Shaw's Hotel- A National Historic Site of Canada

The Lobster Trap Lounge was established on the Shaw’s Hotel property in 1956 to give guests another amenity to enjoy. Frequented by guests and islanders alike, it was PEI’s first licensed bar after prohibition ended in 1948 and had a fun-filled, rich history until it closed in 2005. The new Lobster Trap Lounge (est. 2024 at the Port of Charlottetown) pays homage to the entrepreneurial spirit of the original with its lively atmosphere, cold drinks, and delicious “sea-to-spoon” menu. Beside you is the original sign in the photo above from the 1980s. www.shawshotel.ca The Lobster Trap Lounge First opened 1956

By 1825, the island had around 25,000 people. According to official statistics, those islanders consumed: 54,000 gallons of rum, 2,500 gallons of brandy, 3,000 gallons of gin, and 2,000 gallons of wine per year. Beer wasn’t even counted in the official statistics, which were spread over the whole population -including children. Prohibition in Canada was a result of the “temperance movement, “ the belief that stringing was responsible for many of society’s ills. The Canada Temperance Act (Scott Act ) of 1878 gave local Government the “local option” to ban the sale of alcohol. Prohibition was first enacted on a provincial basis in PEI in 1901. It became law in the remaining provinces, as well as in Yukon and Newfoundland, during the First World War. Liquor could be legally produced in Canada, but not sold there, and legally exported out of Canadian ports. Most provincial laws were repealed in the 1920s, but PEI was the last to give up “the noble experiment” in 1948. In the 1920s, fishermen from the Maritime Province could no longer make a living fishing due to over-supply and poor prices. so most took their vessels and became involved in the rum-running trade to support their families. Until well into the 1980s, it would remain illegal to have any pub or taverns, which was a new form of bootlegging in the province and one that could result in some stiff lines, but, most police and authors took a relaxed approach towards it. The Prohibition Years of PEI by Craig Baird