organization, while the board is responsible for reflecting the government's direction through policy and regulatory matters.
[20] As of January 2024, the AGLC's board members were: Married to John Weissenberger, who was the Campaign Manager for Stephen Harper in 1993 and Jason Kenney in 2017, and current VP Technical Science/External Innovation at the Alberta Energy Regulator.
[23][24][25] Although liquor is retailed in Alberta by private interests on a competitive basis, like its predecessor AGLC has maintained a monopoly over the wholesaling of wine, coolers, imported beer and spirits.
[26] Following the provincial election of 2015, which saw the Alberta New Democratic Party form government, AGLC reported to Treasury Board and Finance Minister Joe Ceci.