| I | INTRODUCTION |
Newfoundland and
Labrador, easternmost province of Canada. It is also Canada’s newest
province, having joined the federation in 1949. The province has two sections of
unequal size: Newfoundland, which is an island, and the much larger region of
Labrador, on the mainland of Canada. Together, these sections have a land area
of roughly the size of California. From 1927 to 1965 the name
Newfoundland was used both for the island and for the entire province. In
1965 the province’s name was changed to Newfoundland and Labrador. St. John’s,
in southeastern Newfoundland, is the provincial capital and largest city; it is
also one of the oldest settlements in North America.
Labrador is bordered by Québec province on
the south, west, and north; the Atlantic Ocean on the east; and the Strait of
Belle Isle on the southeast. Newfoundland, located southeast of Labrador, meets
the Atlantic Ocean on the east and south, the Gulf of St. Lawrence on the west,
and the Strait of Belle Isle on the north.
Newfoundland and Labrador is a land of rugged
beauty. Picturesque fishing villages dot the rocky shores and outlying islands.
Vast tracts of untamed wilderness cover the interior of Newfoundland and almost
all of Labrador, a land of tundra, ice, thick forests, and barren rock. The
province was among the first areas of North America to be encountered by
Europeans. Vikings from Iceland and Greenland briefly settled in northern
Newfoundland about the year ad
1000, at a site called L’Anse aux Meadows. The first use of the name
Newfoundland dates to 1497, after Italian explorer John Cabot sighted a
“new found isle” in the North Atlantic. By the early 1500s the island was
referred to as the “New found launde” in English, and the Latin name Terra
Nova (new land) was used in early documents and maps. It is still called
Terra Nova by the Spanish and Portuguese, and the French use the name Terre
Neuve.
| II | PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY |
Newfoundland and Labrador is the seventh
largest province of Canada, with an area of 405,212 sq km (156,453 sq mi),
including 31,340 sq km (12,100 sq mi) of inland water. The island of
Newfoundland alone encompasses 108,860 sq km (42,031 sq mi), and Labrador adds
296,860 sq km (114,618 sq mi).
Roughly triangular in shape, the island of
Newfoundland measures 560 km (350 mi) north-south and 510 km (320 mi) east-west.
Labrador’s farthest extent north-south is 1,000 km (620 mi) and east-west, 830
km (520 mi). The province has many peat bogs and jagged rock outcroppings, and
the soils are generally infertile. The coastlines of both Newfoundland and
Labrador are irregular and deeply indented, with many bays, coves, peninsulas,
and islands.
| A | Natural Regions |
The province contains two natural regions:
the Appalachian Region and the Canadian Shield. All of the island of
Newfoundland and a small part of southeastern Labrador belong to the Appalachian
Region, a formation that extends from Newfoundland to the southeastern United
States. In Newfoundland the Appalachian Region consists mainly of a large
plateau. This natural region can be subdivided into three smaller regions: the
Newfoundland Highlands, the Atlantic Upland, and the Central Lowland.
The Newfoundland Highlands make up most of
the western part of the island. This region is the edge of the plateau, which
rises abruptly on the western shore and slopes gently to the east. Elevations in
this area reach a height of 814 m (2,671 ft) in the Lewis Hills in the
southwest. This region is also sometimes called the Long Range Mountains.
The Atlantic Upland forms most of the south
and east of the island. This region is mostly a flat or rolling plateau with an
average elevation of about 300 m (about 1,000 ft). There are some rugged hilly
sections in the southeast on the Avalon Peninsula. Bogs, ponds, and small lakes
are numerous in this region.
The Central Lowland occupies the north
central part of the island. Most of this region is flat or gently rolling, with
almost all elevations less than 150 m (500 ft).
The Canadian Shield, which occupies nearly
half of Canada’s total area, covers all of Labrador apart from its southeastern
corner. The region is mostly a vast plateau made up of ancient, hard rock.
However, some areas of Labrador contain softer sedimentary rock, including a
region in the west called the Labrador Trough, which holds some of North
America’s richest iron ore deposits. Elevations range from 450 to 600 m (1,500
to 2,000 ft) in the interior, but the edge of the plateau along the coast is
more rugged, with slightly higher elevations. The Torngat Mountains in extreme
northern Labrador rise to a height of 1,652 m (5,420 ft) at the summit of Mount
Caubvick, the highest point in the province.
| B | Rivers and Lakes |
Both Labrador and Newfoundland have many
rivers and lakes. The Churchill River in Labrador is the province’s longest
river. It rises in the west and flows eastward for 335 km (208 mi) before
emptying into Lake Melville, a saltwater lake linked to the Atlantic Ocean. On
this river is Churchill Falls, with a vertical drop of 75 m (245 ft). It is one
of the single greatest sources of hydroelectric power in North America. Other
large rivers in Labrador are the Naskaupi, the Eagle, and the Romaine.
On Newfoundland the Exploits River is the
island’s longest waterway. It begins in southwestern Newfoundland and flows for
240 km (150 mi) to empty into the Bay of Exploits in the north. The
second-longest river on the island is the Gander River, which flows in a
northeasterly direction.
The largest natural lake in the province is
Lake Melville in eastern Labrador. It has an area of 3,069 sq km (1,185 sq mi).
Lake Melville is really a 140-km (87-mi) extension of the Hamilton Inlets and is
connected with the ocean by a narrow inlet. Smallwood Reservoir in western
Labrador was created by the dams of the Churchill River and is the largest body
of freshwater in the province, with an area of 6,527 sq km (2,520 sq mi). Grand
Lake, Red Indian Lake, and Gander Lake are the largest lakes on the island of
Newfoundland.
| C | Climate |
Most of the province has a subarctic
climate with short, cool summers and long, cold winters. The cold Labrador
Current sweeps the shores of Newfoundland, and the general circulation of the
air brings cold winds from the continent during most of the year. The interior
of the island has a bleak climate, and the light forest cover on the plateau
allows frequent cold winds to gust across it. The coastal regions of Labrador
are quite cold, especially in the north, and are too harsh for the cultivation
of crops. In winter the bays and coves freeze over, bringing to a halt most
coastal navigation. Summer breaks suddenly in Labrador in about the middle of
June, when the interior regions become considerably warmer than the coast.
Average July temperatures are 13°C to 16°C
(55°F to 60°F) in Newfoundland and 10°C to 13°C (50°F to 55°F) in Labrador.
Average January temperatures range from -4°C (25°F) in southern Newfoundland to
about -18°C (0°F) in most of Labrador. The maximum summer temperature throughout
most of the province is about 32°C (90°F). Winter temperatures may fall to -51°C
(-60°F) in western Labrador and -34°C (-30°F) on the island.
