Like most countries, Canada has had some rather strange rules over the years. Some of them don’t even seem like they could’ve been official. But they were.
Here are ten forgotten laws that once existed in Canada & the history behind them. Which one do you think is the most surprising?
Sunday shopping ban under the Lord’s Day Act (1906–1985)
Stores across Canada had to legally close every Sunday during the 1900s. The Lord’s Day Act made Sunday, as you might expect, a day for the Lord. It was illegal to work or trade, even to sell goods, on that day.
It took until 1985 for the law to change. Big M Drug Mart in Calgary fought the law in the Supreme Court & won. Afterward, Sunday shopping was normalized again.
“Crime comics” were a Criminal Code offence (1954–2018)
America wasn’t the only place with a ban on comics. During the 1950s, the moral panic about youth corruption made it illegal to sell or print comics that showed crime.
The law remained part of the Criminal Code until 2018. It hadn’t been legally enforced for many years, but Parliament removed it anyway, along with a few other outdated regulations.
Pretending to practice witchcraft was illegal (1892–2018)
Section 365 was a law that made it illegal to pretend to practice witchcraft. Yes, not witchcraft, but pretending to practice it.
The law meant that, technically, fortune tellers & mediums were breaking the law anytime that they charged for readings. The law finally disappeared in 2018. It took them long enough.
Quebec’s “Padlock Law” against communist propaganda (1937–1957)
During the 1900s, the Canadian government was very fearful of communism. The Quebec government passed a law in 1937 to stop the spread of communism.
The law allowed officials to padlock any buildings that were linked to “communistic propaganda,” and civil rights groups fought the regulation for many years. It took the Supreme Court’s 1957 ruling that the province had overstepped its boundaries for the law to be repealed.
The Chinese Immigration (Exclusion) Act (1923–1947)
A darker part of Canada’s history was the Chinese Immigration Act. It greatly restricted the number of Chinese immigrants who could legally enter Canada from 1923 to 1947.
Sadly, the Act even prevented families from reuniting with each other. The government didn’t apologize for the law until well after WWII, long after the ban had been lifted.
The potlatch ban under the Indian Act (1884–1951)
First Nations peoples used to be banned from holding potlatches on the West Coast. Potlatches are huge celebrations that focus on generosity & ceremony, as well as culture.
But officials thought they were wasteful. The ban became part of the Indian Act in 1884. They didn’t remove it until 1951. Unfortunately, Indigenous people had already lost so much of their traditions.
Alberta’s Sexual Sterilization Act (1928–1972)
Alberta’s Sexual Sterilization Act sounds like something from a dystopian movie. Sadly, it was real. The law allowed a provincial board to sterilize people in mental institutions without their consent.
2,800 people were victims of the rule. In 1972, the law was repealed & survivors received compensation in the 1990s. But the damage was already done.
Laws restricting Hutterite land purchases in Alberta (1942–1973)
That’s not all for Alberta. The province also banned Hutterite colonies from buying land during the 1940s, unless the local government approved it. It was meant to encourage fair distribution.
However, the rule mostly targeted the communal religious group, and the restriction continued until 1973. How is that fair?
Canada’s long fight over margarine (1886–2008)
You’d hardly think that margarine could be controversial. But it once was. It was illegal to sell in Canada for decades after complaints from dairy farmers. They feared it would threaten the butter industry.
In 1949, the national ban ended, although some provinces kept their own regulations. Quebec didn’t allow stores to sell yellow margarine until 2008. It had to be white so people didn’t confuse it for butter.
“Spreading false news” offence (1892–2019)
Fake news sounds like a new invention, but there were laws dating back to the 1890s to prevent it. Section 181 of the Criminal Code banned the spreading of “false news.”
It wasn’t merely for show, as the law was used against Holocaust denier Ernst Zündel. However, the Supreme Court struck down the law in 1992. They said it went against people’s freedom of speech.
Sources: Please see here for a complete listing of all sources that were consulted in the preparation of this article.
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