BC Liquor Stores are a chain of government-owned and operated retail outlets operated by the British Columbia Liquor Distribution Branch to distribute alcoholic beverages in the province of British Columbia, Canada.

[1]: 43  Prior to the plebiscite, alcohol had been illegal through the Prohibition Act, introduced on May 23, 1916, with exceptions for sacramental, medicinal or industrial purposes.

[1]: 31  As of 1920, British Columbia had been the only province in Canada who had voted in favour of government-controlled liquor sales.

[1]: 32 On February 23, 1921, the Attorney General of British Columbia had introduced the Government Liquor Act.

Indigenous people were automatically placed on the list, preventing them from being able to purchase alcoholic beverages.

In 1963, the Liquor Control Board chairman, Colonel Donald McGugan reported that 4,500–5,000 British Columbians were on the list.