Precipitation averages about 1,120 mm
(about 44 in) yearly in Newfoundland. In Labrador precipitation varies from
about 1,020 mm (about 40 in) in the southeast to about 510 mm (about 20 in) in
the extreme north. Heavy winter snowfalls are common, especially in
Newfoundland.
| D | Plant Life |
About one-third of Newfoundland is
forested, and most of the rest of the island is made up of barren areas of
reindeer moss and lichens. The forests consist almost entirely of conifers. The
most important species are white and black spruce, balsam fir, birch, red pine,
and aspen. Smaller plants include the insect-eating pitcher plant, sheep laurel,
and snakehead, a marsh orchid. Blueberries and partridgeberries thrive in the
barren regions.
Labrador’s vegetation is similar to that of
Newfoundland, with large areas of barren ground. Because of poor soil and the
harsh climate, the trees are often small for their species. Black spruce and
balsam fir is the dominant tree cover in most forested areas.
| E | Animal Life |
Newfoundland has fewer varieties of animals
than the mainland. Among the animals native to the island are the black bear,
woodland caribou, otter, muskrat, fox, and lynx. Moose, which were introduced to
the island early in the 20th century, are fairly numerous. Most of the animals
found in Newfoundland are also found in Labrador. In addition, Labrador has such
animals as the polar bear, mink, wolverine, wolf, and Barren Ground caribou.
Birds found all year round in the province are the spruce partridge, ptarmigan,
and osprey. Numerous varieties of ducks and geese inhabit the province in
summer, and many coastal areas support huge colonies of seabirds, especially
gulls, gannets, murres, and puffins. An important breeding area for the harp
seal is located off the province’s northern coast. There are no snakes or other
reptiles in Newfoundland and Labrador.
| F | Conservation |
With a small population and a slowly
developing industrial base, Newfoundland and Labrador has relatively few
environmental problems. The main ones are solid waste (trash) management and
water pollution by community sewage. Most communities lack sewer systems and
sanitary landfills for household trash. The federal government enforces federal
regulations dealing with certain kinds of air and water pollution. The
provincial department of environment administers provincial public lands,
including 64 parks and various ecological reserves. To protect seabirds, six
sanctuaries have been established in island and coastal areas. In addition, the
department is responsible for provincial antipollution efforts, which include
the assessment and approval of new development projects, the licensing of
water-well drillers and commercial pesticide sellers and users, and the
promotion of voluntary recycling of glass and metal containers.
| III | ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES |
The economy of Newfoundland and Labrador is
heavily dependent on natural resources. For centuries the most important
economic activity was cod fishing. Farming was a supplementary activity for many
fishers, but the poor soil and harsh climate prevented any significant
agricultural development. Exploitation of the province’s rich forestry and
mineral resources expanded in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and by the
1920s the rising demand for pulp and paper made forestry a leading economic
activity. After the end of World War II (1939-1945), iron ore mining in Labrador
emerged as a major economic activity.
Since the 1960s, the province has
experienced chronic economic hardship because of declining fish stocks and
fluctuating world demand for many of its resource-based products. Fishing, pulp
and paper manufacturing, and iron ore mining remain major activities. However,
they generally do not provide sufficient jobs or income to alleviate widespread
poverty and a high rate of unemployment, even during periods of economic
expansion. Efforts to exploit offshore deposits of oil and natural gas beginning
in the early 1990s have provided a new source of revenue and employment for the
province that has partially offset declines in other sectors. Newfoundland and
Labrador frequently has the highest unemployment rate in Canada, and financial
assistance from the federal government is essential to the well-being of the
population. In 2006, 16.5 percent of the labor force was unemployed.
| A | Agriculture |
Farming is of minor importance in the
provincial economy. Labrador is not well suited for agriculture, apart from some
sheltered inland valleys in the south, and on Newfoundland the poor soil and a
short growing season discourage the raising of most crops. The chief food crops
include root vegetables, such as potatoes, turnips, carrots, and beets;
broccoli; sui choy; and bok choy. Labrador has a vast resource of wild berries,
and wild blueberries are an important agricultural export. More than 75 percent
of agricultural income comes from sales of livestock and livestock products,
mainly chickens, dairy products, and eggs.
| B | Forestry |
From 1930 through 1960 the cutting and
processing of forest resources was the leading industry in Newfoundland and
Labrador. By the early 1960s, when mining surpassed forestry in economic
importance, about 30 percent of Newfoundland’s land area was still forested and
Labrador’s extensive forests had scarcely been touched. The forests consist
predominantly of such softwoods as black spruce and balsam fir, which are ideal
for making pulp and paper. Newsprint is the principal use of the province’s wood
products.
The pulp and paper industry began in the
province in 1909, when a large mill opened at Grand Falls (now Grand
Falls-Windsor). A second mill began production in 1925 at Corner Brook, and a
third mill opened in Stephenville in 1981. The global market for newsprint is
highly competitive, however, and low newsprint prices periodically force the
province’s mills to reduce production or shut down.
Newfoundland’s forests once contained
tracts of hardwoods, especially birch and maple, and in the late 19th century
numerous sawmills on the island cut the hardwoods for export lumber. Today,
however, the province imports lumber because hardwoods suitable for making
lumber are almost completely exhausted.
| C | Fisheries |
The coastal waters of Newfoundland and
Labrador constitute one of the world’s best fisheries, and many excellent
harbors shelter small fishing fleets. Historically, cod was the primary catch;
however, in 1992 the federal government banned cod fishing because years of
overfishing had depleted stocks. The ban led fishers to turn to other species,
especially crab and shellfish, which became industry mainstays after 1992. Other
species also grew in economic importance, including Atlantic salmon, flounder,
turbot, halibut, herring, and lobster. In 1997 the government began to permit
cod fishing on a limited basis. The cod stocks generally remain weak, however,
and cod fishing is subject to strict quotas. Farther offshore are other rich
fishing grounds, including the Grand Banks, a shallow part of the continental
shelf off the southeastern coast of Newfoundland. In 2005 the catch was 357,472
metric tons of fish valued at (Canadian) $518 million.
Today, aquaculture (fish farming) is of
growing economic importance in Newfoundland and Labrador, with most production
devoted to salmon, steelhead trout, and mussels. Harp seals, which are
commercially hunted on their breeding grounds off the province’s northern coast,
support an economically significant seal fishery.
Before 1930 the province’s chief fish
products were salted and sun-cured cod. The advent of quick-freezing after 1930
brought about a major shift in the industry, with declining world demand for
cured cod and rising demand for fresh frozen fish products. Within a few years
the province’s antiquated fishing fleet, along with increased competition from
foreign fishers, led to a sharp decline in commercial fishing. After World War
II the federal and provincial governments provided funds to modernize and expand
the fishing fleet, and the province’s fishers prospered until the late 1960s.
Then fish stocks began to decline as a result of overfishing by both the
domestic fleet and foreign fleets. The creation in 1977 of an exclusive Canadian
fishing zone, extending 200 nautical miles (370 km/230 mi) from the coast,
helped curtail foreign competition but did not reverse the declining fish stocks
or erase the heavy debts incurred by many local fishing companies.
