 Prohibition had been introduced in Alberta following a 1916 referendum , during which the UFA had advocated for the prohibitionist side . The Liberal version of prohibition was weak , and Greenfield came into office intending to strengthen the legislation . Even by 1920 , however , it was becoming apparent that the policy was not working ( or , as the Medicine Hat News noted , " Prohibition is now working smoothly . The only thing left is to stop the sale of liquor ! " ) . Greenfield 's own MLAs began to grumble about the policy — Archibald Matheson expressed in 1923 the view that " This government has acted as philosopher , guide , and God to the people long enough . " Public opinion , too , began to shift against the policy , more rapidly after 1922 when three police officers were killed in the line of duty by bootleggers . The last and most dramatic of these was the murder of Steve Lawson in front of the barracks where he and his family lived , by Emil " Pic " Picariello and Florence Lassandra . Public opinion ran high both for and against the pair , and their 1923 hangings only served to unite both factions against prohibition . 
