n. — Administration
a liquor control board, run by the provincial/territorial government, which controls the sale and distribution of alcoholic beverages.
The form liquor board is a shortening of liquor control board, which is used more often overall (see Charts 1 & 2). Liquor board sometimes occurs in headlines, but in-line text generally prefers liquor control board or a liquor commission (for example, see the 1921 quotation). The term liquor commission is less frequent in Canada than liquor control board, but throughout national domains, it is most common in Canada overall (see Chart 3).
COD-2 labels both liquor board and liquor control board "Cdn", the latter with the qualifier "in certain provinces", for neither of which we can find evidence.
See also: liquor commission liquor control board bond store Regie
- While tax regimens on liquor existed long before the date of the first quotation, e.g. in BC in the 1850s as the first governmental tax (Ormsby 1958), the term liquor board appears to be of early 20th-century origin.
- 1915  The liquor board also is empowered to prevent the practice of treating where it sees fit. Persons guilty of violating order to this effect may be prosecuted under the Defence of the Realm Act, and will be liable to imprisonment for six months or a fine of $500. 
- 1921  NEW LIQUOR BOARD
Hon. George Simard Will Preside Over Quebec Commission. [...] The Quebec liquor commission which will be appointed this afternoon, will be composed of the following: Chairman, Hon. Geo. Simard; M. L. C. Montreuil: vice-chairman [...]  - 1926  The act would be enforced by the municipal and provincial police and the liquor board would be freed from direct responsibility, which would be a change from the previous system under prohibition. 
- 1935  Throughout the province several hundred temporary cleks [sic] have been taken on for the Christmas and New Year trade, and as an extra precaution against congestion in the stores as the holidays approach the liquor board has extended hours of sale in over a score of stores -- six of them in Toronto -- from 8 to 10 p.m. 
- 1946  To augment the supplies of beer produced by the Saskatchewan breweries and meet the heavy demand now rationing has been abolished in that province, the Saskatchewan Liquor Board imports and sells carloads of Ontario and Quebec ales. They are in heavy demand despite the high price. 
- 1955  It also asked that lists of applications for liquor licenses be made available to municipalities well in advance of liquor board hearings and that no hearing be held in the vacation months of July and August. 
- 1967  Lorne G. Power, administrator of the Quebec Liquor Board, announced yesterday that the price of all alcoholic beverages, except beer, has been increased, effective yesterday, by at least 3 per cent throughout the province as a result of tax increases by the provincial and federal Governments.
- 1979  The Cayuga II…looks awkward, top-heavy, like a grain elevator on a barge. It is licensed by the liquor board and all three decks are equipped for dancing….
- 1983  Consumer and Commercial Relations Minister Robert Elgie said sold there have been a few charges of patronage, but the liquor board is working at changes to its staffing policy.
- 1996  Walter Banach says he sold 500 bottles at opening of their wine shop and recently shipped more than 4,000 bottles to the Saskatchewan Liquor Board. 
- 2007  Poirier says smaller brewers in Canada need to do a better job of telling the story of Canadian beer. He says they also need to work with local liquor boards and corporations to put more focus on Canadian-owned brands. 
- 2013  Finally, studies by MADD Canada and the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health found the public does not support increased access to alcohol. Rather, they support a balanced approach in which access to alcohol is controlled by a provincial liquor board.