By 1983 the province’s largest fishing
companies, which rely on deep-sea trawlers, were on the verge of bankruptcy. To
stave off collapse, the federal and provincial governments arranged a
restructuring in which all the deep-sea fishing companies were combined in 1984
into a single company, Fishery Products International Ltd., owned mostly by the
federal government. The company, which was returned to the private sector
beginning in 1985, reported its first profit in 1986. The government bailout of
the deep-sea fishery did not, however, ease the plight of the province’s inshore
fishers, who generally operate individually in small boats. Most of these
fishers also work at other jobs to supplement their income.
| D | Mining |
Mining is a major economic activity in
Newfoundland and Labrador. The most important mineral is iron ore, which at the
beginning of the 21st century accounted for more than 90 percent of the value of
the province’s mineral production. The province is Canada’s leading producer of
iron ore. High-grade iron ore was first shipped from the Ruth Lake area in far
northwestern Labrador in 1954. Today, the main iron-mining district is
Labrador’s Wabush Lake region about 160 km (about 100 mi) to the south.
Shipments of concentrates from that area began in 1962. Iron mining in
Newfoundland began on Bell Island in the 1890s, but ceased in that area in
1966.
Several other minerals are also mined in
the province, including silver, gold, pyrophyllite, limestone, and gypsum. At
times lead and zinc have been produced in Newfoundland. A major nickel deposit
was discovered at Voisey’s Bay in northern Labrador in 1993, and in 2002 the
provincial government announced that an agreement had been reached with Inco
Ltd., a mining and metals company, to develop the deposit. Labrador also has
deposits of high-quality uranium, which have yet to be mined in significant
quantities because of the high costs of development.
In recent years, the exploitation of
offshore deposits of oil and natural gas has expanded rapidly, spurring economic
growth and helping the province to rebound from the collapse of the cod-fishing
industry. In 1979 the Hibernia oil field was discovered in the Grand Banks
region about 310 km (190 mi) off the coast of Newfoundland—the first major oil
discovery in Canadian coastal waters. By the early 1990s a platform was under
construction to tap the oil, and the facility at Hibernia began commercial
production of oil in 1997. A second offshore facility, constructed at the nearby
Terra Nova oil field, began operations in 2001. A third offshore facility,
located at the White Rose oil field, is slated to begin production in 2005.
Development of the offshore fields, which includes exploration, construction,
and production, has stimulated the most significant period of capital investment
in Newfoundland and Labrador since World War II.
| E | Manufacturing |
Newfoundland and Labrador’s three most
important manufactured goods are processed fish and seafood, newsprint, and
refined petroleum, which together account for more than 95 percent of all
manufactured exports. Manufacturing in the province expanded rapidly in the
1990s and early 2000s, with the shipment value of manufactured goods growing by
45 percent between 1996 and 2002.
Historically, the manufacturing sector
was held back by the small size of the domestic market, the great distance to
other markets, and the limited quantity of skilled labor available in the
province. To compensate for the economic isolation of Newfoundland and Labrador,
the provincial government in the 1950s and 1960s attempted to develop numerous
new industries. Most of these quickly failed, including a rubber-goods plant, a
leather-products plant, and an oil refinery. Among the few that succeeded were a
particleboard mill at Donovans and a phosphorus plant at Long Harbour. Rapid
growth in the manufacturing sector since the mid-1990s has been driven by a
variety of factors, including fisheries diversification, reduced trade barriers,
and new investments in transportation, infrastructure, and education and
training programs.
| F | Services |
Service industries make up the largest
sector of Newfoundland and Labrador’s economy, contributing approximately
three-fifths of the GDP. Service industries are largely concentrated in St.
John’s and include such activities as banking and finance; insurance and real
estate; government services; and retail and wholesale trade.
Tourism is an important part of the
service sector in Newfoundland and Labrador and is of growing value to the
economy. Visitors are attracted to the province’s majestic coastal scenery, its
parks and vast wilderness areas, and its numerous historic sites, including the
early Viking settlement at L’Anse aux Meadows. St. John’s is a popular port of
call for cruise ships during the summer cruise season.
| G | Electricity |
Newfoundland and Labrador has vast
waterpower resources, which are still largely undeveloped. High humidity, low
evaporation, and ample precipitation result in a high rate of runoff into ponds
and lakes, which endow the province with large natural reservoirs. Virtually all
of the province’s power comes from hydroelectric plants.
The province’s first hydroelectric
plants were built in the early 20th century, initially to light St. John’s and
to drive the street railway, and then to power the pulp and paper mills. The
first overall plan to develop the province’s waterpower came with the creation
of the Newfoundland and Labrador Power Commission in 1964. By far the largest is
the complex at Churchill Falls on the upper Churchill River in Labrador. Its
first three generators began producing power in 1972, and the entire complex,
with 11 generators, was completed a few years later. The major power plants on
the island of Newfoundland are at Deer Lake and at Baie d’Espoir.
Most of Newfoundland and Labrador’s
electricity is produced at the Churchill Falls complex, with domestic demand
consuming less than one-third of the total production. The rest is exported,
mainly to Québec, which has a contract to buy excess power generated by the
facility at below-market prices. The resale of this power for large profits by
the province-owned utility Hydro-Québec has been a persistent source of friction
between the two provinces.
Plans are currently in place to develop
the lower Churchill River at two potential sites, Gull Island and Muskrat Falls.
In 2002 the provincial governments in Newfoundland and Labrador and Québec
announced they had reached a consensus on principles to guide negotiations to
develop the Gull Island site.
| H | Transportation |
The sea long served as the traditional
highway for the people of the province, who live mainly in settlements on the
coasts. Until the 20th century almost all travel was along the coasts, with
inland travel limited mainly to small numbers of hunters and trappers. In
northern areas during winter, travel by dog team was common.
A railroad across Newfoundland opened in
the late 19th century, and it provided an essential means of transportation and
development on the island until the mid-20th century. The main route of this
railroad, built on narrow gauge track and measuring 880 km (547 mi), was
permanently closed in 1988 due to high maintenance costs and the comparative
slowness of the trains; it was replaced by a modern and efficient bus service.
Most of Labrador’s railroads were built to serve its iron-mining complexes. The
Labrador and Québec North Shore Railway, a privately owned railroad, runs south
from Schefferville, Québec, in the Ruth Lake region, through western Labrador to
Sept-Îles, Québec. A branch line runs west to the Wabush Lake mines.
