Newfoundland and Labrador[b] is the easternmostprovince of Canada, in the country'sAtlantic region. The province comprises the island ofNewfoundland and the continental region ofLabrador, having a total size of 405,212 km2 (156,453 sq mi). As of 2025 the population of Newfoundland and Labrador was estimated to be 549,911.[4] The island of Newfoundland (and its smaller neighbouring islands) is home to around 94 per cent of the province's population, with more than half residing in theAvalon Peninsula. Labrador has a land border with both the province ofQuebec, as well as a short border with the territory ofNunavut onKilliniq Island. The Frenchoverseas collectivity ofSaint Pierre and Miquelon lies about 20 km (12 mi) west of theBurin Peninsula.
According to the 2016 census, 97.0% of residents reported English as their native language, making Newfoundland and Labrador Canada's most linguisticallyhomogeneous province. Much of the population is descended from English and Irish settlers, with the majority immigrating from the early 17th century to the late 19th century.[8][9][10]St. John's, the capital and largest city of Newfoundland and Labrador, is Canada's 22nd-largestcensus metropolitan area and home to about 40% of the province's population. St. John's is the seat of theHouse of Assembly of Newfoundland and Labrador as well as the province's highest court, theNewfoundland and Labrador Court of Appeal.
Until 1949, theDominion of Newfoundland was a separatedominion in the British Empire. In 1933, the House of Assembly of the self-governing dominion voted to dissolve itself and to hand over administration of Newfoundland and Labrador to the British-appointedCommission of Government. This followed the suffering caused by theGreat Depression and Newfoundland's participation in theFirst World War. On March 31, 1949, it became the tenth and most recent province to join the Canadian Confederation as "Newfoundland". On December 6, 2001, theConstitution of Canada was amended tochange the province's name from "Newfoundland" to "Newfoundland and Labrador".
The name "New founde lande" was uttered byKing Henry VII about the land explored bySebastian andJohn Cabot. InPortuguese, it isTerra Nova (while the province's full name isTerra Nova e Labrador), which literally means "new land" and is also the French name for the province's island region (Terre-Neuve). The name "Terra Nova" is in wide use on the island (e.g.Terra Nova National Park). The influence of early Portuguese exploration is also reflected in the name of Labrador, which derives from the surname of thePortuguese navigatorJoão Fernandes Lavrador.[11]
Labrador's name in theInuttitut/Inuktitut language (spoken inNunatsiavut) isNunatsuak (ᓄᓇᑦᓱᐊᒃ), meaning "the big land" (a common English nickname for Labrador[12]). Newfoundland's Inuttitut/Inuktitut name isIkkarumikluak (ᐃᒃᑲᕈᒥᒃᓗᐊᒃ), meaning "place of many shoals". Newfoundland and Labrador's Inuttitut / Inuktitut name isIkkarumikluak aamma Nunatsuak.
Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador is the French name used in the Constitution of Canada. However,French is not widely spoken in Newfoundland and Labrador and is not an official language at the provincial level.
On April 29, 1999, the government ofBrian Tobin passed a motion in theNewfoundland House of Assembly requesting the federal government amend theNewfoundland Act to change the province's name to "Newfoundland and Labrador". A resolution approving the name change was put forward in theHouse of Commons in October 2001, introduced by Tobin who had moved to federal politics. PremierRoger Grimes stated: "The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador is firmly committed to ensuring official recognition of Labrador as an equal partner in this province, and a constitutional name change of our province will reiterate that commitment".[13] Following approval by the House of Commons and the Senate, Governor-GeneralAdrienne Clarkson officially proclaimed the name change on December 6, 2001.[14]
Newfoundland and Labrador is the most easterly province in Canada, situated in the northeastern region ofNorth America.[15] TheStrait of Belle Isle separates the province into two geographical parts: Labrador, connected to mainland Canada, and Newfoundland, an island in theAtlantic Ocean.[16] The province also includes over 7,000 tiny islands.[17] The highest point of the province isMount Caubvick with the highest point on Newfoundland beingCabox.
