Sex Salon – Sex, Sin, and Cinema: Obscenity Law and Moral Regulation in the Early 1980s Alberta

This talk examines the history of Canadian obscenity law through key legal cases in Alberta, focusing on the 1980 trial of “Dracula Sucks” in Edmonton in “Towne Cinema Theatres, Ltd. v. The Queen” (1985) and the 1981 trials of “Caligula” in Edmonton and Calgary. Despite provincial approval of these films, federal obscenity charges were pursued, setting legal precedent until “R. v. Butler” (1992). These cases highlight tensions between civil libertarianism, moral conservatism, and feminist legal discourse on pornography, revealing Alberta’s underexplored role in shaping the national arc of obscenity law. Indeed, the “Towne Cinema” and “Caligula” trials dramatized jurisdictional conflicts between local and national governance in a province divided over moral regulation and civil rights. While “Butler” built on earlier rulings like “Towne Cinema” to limit harmful pornography, it disproportionately targeted queer representations. Using “Dracula Sucks” as a case study, this paper traces its censorship, both locally and globally, and examines how Alberta’s legal battles influenced the broader trajectory of Canadian obscenity law.