The province’s highway system expanded
slowly. Until the 1950s, when a modern road-building and road-improvement
program was implemented, most roads were narrow and unpaved. Today, Newfoundland
has about 13,100 km (about 8,100 mi) of highways and rural roads. The main
artery on the island is a 900-km (560-mile) portion of the Trans-Canada Highway,
which runs from St. John’s in the southeast to Channel-Port aux Basques in the
southwest. Most coastal communities are linked to one another and to the
Trans-Canada Highway. Labrador has some roads along the coast of the Strait of
Belle Isle and around mining towns. The Trans-Canada Highway does not pass
through Labrador. However, efforts are underway to improve the Trans-Labrador
Highway, a gravel road connecting the Happy Valley-Goose Bay region to Labrador
City and further west to the highway system in Québec.
The Canadian National Railways operates a
fleet of coastal passenger-freight steamers that call at various ports in
Newfoundland and Labrador and steamships that ply to and from other Canadian
ports. Some private shipping companies provide regular passenger and freight
service between Newfoundland, the mainland, and the British Isles. There is
ferry service between Cape Breton Regional Municipality on Cape Breton Island,
Nova Scotia, and Channel-Port aux Basques (year round) and Argentia
(summer).
Transportation by small aircraft,
including ski- and float-equipped airplanes, is essential in isolated areas of
the province. Large airports are located at Gander, in central Newfoundland; at
Goose Bay, in Labrador; and at St. John’s. These airports were of strategic
importance during World War II (1939-1945). From 1945 through the 1950s, they
were important as refueling points for transatlantic flights. Since then, the
development of nonstop transatlantic jet service has greatly reduced the traffic
at Gander and Goose Bay, although Gander remains an important stopover point for
some international flights. Other airports are at Stephenville; on the west
coast of Newfoundland; Deer Lake, also in the western part of the province;
Torbay, near St. John’s; and Labrador City.
| IV | THE PEOPLE OF NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR |
A majority of the people of Newfoundland
and Labrador are of English and Irish ancestry, followed by smaller numbers of
Scots and people of French descent. In 2006, 4.7 percent of inhabitants were
indigenous peoples, including Inuit and Montagnais-Naskapi.
| A | Population Characteristics |
According to the 2001 national census, the
population of Newfoundland and Labrador was 512,930, down by 10.8 percent from
the 1991 figure of 568,474. In 2001, 58 percent of the people lived in urban
areas, and the rest lived on farms or in small logging, mining, and fishing
villages called outports. The population density of Newfoundland and Labrador is
the lowest of any Canadian province, at 1.4 persons per sq km (3.6 per sq mi).
More than 30 percent of the people live in or near St. John’s.
In 1991 Labrador had a population of
30,375; by 2001 the figure had declined to 27,864. The iron-mining district
around Wabush Lake accounted for about two-fifths of the total population.
Labrador City grew rapidly in the 1960s and continued to grow in the 1970s, but
its population declined in succeeding decades. Other centers of population in
Labrador are along the southern coast and in the Happy Valley-Goose Bay
region.
The province’s population grew slowly from
12,000 in 1763 to 202,000 in 1891. By 1935 it totaled only 290,000. Mainly
because of a high rate of emigration, the rate of population growth over this
long period was barely 1.1 percent per year. Sustaining the province’s
population was a high birth rate—historically the highest in Canada. At the 1951
census the population was 361,416. Between 1951 and 1961 the growth rate was 2.7
percent per year, but after 1961 it fell back to former levels. Since the
mid-1990s, the population has steadily declined, as the birth rate has fallen
and people continue to leave the province in search of better opportunities.
Between 1996 and 2001, Newfoundland and Labrador lost 7 percent of its
population. During the same period, Canada’s total population grew by 4 percent.
The population decline is especially significant in rural areas.
| B | Principal Cities |
St. John’s, the capital and largest city
of Newfoundland and Labrador, had a population of 99,182 (2001) and was the
center of a metropolitan area of 181,400 (2006). Corner Brook, an industrial
city and distributing center for the western coastal area, had 20,103 people in
2001. The largest towns are Mount Pearl (24,964), Conception Bay South (19,772),
Gander (9,651), Labrador City (7,744), Happy Valley-Goose Bay (7,969),
Stephenville (7,109), Marystown (5,908), and Channel-Port aux Basques
(4,637).
| C | Religion |
The largest religious groups in
Newfoundland and Labrador are the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Church of
Canada, and the United Church of Canada. Together, these denominations claim
most of the population. Other religious groups include Pentecostal churches, the
Salvation Army, and Seventh-day Adventists. Religious affiliation is closely
tied to ethnic origin. Most people of Irish and French descent practice Roman
Catholicism, while people of English descent are primarily members of the
Anglican and United churches.
| V | EDUCATION AND CULTURAL LIFE |
| A | Education |
The first public schools in Newfoundland
and Labrador were organized by the Anglican and Roman Catholic churches. In 1949
several religious denominations gained the constitutional right to operate
primary and secondary public schools in the province under the Terms of Union by
which Newfoundland and Labrador joined the Canadian federation. Under this
denominational system of education, schools were designated as Integrated
(Anglican, Presbyterian, Salvation Army, or United Church), Pentecostal, Roman
Catholic, or Seventh-day Adventist. The provincial government was legally
required to provide each of these denominations with financial support for the
construction and operation of schools. In 1997 a majority of provincial voters
backed a referendum to amend the Terms of Union to end centuries of church
domination of the educational system and to allow for the establishment of
interdenominational schools. Following approval of the referendum, the
provincial government passed the 1997 Schools Act, which created ten
interdenominational school boards, based on geographic districts, and one
Francophone board for the province’s six French first-language schools. These
school boards are fully funded by the provincial government, staffed with
trustees elected in popular elections, and responsible for administering the
schools in their districts. Education is free and compulsory from the age of 6
to 15.
In addition to the public primary and
secondary schools, there are seven private schools; a school for First Nations
children, located on the coast of southern Newfoundland; and the Newfoundland
School for the Deaf, in St. John’s.
| A1 | Higher Education |
Memorial University of Newfoundland,
founded in 1925 as Memorial University College, is the only university in the
province and the largest university in Canada’s Atlantic region. It consists of
a main campus in St. John’s; the Marine Institute, also in St. John’s; Sir
Wilfred Grenfell College in Corner Brook; an affiliated campus in Harlow,
England; and the Institut Frecker in Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, a dependency of
France. Newfoundland and Labrador is also home to a provincial system of
regional colleges of technology, applied arts, and continuing education. In 1996
these regional colleges, formerly five in number, were merged into the new
18-campus College of the North Atlantic, which is governed under a single board.
| B | Libraries and Museums |
The public libraries board, an independent
board established by the provincial government in 1935, is responsible for
public library services throughout the province. It administers more than 90
public libraries throughout the province, including three public libraries in
St. John’s.
The Provincial Museum of Newfoundland and
Labrador, headquartered in St. John’s and with branches in Grand Falls-Windsor
and Grand Bank, has a collection exceeding one million artifacts. The museum
contains provincial historical materials, a natural history collection, and a
rich archaeological collection, which includes relics of the indigenous Beothuk
people—inhabitants of the island of Newfoundland who were encountered by
European explorers in the 16th century. The Art Gallery of Newfoundland and
Labrador (AGNL) in St. John’s is the largest public art gallery in the province.