Newfoundland has a roughly triangular shape. Each side is about 400 km (250 mi) long, and its area is 108,860 km2 (42,030 sq mi).[17] Newfoundland and its neighbouring small islands (excluding French possessions) have an area of 111,390 km2 (43,010 sq mi).[18] Newfoundland extends between latitudes 46°36′N and 51°38′N.[19][20]
Labrador is also roughly triangular in shape: the western part of its border withQuebec is thedrainage divide of theLabrador Peninsula. Lands drained by rivers that flow into the Atlantic Ocean are part of Labrador, and the rest belongs to Quebec. Most of Labrador's southern boundary with Quebec follows the 52nd parallel of latitude. Labrador's extreme northern tip, at 60°22′N, shares a short border withNunavut onKilliniq Island. Labrador also has a maritime border withGreenland. Labrador's land area (including associated small islands) is 294,330 km2 (113,640 sq mi).[18] Together, Newfoundland and Labrador make up 4.06 per cent of Canada's area,[21] with a total area of 405,720 km2 (156,650 sq mi).[22]
The north-south extent of the province (46°36′N to 60°22′N), prevalent westerly winds, cold ocean currents and local factors such as mountains and coastline combine to create the various climates of the province.[24]
Newfoundland, in broad terms, has a cool summer subtype, with ahumid continental climate attributable to its proximity to water — no part of the island is more than 100 km (62 mi) from theAtlantic Ocean.[25] However, Northern Labrador is classified as apolartundra climate, and southern Labrador has asubarctic climate.[26] Newfoundland and Labrador contain a range of climates and weather patterns, including frequent combinations of high winds, snow, rain, and fog, conditions that regularly made travel by road, air, or ferry challenging or impossible.[25]
Monthly average temperatures, rainfall levels, and snowfall levels for four locations are shown in the attached graphs.St. John's represents the east coast,Gander the interior of the island,Corner Brook the west coast of the island andWabush the interior of Labrador. Climate data for 56 places in the province is available fromEnvironment Canada.[27]
The data for the graphs is the average over 30 years. Error bars on the temperature graph indicate the range of daytime highs and night time lows. Snowfall is the total amount that fell during the month, not the amount accumulated on the ground. This distinction is particularly important for St. John's, where a heavy snowfall can be followed by rain, so no snow remains on the ground.
Surface water temperatures on the Atlantic side reach a summer average of 12 °C (54 °F) inshore and 9 °C (48 °F) offshore to winter lows of −1 °C (30 °F) inshore and 2 °C (36 °F) offshore.[28] Sea temperatures on the west coast are warmer than Atlantic side by 1–3 °C (approximately 2–5 °F). The sea keeps winter temperatures slightly higher and summer temperatures a little lower on the coast than inland.[28] The maritime climate produces more variable weather, ample precipitation in a variety of forms, greaterhumidity, lower visibility, more clouds, less sunshine, and higher winds than a continental climate.[28]
Average daily maximum and minimum temperatures for selected locations in Newfoundland and Labrador[29]
Human habitation in Newfoundland and Labrador can be traced back about 9,000 years.[30] TheMaritime Archaic peoples weresea-mammal hunters in thesubarctic.[31] They prospered along theAtlantic Coast ofNorth America from about 7000 BC to 1500 BC.[32] Their settlements includedlonghouses and boat-topped temporary or seasonal houses.[31] They engaged in long-distance trade, using as currency whitechert, a rock quarried from northern Labrador toMaine.[33] The southern branch of these people was established on the north peninsula of Newfoundland by 5,000 years ago.[34] The Maritime Archaic period is best known from amortuary site in Newfoundland atPort au Choix.[31]
The Maritime Archaic peoples were gradually displaced by people of theDorset culture (LatePaleo-Eskimo) who also occupied Port au Choix. The number of their sites discovered on Newfoundland indicates they may have been the most numerous Aboriginal people to live there. They thrived from about 2000 BC to 800 AD. Many of their sites were on exposedheadlands and outer islands. They were more oriented to the sea than earlier peoples, and had developed sleds and boats similar tokayaks. They burned sealblubber in soapstone lamps.[34]
Many of these sites, such asPort au Choix, recently excavated by Memorial archaeologist, Priscilla Renouf, are quite large and show evidence of a long-term commitment to place. Renouf has excavated huge amounts ofharp seal bones at Port au Choix, indicating that this place was a prime location for the hunting of these animals.[34]
The people of the Dorset culture (800 BC – 1500 AD) were highly adapted to a cold climate, and much of their food came from hunting sea mammals through holes in the ice.[35] The massive decline in sea ice during theMedieval Warm Period would have had a devastating effect upon their way of life.[35]