The primary focus of the gallery, which is owned by Memorial University of
Newfoundland, is on contemporary Canadian art. There are many local museums,
such as the Conception Bay Museum in Harbour Grace, the South Newfoundland
Seaman’s Museum in Grand Bank, and the Labrador Straits Museum in L’Anse au
Loup.
| C | Communications |
The first newspaper to be published in the
province was the Royal Gazette, which was founded in 1806. It still
appears as a government gazette. The largest daily is the St. John’s
Telegram, founded as the Evening Telegram in 1879 and renamed in
1998. The other major daily is the Western Star of Corner Brook. There
are also several weekly newspapers and periodical journals. The province is
served by 21 AM and 18 FM radio stations and 4 television stations.
| D | Arts |
One of the province’s earliest writers was
William Charles Saint John, who gained fame as a journalist and a historian. His
son, Charles Henry Saint John, is recognized as the province’s first native-born
poet. Sir Wilfred Thomason Grenfell, who was sent out in 1892 from London to
organize schools and medical missions, gave the world its first reports of the
little-known wilds of Labrador. The province’s most accomplished writers of the
20th century included E. J. Pratt, acclaimed by many as Canada’s greatest poet;
Michael F. Harrington, short-story writer, radio commentator, and newspaper
editor; and the novelists Harold Horwood and Margaret Duley. The journalist Ray
Guy, known for his biting satire and political commentary, is one of the
province’s best-known contemporary writers.
| VI | RECREATION AND PLACES TO VISIT |
The province has a well-deserved reputation
for its excellent hunting and fishing grounds. Summer cruises along the rocky,
picturesque coast are also popular. Since the early 19th century, the famous
regatta held in August on Quidi Vidi Lake near St. John’s has drawn many
spectators and participants. The regatta is considered the oldest regularly held
sports event in North America, originating in 1826.
| A | National Parks |
The province has two national parks, both
on the island of Newfoundland: Gros Morne National Park, on Newfoundland’s west
coast, and Terra Nova National Park, in Bonavista Bay in the northeast. There
are also seven national historic parks, including Signal Hill, at the entrance
to St. John’s harbor, where the first transatlantic wireless message was
received in 1901; Castle Hill, at Placentia, commemorating the French economic
and military presence in Newfoundland; Cape Spear, the most easterly point in
North America and the site of Canada’s oldest standing lighthouse; and L’Anse
aux Meadows, on the Great Northern Peninsula, where the earliest authentic site
of a Viking colony was found in North America. In 1978 the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) declared L’Anse aux
Meadows a World Heritage Site.
| B | Provincial Parks |
There are more than 70 provincial parks
and natural areas in Newfoundland and Labrador. They include Butter Pot, Sir
Richard Squires Memorial, and Barachois Pond, which are among many provincial
parks available for overnight camping. There are also a dozen ecological
reserves that provide sanctuary for rare or endangered plants and animals or
protect natural history artifacts, and several wilderness reserves encompassing
extensive natural areas.
| C | Other Places to Visit |
At the top of Signal Hill is Cabot Tower,
which was built in 1897 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of John Cabot’s
first voyage to the region. The site where Sir Humphrey Gilbert claimed
Newfoundland for Queen Elizabeth I of England in 1583 is marked by a memorial in
St. John’s. A monument at Cupids, a site along Conception Bay, marks the colony
founded there in 1610 by John Guy. Other famous sites include Ferryland, where
Lord Baltimore, the founder of Maryland, established a colony in the 1620s;
Placentia, in Placentia Bay, the old French capital; and Carbonear Island, which
defied all French attempts to capture it in the 17th and 18th centuries.
| VII | GOVERNMENT |
From 1855 to 1934 Newfoundland was a
British colony governed by a locally elected legislature. In 1934, amid the
great hardship wrought by the global economic depression, the British government
suspended Newfoundland’s local self-government to take administrative and
financial responsibility for the colony. Until 1949 the colony was governed by a
commission headed by a British governor. Self-government was restored in 1949
when Newfoundland and Labrador joined the Canadian federation as a
province.
| A | National Representation |
Newfoundland and Labrador is represented
in the Canadian Parliament by seven elected representatives in the House of
Commons and five senators appointed by the federal government to the Senate. By
tradition, at least one member of Parliament from the province is appointed to
the national cabinet.
| B | Executive |
The lieutenant governor, appointed by the
federal government, is the nominal head of the provincial government. However,
real power rests with the premier and cabinet. The premier is the leader of the
majority party or coalition in the provincial legislature. Members of the
cabinet are appointed by the premier from among the members of the legislature
to oversee the various government departments.
| C | Legislative |
The unicameral provincial legislature of
48 members is called the House of Assembly. Elections must be held every five
years but may be called sooner. The assembly holds one session a year, beginning
in spring and ending in fall, with a break for summer.
| D | Judicial |
The judiciary consists of a Supreme
Court, which is split between a Trial Division and an Appeals Division, seven
district courts, 18 provincial courts, a family court, a juvenile court, and a
traffic court. The Supreme Court hears appeals from lower courts, and it may
decide to hear any civil or criminal case. Minor offenses are handled by
magistrates located in small communities. The Trial Division of the Supreme
Court goes on circuit during the summer months.
| VIII | HISTORY |
| A | Indigenous Peoples |
Nomadic indigenous peoples of the
Subarctic culture area had been living in Labrador and Newfoundland for
thousands of years when Europeans first began their explorations. The
inhabitants of Labrador included a small number of Inuit along the northeastern
coast, and two closely related Algonquian groups, the Naskapi and the
Montagnais, who were dispersed throughout the rest of the land.
European explorers in the 16th century
found only the Beothuk people on Newfoundland. Little is known about the Beothuk
culture. Their relations with the fishers who frequented the island were
peaceful, and they later lived peaceably with the Mi’kmaq who migrated from Nova
Scotia. However, in the late 18th century the Mi’kmaq, incited by the French,
began a destructive war against the Beothuk. Some Beothuk survived on
Newfoundland while others fled to Labrador. However, the Beothuk continued to
suffer from European encroachment and European diseases, and in 1829 the last
known surviving Beothuk died of tuberculosis in St. John’s.
| B | Viking Settlement |
In ad 986 a Viking sailor from Europe,
Bjarni Herjólfsson, coasted along the shores of Labrador and Newfoundland.
Perhaps because of his voyage, the Vikings founded a settlement near present-day
L’Anse aux Meadows on Newfoundland’s northeastern coast. In 1963 a team of
Norwegian archaeologists reported finding the remains of this colony. There were
foundations of nine buildings, all typical of known Viking structures. The
largest building was the great hall, measuring 18 m by 14 m (60 ft by 45 ft) and
containing the traditional central hearth. Ruins of a metal workers’ shop and an
anvil were littered with hundreds of bits of slag and iron. The ore had been
extracted from nearby iron bog deposits by an unknown process.