The appearance of theBeothuk culture is believed to be the most recent cultural manifestation of peoples who first migrated from Labrador to Newfoundland around 1 AD.[36] TheInuit, found mostly in Labrador, are the descendants of whatanthropologists call theThule people, who emerged from western Alaska around 1000 AD and spread eastwards across theHigh Arctic tundra reaching Labrador around 1300–1500.[37] Researchers believe the Dorset culture lacked the dogs, larger weapons and other technologies that gave the expanding Inuit an advantage.[38]
The inhabitants eventually organized themselves into smallbands of a few families, grouped into largertribes andchieftainships. TheInnu are the inhabitants of an area they refer to asNitassinan, i.e. most of what is now referred to as northeasternQuebec and Labrador. Their subsistence activities were historically centered on hunting and trappingcaribou,deer and small game.[39] Coastal clans also practiced agriculture, fished and managedmaple sugar bush.[39] The Innu engaged in tribal warfare along the coast of Labrador with Inuit groups that had large populations.[40]
TheMiꞌkmaq of southern Newfoundland spent most of their time on the shores harvesting seafood; during the winter they would move inland to the woods to hunt.[41] Over time, the Miꞌkmaq and Innu divided their lands into traditional "districts". Each district was independently governed and had a district chief and a council. The council members were band chiefs, elders and other worthy community leaders.[42] In addition to the district councils, the Miꞌkmaq tribes also developed a Grand Council orSanté Mawiómi, which according to oral tradition was formed before 1600.[43]
There are several other unconfirmed accounts of European discovery and exploration, one tale of men from theChannel Islands being blown off course in the late 15th century into a strange land full of fish,[51] and another from Portuguese maps that depict theTerra do Bacalhau, or land ofcodfish, west of theAzores. The earliest such account is theVoyage of Saint Brendan, the story of an Irish monk who made a sea voyage in the early 6th century.[52][53][54]
A statue ofJohn Cabot atCape Bonavista. The cape is officially cited as the area where Cabot landed in 1497, by the governments of Canada, and the United Kingdom.[clarification needed]
In 1496,John Cabot obtained a charter from EnglishKing Henry VII to "sail to all parts, countries and seas of the East, the West and of the North, under our banner and ensign and to set up our banner on any new-found-land" and on June 24, 1497, landed inCape Bonavista. Historians disagree on whether Cabot landed inNova Scotia in 1497 or in Newfoundland, or possibly Maine, if he landed at all, but the governments of Canada and the United Kingdom recognise Bonavista as being Cabot's "official" landing place. In 1499 and 1500, Portuguese marinersJoão Fernandes Lavrador andPero de Barcelos explored and mapped the coast, the former's name appearing as "Labrador" on topographical maps of the period.[55]
By the time regular European contact with Newfoundland began in the early 16th century, the Beothuk were the only Indigenous group living permanently on the island.[36] Unlike other groups in the Northeastern area of the Americas, theBeothuk never established sustained trading relations with European settlers. Their interactions were sporadic, and they largely attempted to avoid contact.[61] The establishment of English fishing operations on the outer coastline of the island, and their later expansion into bays and inlets, cut off access for the Beothuk to their traditional sources of food.[52][53][54]
In the 18th century, as the Beothuk were driven further inland by these encroachments, violence between Beothuk and settlers escalated, with each retaliating against the other in their competition for resources. By the early 19th century, violence, starvation, and exposure totuberculosis had decimated the Beothuk population, and they were extinct by 1829.[36]
Sometime before 1563,Basque fishermen, who had been fishingcod shoals off Newfoundland's coasts since the beginning of the sixteenth century, founded Plaisance (todayPlacentia), a seasonal haven which French fishermen later used. In the Newfoundlandwill of the Basque seaman Domingo de Luca, dated 1563 and now in an archive in Spain, he asks "that my body be buried in this port of Plazençia in the place where those who die here are usually buried". This will is the oldest-known civil document written in Canada.[62][63]
Plaque inSt. John's commemorating the English claim over Newfoundland, and the beginning of the British overseas empire
Twenty years later, in 1583, Newfoundland became England's first possession in North America and one of the earliest permanent English colonies in the New World[64] when SirHumphrey Gilbert, provided withletters patent fromQueen Elizabeth I, landed in St. John's.[65][66] European fishing boats had visited Newfoundland continuously since Cabot's second voyage in 1498 and seasonal fishing camps had existed for a century prior. Fishing boats originated from Basque country, England, France, and Portugal.