The L’Anse aux Meadows site corresponds
to the descriptions of Vinland by Viking explorer Leif Eriksson. Eriksson sailed
to North America at the end of the 10th century and is believed to have called
Newfoundland Vinland because of the grapes growing there. Although it is
still uncertain whether this village actually was the famous Vinland, it was
definitely Viking, and scientific tests have fixed the time of its existence as
around ad 1000.
| C | Rediscovery |
For nearly 500 years after the Vikings
deserted their settlement, there were no recorded European voyages to
Newfoundland. Then, toward the end of the 15th century, European nations began
their quest for the Northwest Passage, a water route to Asia through or around
North America, and expeditions repeatedly touched on Newfoundland. As early as
1474 João Vaz Corte Real, a Portuguese nobleman, was given the title of
“discoverer of the land of the codfish” for his explorations in the Atlantic.
This may mean that he visited the Grand Banks and possibly even saw
Newfoundland. However, Portugal was slow to follow up this voyage, and the
island was neglected until 1497. In that year, John Cabot, an Italian explorer,
sailed from England on the first of two voyages to Newfoundland. On his return,
he reported that the codfish on the Grand Banks were so thick that he could
scoop them up in baskets from the sides of the ship.
The report was all the encouragement
that fishers in England’s western ports needed, for there was a valuable
European market for fish. Within a short time, Spain, Portugal, and France also
had ships on the Grand Banks. While the fishers began their operations,
explorers continued to reach the rocky Newfoundland and Labrador coasts. Among
them were: Gaspar Corte-Real in 1500 and 1501; João Fernandes, who held a patent
as a llabrador, or small squire, in 1501; Sebastian Cabot in 1509; João
Alvares Fagundes in 1520; John Rut in 1527; Jacques Cartier in 1534; and John
Davis in 1586.
| D | English Control |
Although Spain claimed most of the
Americas, including Newfoundland, it concentrated on its possessions farther
south and did not interfere with non-Spanish ships coming to the Grand Banks. In
spite of the Spanish claim, Sir Humphrey Gilbert, an English sailor and soldier,
sailed into St. John’s harbor in 1583 and formally claimed the island for
England. However, he could not make the claim stick because a majority of the
fishing vessels around the island belonged to Spain. Two years later, Sir
Bernard Drake firmly established English control by destroying the Spanish
fishing fleet at Newfoundland. Thereafter, only English and French ships were at
Newfoundland, with the French fishing vessels concentrated on the south coast of
the island and on the mainland.
| E | Settlement |
When the London and Bristol Company
began to establish resident fisheries to control the fishing industry, it also
began promoting settlement. In 1610 John Guy, a Bristol merchant, brought 39
settlers to Conception Bay. By 1621 there were colonies at Cambriol, Renews, and
Ferryland, the last founded by George Calvert (an English nobleman who explored
North America and was instrumental in acquiring the colonial charter of
Maryland). However, none of these villages prospered. The lack of success was
due to the harsh climate, the poor soil, ill-chosen settlers, ineffective
leadership, and the seasonal nature of the fisheries. Moreover, the fishers were
hostile to the settlers, who were not only competing with them, but had also
settled in the areas that were ideal for fishing stations. This animosity
between fishers and colonists dominated much of Newfoundland’s history
thereafter.
| F | Western Charter |
The Newfoundland colonists were unable
to control the more numerous transient fishers. These fishers were sponsored by
the English western-port merchants, an influential group in England. In 1634
King Charles I of England issued the Western Charter, which gave the captain of
the first ship that came to a harbor for a fishing season the title of Admiral
of the Harbour and authority over all ships and residents at that harbor for
that season. The reasoning behind this royal order was that the fishing ships,
with the twice-annual crossings they required, had become a valuable training
ground for sailors. This training would be lost if resident fisheries were
allowed to develop. Also, England relied heavily on the income from fish sold
throughout Europe. Thus, Newfoundland’s position as a base for the English
fishing industry was established.
In 1637, the rule of the fishing
admirals notwithstanding, Charles I granted all of the island to Sir David Kirke
and his associates. However, Kirke’s colony, based at Ferryland, also failed to
prosper. The hardy settlers remained, but thereafter without any aid from
England.
| G | Struggle for Control |
While the settlers fought the
western-country fishers and the elements for a foothold on Newfoundland, the
surrounding sea became filled with hostile ships. The hazards of fishing became
so great that Oliver Cromwell, who ruled England as lord protector from 1653 to
1658, ordered a naval escort to protect the fisheries. The commodore of the
convoy was given jurisdiction over the entire island for the fishing
season.
Meanwhile, France had come to realize
Newfoundland’s strategic importance as a gateway to Canada. However, the French
had similarly restricted settlement in favor of fishing. Then, in 1662, they
settled and stationed troops in Placentia, a settlement on the island of
Newfoundland. It was designated as the seat of the French royal governor and the
base for France’s Newfoundland activities.
From that time on, the English settlers
were subjected not only to the threat of French aggression, but also to Dutch
raids when England went to war against The Netherlands over colonies, and the
war was carried to North America. In 1665 and 1673 the Dutch plundered St.
John’s. After the second attack the English fortified the harbor, but they did
little else to aid Newfoundland. The influence of the western-port merchants was
so strong that the Western Charter was revised to more strongly favor the
fishers over the settlers. By the end of the 17th century, property ownership
had been restricted and settlement within 10 km (6 mi) of the sea prohibited.
The English fishers, emboldened by the revisions, attacked towns and robbed the
settlers at will.
| H | French and British Conflicts |
Before Newfoundland had time to recover
from the devastation wrought by the French and the English fishers, it became
the scene of a prolonged struggle for control of North America. The French land
and sea forces based at Placentia repeatedly raided outlying settlements and
fishing vessels. In 1696, during King William’s War, in which the English and
French fought over North American colonies, French troops overran the Avalon
Peninsula and burned St. John’s. The English later refortified the port, but in
1708 during Queen Anne’s War between France and Great Britain (a union of three
countries headed by England), it again fell to the French. From this date until
the Peace of Utrecht, which ended Queen Anne’s War in 1713, the French virtually
controlled Newfoundland. However, the British were victorious elsewhere, and in
the treaty, France surrendered Nova Scotia, Hudson Bay, and Newfoundland,
although it retained fishing rights on the coast between Cape Bonavista and
Riche Point on the island of Newfoundland, the so-called French Shore.
| I | Government |
When the war ended, there were about
2,000 demoralized and exploited people clinging to Newfoundland’s rocky shores.