Explorers quickly realized the waters around Newfoundland had the best fishing in the North Atlantic.[67][need quotation to verify] By 1620, 300 fishing boats worked theGrand Banks, employing some 10,000 sailors; many continuing to come from theBasque Country, Normandy, or Brittany. They dried and saltedcod on the coast and sold it to Spain and Portugal. Heavy investment by SirGeorge Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore, in the 1620s in wharves, warehouses, and fishing stations failed to pay off. French raids hurt the business, and the weather was terrible, so he redirected his attention to hisother colony in Maryland.[68] After Calvert left, small-scale entrepreneurs such as Sir David Kirke made good use of the facilities.[69] Kirke became the first governor of Newfoundland in 1638.
Atriangular trade with New England, the West Indies, and Europe gave Newfoundland an important economic role.[70] By the 1670s, there were 1,700 permanent residents and another 4,500 in the summer months.[71]
This trade relied upon the labour of enslaved people of African descent.[72][73][70] Salted cod from Newfoundland was used to feed the enslaved persons of African descent onplantations in theWest Indies.[72][73][70] Products typically associated with Newfoundland such as molasses and rum (Screech), were produced by the enslaved persons of African descent on plantations in the West Indies, and shipped to Newfoundland and England on merchant ships.[70] Some merchants in Newfoundland enslaved persons of African descent such as St. John's merchant, Thomas Oxford.[70]John Ryan, merchant and publisher of the Royal Gazette and Newfoundland Advertiser, who resided in New Brunswick and Newfoundland, freed his enslaved servant Dinah, upon his death in Newfoundland in 1847, notably after theSlavery Abolition Act in 1833.[74][75]
Notably, the Kirke brothers who were merchants in the triangular trade, broughtOlivier Le Jeune to New France, where he was sold in 1629.[75]
In 1655, France appointed a governor in Plaisance (Placentia), the former Basque fishing settlement, thus starting a formal French colonization period in Newfoundland[76] as well as a period of periodic war and unrest between England and France in the region. The Miꞌkmaq, as allies of the French, were amenable to limited French settlement in their midst and fought alongside them against the English. English attacks on Placentia provoked retaliation byNew France explorerPierre Le Moyne d'Iberville who duringKing William's War in the 1690s, destroyed nearly every English settlement on the island. The entire population of the English colony was either killed, captured for ransom, or sentenced to expulsion to England, with the exception of those who withstood the attack atCarbonear Island and those in the then remoteBonavista.
After France lost political control of the area after theSiege of Port Royal in 1710, the Miꞌkmaq engaged in warfare with the British throughoutDummer's War (1722–1725),King George's War (1744–1748),Father Le Loutre's War (1749–1755) and theFrench and Indian War (1754–1763). The French colonization period lasted until theTreaty of Utrecht of 1713, which ended theWar of the Spanish Succession: France ceded to the British its claims to Newfoundland (including its claims to the shores ofHudson Bay) and to the French possessions inAcadia. Afterward, under the supervision of the last French governor, the French population of Plaisance moved to Île Royale (nowCape Breton Island), part of Acadia which remained then under French control.
In theTreaty of Utrecht (1713), France had acknowledged British ownership of the island. However, in theSeven Years' War (1756–1763), control of Newfoundland once again became a major source of conflict between Britain, France and Spain, who all pressed for a share in the valuable fishery there.Britain's victories around the globe ledWilliam Pitt to insist nobody other than Britain should have access to Newfoundland. TheBattle of Signal Hill was fought on September 15, 1762, and was the last battle of the North American theatre of theSeven Years' War. A British force under Lieutenant ColonelWilliam Amherst recapturedSt. John's,[77] which the French had seized three months earlier in a surprise attack.
A French invasion of the Newfoundland was repulsed during theBattle of Signal Hill in 1762.
From 1763 to 1767,James Cook made a detailed survey of the coasts of Newfoundland and southern Labrador while commander ofHMS Grenville. (The following year, 1768, Cook beganhis first circumnavigation of the world.) In 1796, a Franco-Spanish expedition againsucceeded in raiding the coasts of Newfoundland and Labrador, destroying many of the settlements.
By the Treaty of Utrecht (1713), French fishermen gained the right to land and cure fish on the "French Shore" on the western coast. (They had a permanent base on the nearbySt. Pierre and Miquelon islands; the French gave up their French Shore rights in 1904.) In 1783, the British signed theTreaty of Paris with the United States that gave American fishermen similar rights along the coast. These rights were reaffirmed by treaties in 1818, 1854 and 1871, and confirmed by arbitration in 1910.
The founding proprietor of theProvince of Avalon,George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore, intended that it should serve as a refuge for his persecuted Roman Catholic co-religionists. But like his other colony in theProvince of Maryland on the American mainland, it soon passed out of the Calvert family's control. The majority Catholic population that developed, thanks toIrish immigration, inSt. John's and theAvalon Peninsula, was subjected to the same disabilities that applied elsewhere under the British Crown. On visiting St. John's in 1786, Prince William Henry (the futureKing William IV) noted that "there are ten Roman Catholics to one Protestant",[78] and he counselled against any measure ofCatholic relief.[79]
Following news ofrebellion in Ireland, in June 1798, Governor Vice-AdmiralWaldegrave cautioned London that the English constituted but a "small proportion" of the locally raisedRegiment of Foot. In an echo of an earlier Irish conspiracy during the French occupation of St. John's in 1762, in April 1800, the authorities had reports that upwards of 400 men had taken an oath asUnited Irishmen, and that eighty soldiers were committed to killing their officers and seizing theirAnglican governors at Sunday service.[80]
Theabortive mutiny, for which eight men (denounced by Catholic BishopJames Louis O'Donel as "favourers of the infidel French")[81] were hanged, may have been less a United Irish plot, than an act of desperation in the face of brutal living conditions and officer tyranny. Many of the Irish reserve soldiers were forced to remain on duty, unable to return to the fisheries that supported their families.[82][80] Yet the Newfoundland Irish would have been aware of the agitation in the homeland for civil equality and political rights.[83] There were reports of communication with United men in Ireland from before '98 rebellion;[83] ofThomas Paine's pamphlets circulating in St. John's;[84] and, despite the war with France, of hundreds of youngCounty Waterford men still making a seasonal migration to the island for the fisheries, among them defeated rebels, said to have "added fuel to the fire" of local grievance.[85]
When news reached Newfoundland in May 1829 that the UK Parliament had finally concededCatholic emancipation, the locals assumed that Catholics would now pass unhindered into the ranks of public office and enjoy equality with Protestants. There was a celebratory parade and mass in St. John's, and a gun salute from vessels in the harbour. But the attorney general and supreme court justices determined that as Newfoundland was a colony, and not a province of theUnited Kingdom, theRoman Catholic Relief Act did not apply. The discrimination was a matter of local ordinance.[86]
After the end of theNapoleonic Wars in 1815, France and other nations re-entered the fish trade and an abundance of cod glutted international markets. Prices dropped, competition increased, and the colony's profits evaporated. A string of harsh winters between 1815 and 1817 made living conditions even more difficult, while fires at St. John's in 1817 left thousands homeless.[88] At the same time a new wave of immigration from Ireland increased the Catholic population. In these circumstances much of the English and Protestant proprietor class tended to shelter behind the appointed, and Anglican, "naval government".[89]
A broad home-rule coalition of Irish community leaders and (Scottish andWelsh)Methodists formed in 1828. Expressing, initially, the concerns of a new middle class over taxation, it was led by William Carson, a Scottish physician, and Patrick Morris, an Irish merchant. In 1825, the British government granted Newfoundland and Labrador official colonial status and appointed Sir Thomas Cochrane as its first civil governor. Partly carried by the wave of reform in Britain, a colonial legislature in St. John's, together with the promise of Catholic emancipation, followed in 1832. Carson made his goal for Newfoundland clear: "We shall rise into a national existence, having a national character, a nation's feelings, assuming that rank among our neighbours which the political situation and the extent of our island demand".[89]
Standing asLiberals, the reformers sought to break the Anglican monopoly on government patronage and to tax the fisheries to fund the judiciary, road-building projects, and other expenses. They were opposed by theConservatives (the "Tories"), who largely represented the Anglican establishment and mercantile interests. While Tories dominated the governor's appointed Executive Council, Liberals generally held the majority of seats in the elected House of Assembly.[90]
Economic conditions remained harsh. As in Ireland, the potato which made possible a steady growth in population failed as a result of thePhytophthora infestans blight. The number of deaths from the1846–1848 Newfoundland potato famine remains unknown, but there was pervasive hunger. Along with other half-hearted measures to relieve the distress, Governor John Gaspard Le Marchant declared a "Day of Public Fasting and Humiliation" in hopes the Almighty might pardon their sins and "withdraw his afflicting hand."[91] The wave of post-famine emigration from Ireland notably passed over Newfoundland.