There were no schools, no churches, and no law and order other than the
arbitrary rule of the fishing admirals. The island had become a market for New
England goods and a midway point for British sailors anxious to enter the
lucrative New England trade. Both of these activities were contrary to official
British policy. Thus, when Lord Vere Beauclerk, commodore of the fleet,
suggested controls for Newfoundland in 1728, his recommendation found broad
support as a means of suppressing the illegal trade and the exodus of able
seamen. In 1729 Captain Henry Osborne became the first naval governor. He was in
residence only for the fishing season, but he instituted the first semblances of
government in Newfoundland. He left behind justices of the peace and constables
to maintain peace during the winter months, although these men had only limited
authority over the fishing admirals.
| J | New Dangers |
In 1759, during the French and Indian
War, the British seized French trading posts in Labrador while the two countries
fought over control of North America. Three years later, France, desperate after
repeated losses, captured St. John’s and held it for three months in an effort
to retain Newfoundland as a North American base. When it gave up its territorial
gains on the island, France also transferred control of Labrador to
Newfoundland’s British governor. The peace treaty, however, reaffirmed French
fishing rights on the northwestern shore of Newfoundland, and gave France
possession of the islands of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon.
In 1764, a year after peace was made,
Sir Hugh Palliser became naval governor. He was firmly committed to the
re-creation of the training ground for sailors while destroying all settlement.
To this end he aided Captain James Cook, the famed British explorer, in the
first marine survey of Newfoundland and Labrador. Palliser angered the French by
allowing British encroachments on the island’s northwestern shore, and he
irritated New England fishers by banning them from the Grand Banks. The
resentments he provoked were avenged by the French and Americans in the
settlement of the American Revolution. By the Treaty of Paris, ending that war
in 1783, Britain gave New England fishers unrestricted rights along
Newfoundland’s coasts, and France benefited in that the French Shore was
redefined to include the entire western coast of the island.
| K | Recovery and Expansion |
In 1791 a civil court system was
instituted in Newfoundland, and in the following year the island’s first chief
justice, John Reeves, was appointed. The power of the fishing admirals waned, as
settlement slowly increased and European wars disrupted ocean shipping. In 1809
Labrador was reunited with Newfoundland, after having been separated from it
since 1774 when Québec claimed it. This mainland acquisition provided
Newfoundland with additional fishing territory and land teeming with wildlife.
The Hudson’s Bay Company led in the exploitation of the fur trade, and fishers
soon found seal hunting profitable. The expansion of the fisheries and the
development of the seal-fur trade led to mass migrations from Europe,
particularly from Ireland.
| L | Colonial Status |
Britain still regarded Newfoundland as a
fishing base, not a colony. The governor, although he became a permanent
resident in 1817, was still a naval officer. During the early 19th century, Dr.
William Carson and Patrick Morris led a movement for representative government,
which would give the people of Newfoundland governmental control instead of
Britain. Britain’s Parliament responded in 1824 by setting aside the Western
Charter and authorizing a civilian governor and an appointed legislative
council. Then in 1832, Parliament permitted a popularly elected assembly to sit
with the council. Almost from the start there was friction between the two
legislative bodies over financial control.
| M | Responsible Government |
The legislative tensions, the lack of
popular involvement, and the fact that self-controlled government had been
granted to Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island all contributed to the demand
for responsible government in Newfoundland. The demand was not universal,
however, and an election was held to determine Newfoundland’s future. In 1854
the opposition to responsible government, composed of Protestant-Conservatives
and led by Hugh Hoyles, was defeated by John Kent and Philip Francis Little’s
Catholic-Liberal coalition.
In 1855 Governor Charles H. Darling
proclaimed the establishment of responsible government, and Little became
Newfoundland’s first premier. Kent later succeeded him, but was dismissed in
1861, and Hoyles was called to form a new government. In the elections of that
year, Hoyles received a majority of the vote, but bitter religious riots
erupted. Later the political leaders agreed to draw election districts so that
each religious group could gain representation in the assembly. They also agreed
to make their political appointments reflect the different religious groups. The
pact, although never written, soon became a tradition in Newfoundland
politics.
| N | Confederation Rejected |
During the early 1860s, Newfoundland’s
government considered union with the rest of Canada. Sir Ambrose Shea, a
Liberal, and Sir F. B. T. Carter, a Conservative, were observers at the Québec
Conference of 1864, where the provinces discussed the details of the union.
However, at the same time, Charles Fox Bennett was forming a strong
anticonfederation movement. In the 1869 election, union was overwhelmingly
defeated, and Bennett formed a government. He had convinced the Newfoundlanders
that ties with the mainland were not realistic because of the French Shore.
Bennett was defeated by a Carter-Shea coalition in 1874, but negotiations for
union with Canada were not resumed until 1895.
| O | Labrador |
The only settlements in Labrador when it
was reunited with Newfoundland in 1809 were missions. The first was established
at Nain in 1771 by the Moravians, and others were founded by the Anglicans after
1848. Labrador was, in fact, neglected for many years. Then, in 1888, interest
developed in its natural resources, and its possession was disputed by Québec
and Newfoundland. England’s efforts to settle the dispute failed, and
Newfoundland kept control of Labrador.
Two notable events marked the 1890s in
Labrador. In 1892, Dr. Wilfred Grenfell, a missionary, arrived. His subsequent
reports and books about the extreme hardships of Labrador life were responsible
for the establishment of hospitals, schools, and churches. In 1895, Dr. A. P.
Low, of the Geological Survey of Canada, announced the discovery of iron ore
deposits in the Grand Falls (now Churchill Falls) region of the Hamilton River
(now the Churchill River).
| P | Crisis and Recovery |
In the last quarter of the 19th century,
Newfoundland’s future appeared promising. An insular railroad was under
construction, copper was being mined at Tilt Cove, iron mining began on Bell
Island, and fish brought high prices on the world market. Then, in the early
1890s, a series of disasters almost bankrupted Newfoundland. In 1892 a fire
destroyed most of St. John’s. Two years later, bank failures and a poor fishing
season led to widespread destitution. The government then reconsidered union
with Canada. Robert Bond headed a delegation to Ottawa in 1895, but the Canadian
government, while offering generous terms, did not fulfill the delegation’s
demands, and the negotiations ended. However, in 1896 a good fishing catch and
favorable world trade abruptly reversed the downward trend. Economic recovery
was highlighted by the completion of the railway from Port aux Basques to St.
John’s in 1898.
| Q | Early 20th Century |
After 1890, Newfoundland tried to
recover the French Shore and to limit American fishing. In 1904 France gave up
all its Newfoundland rights. However, the United States strongly resisted any
fishing restrictions. The dispute was finally settled in 1910 by the Permanent
Court of Arbitration at The Hague, which worked to settle international
disputes. It upheld Newfoundland’s right to regulate American fishing. As a
result of the agreements, fishing expanded. Agriculture was subsequently
introduced to what was formerly the French Shore, and the economy began to
become more diversified. Iron mining expanded, a newsprint plant opened in 1909
at Grand Falls (now Grand Falls-Windsor), and lumber exports assumed real
economic importance.
During this period the dissension so
characteristic of Newfoundland politics became more intense when the People’s
Party of Sir Edward Morris and the Fishermen’s Union Party of Sir William Ford
Coaker contended with the Liberals and the Conservatives for control. However,
World War I (1914-1918) brought temporary peace with the formation of a
coalition government.
The war had more profound effects on
Newfoundland than the political lull. Newfoundland made substantial
contributions in soldiers and decided to assume financial responsibility for its
troops.
| R | Postwar Decade |
Newfoundland exports found good markets
during and after the war, and the government undertook a public works program
based on this new wealth. Between 1920 and 1923, the price of fish plummeted,
and the government, burdened by military obligations and public works programs,
went heavily into debt. However, by 1929, Newfoundland was recovering. A large
pulp mill had been opened at Corner Brook, and mineral production increased when
a zinc-lead-copper mine opened at Buchans.
The long-standing dispute with Québec
over Labrador officially ended in 1927, when the British Privy Council
reaffirmed Newfoundland’s control. The council also defined the borders, setting
Labrador’s land area to include about 285,000 sq km (about 110,000 sq mi)
claimed by Québec. Québec refused to accept the decision.
| S | Depression and Commission |
By the 1930s the market for Newfoundland
products had disappeared as a result of the Great Depression, which deeply hurt
Canada economically. The government tried to overcome the financial deficits and
stimulate production, but it finally requested British aid. A royal commission
recommended that responsible government be replaced by a commission form of
government.
The commission, made up of three
Newfoundlanders and three Britons, acting in cooperation with a governor, was in
office from 1934 to 1949. It aided the fishing industry while instituting
economic reforms; reorganized the civil service while reducing political
patronage; and improved health, education, and other social services. The
economy responded, but despite the commission’s accomplishments, Newfoundland’s
real recovery resulted from economic growth spurred by World War II.
The economy revived as markets for its
products were reestablished and fortifications were constructed. The strategic
position of Newfoundland and Labrador in the North Atlantic made them prime
locations for Canadian and United States air and naval bases. Early in the war
Canadian troops were stationed in Newfoundland, and in 1941 the United States
built bases near St. John’s and at Stephenville and Argentia. Canadian bases
were located at Gander and Goose Bay.
| T | Confederation |
By the end of the war there were surplus
funds in the province’s public treasury. With the crisis that had led to British
intervention resolved, the British government decided to present the people of
Newfoundland with choices for their form of government. In 1946 and 1947 the
possible choices were debated by an elected convention. The convention primarily
considered either a continuation of the commission or a return to responsible
government. However, one of the convention delegates, Joseph Smallwood, argued
for union with Canada. He influenced the British government to include the
choice of union on the ballot that went before the Newfoundland people.
The voters subsequently eliminated the
commission but failed to give either union or responsible government a majority.
In a second referendum, union with Canada was chosen by 52 percent of the
voters. On March 31, 1949, Newfoundland became Canada’s tenth province.
Smallwood, the leader of the Liberal Party in Newfoundland and Labrador, became
the first premier.
| U | Political Developments |
One of the conditions for union was that
Canada would review Newfoundland’s financial status after eight years. On the
basis of that study the federal government has, since 1958, provided annual
grants to the province.
Newfoundland’s government was completely
dominated by Smallwood’s Liberal Party for more than two decades after 1949.
Smallwood, who served as premier until 1972, focused on economic development.
Provincial grants helped modernize the fishing industry, and government loans
aided the development of new industries. One successful project was the
hydroelectric plant at Churchill Falls. However, support for Smallwood’s
government began to erode in the late 1960s. Concerns about a decline in fish
stocks became widespread, and most of the government-supported industries
established in the 1950s were in financial trouble.
In 1972 the Progressive Conservative
Party succeeded in winning a majority in the provincial legislature. Progressive
Conservatives governed Newfoundland and Labrador for the next 17 years, giving
way to the Liberals in 1989. The Progressive Conservatives returned to power in
2003.
| V | Economic Developments |
In 1983 Newfoundland and Labrador’s
deep-sea fishing companies were on the brink of bankruptcy. In response, the
federal and provincial governments reorganized them into a single company,
Fishery Products International Ltd. The federal government became the majority
stockholder in the new company and the province acquired 25 percent of the
company’s stock. In 1986 the provincial government began selling shares in
Fishery Products International to private investors. Continued overfishing by
Canadian and foreign fishers led to the imposition of fishing quotas by the
federal government and to a deep slump in the province’s fishing industry in the
late 1980s and early 1990s.
In 1992 the federal government placed a
complete moratorium on cod fishing in an effort to save the cod stocks after
decades of overfishing. The ban initially put many people out of work, but new
fisheries were soon developed, especially for crab and shellfish, leading to a
partial recovery of the fishing sector. In 1997 the Canadian government
partially lifted the cod fishing ban, while carefully monitoring fish stocks to
determine whether more extensive fishing would be allowed. Today, limited
commercial fishing for cod continues, subject to quotas enforced by the federal
government.
Beginning in the 1980s, hopes for a
sustained economic revival in the province were pinned to a newly discovered
natural resource—oil and natural gas fields located off the coast of
Newfoundland. However, in 1983 and 1984 the supreme courts of Canada and of
Newfoundland and Labrador declared that the federal government owned the
offshore resources. In 1985 the federal government agreed to give the province
some control over offshore oil and gas management and to allow it to tax
production. Then, in 1990, representatives of the federal and provincial
governments and a consortium of four oil companies signed an agreement to
develop the large Hibernia offshore oil field. Construction of production
facilities finally began later that year. The facilities started producing oil
in 1997, and a new facility opened at the Terra Nova oil field in 2001. A third
oil field, called White Rose, was scheduled to begin production by 2006.
In 1993 the discovery of a rich nickel
deposit at Voisey’s Bay in northeastern Labrador aroused further hopes for the
province’s long-term economic resurgence. Discovery of the deposit, one of the
largest base metal deposits found in North America since World War II, sparked a
staking rush; by 1996 more than 170 Canadian companies had staked their claims
near the Voisey’s Bay deposit. After many delays, the provincial government
announced in 2002 that an agreement had been reached with a privately owned
mining company, Inco Ltd., to mine the deposit and to build facilities to refine
the nickel locally. Other new mining facilities under development include the
Pine Cove gold mine near Baie Verte and the Duck Pond copper-zinc mine near
Buchans.
Despite the modest resurgence of
economic vitality in the late 1990s, Newfoundland and Labrador still records the
highest unemployment rate and lowest per-capita income in Canada. At the same
time, the province has experienced an ongoing population decline. The province’s
birth rate, historically the highest in Canada, is now the lowest, and many
people—especially the young—continue to leave in search of better jobs.
Population losses were especially pronounced in rural areas. Achieving and
sustaining prosperity in the context of this population shift is expected to
remain a major challenge for the province in the years ahead.
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