Fisheries revived, and the devolution of responsibilities from London continued. In 1854, the British government established Newfoundland's firstresponsible government,[92] an executive accountable to the colonial legislature. In 1855, with an Assembly majority, the Liberals underPhilip Francis Little (the first Roman Catholic to practise law in St. John's) formed Newfoundland's first parliamentary government (1855–1858). Newfoundland rejectedconfederation with Canada in the1869 general election. The Islanders were preoccupied with land issues—the Escheat movement with its call to suppress absentee landlordism in favour of the tenant farmer. Canada offered little in the way of solutions.[93]
From the 1880s, as cod fishery fell into severe decline, there was large-scale emigration. While some people, working abroad, left their homes on a seasonal or temporary basis more began to leave permanently. Most emigrants (largely Catholic and of Irish descent) moved to Canada, many to find work in the steel plants and coal mines ofNova Scotia. There was also a considerable outflow to the United States and, in particular, toNew England.[94]
In 1892, St. John's burned. TheGreat Fire left 12,000 homeless. In 1894, the two commercial banks in Newfoundland collapsed. These bankruptcies left a vacuum that was subsequently filled by Canadian chartered banks, a change that subordinated Newfoundland to Canadian monetary policies.[93]
Newfoundland lay outside the direct route of world traffic. St. John's, 3,200 km (2,000 mi) fromLiverpool and about 1,000 miles from the east-coast American cities, was not a port of call for Atlantic liners. But with the co-ordination and extension of the railway system, new prospects for development opened in the interior. Paper and pulp mills were established by the Anglo-Newfoundland Development Co. atGrand Falls for the supply of the publishing empires in the UK ofLord Northcliffe andLord Rothermere. Iron ore mines were established atBell Island.[95]
In 1907, Newfoundland acquireddominion status, or self-government, within theBritish Empire orBritish Commonwealth.[96] Government of Newfoundland was conducted mostly by a cabinet accountable solely to the legislature in St. John's, subject only to occasional policy changes from the British government, for example vetoing a trade agreement Newfoundland had negotiated with theUnited States.[96] A new reform-minded government was formed underEdward Morris, a senior Catholic politician who had split from the Liberals to form thePeople's Party. It extended education provision, introduced old-age pensions, initiated agriculture and trade schemes and, with a trade union act, provided a legal framework for collective bargaining.[95]
There had been unions seeking to negotiate wage rates in the shipbuilding trades since the 1850s. Those working the fishing boats were not wage earners but commodity producers, like farmers, reliant on merchant credit. Working in small, competitive, often family, units, scattered in isolated communities, they also had little occasion to gather in large numbers to discuss common concerns.[97] These obstacles to organization were overcome from 1908 by a new co-operative movement, theFishermen's Protective Union (FPU). Mobilizing more than 21,000 members in 206 councils across the island; more than half of Newfoundland's fishermen,[98] the FPU challenged the economic control of the island's merchantocracy.[99] Despite opposition from the Catholic Church which objected to the FPU's oath taking and allegedsocialism,[98] led byWilliam Coaker the candidates for the FPU won 8 of 36 seats in the House of Assembly in the 1913 general election.[100]
At the beginning of 1914, economic conditions seemed favourable to reform. In a little over a decade, exports, imports and state revenue had more than doubled. Schemes were afoot for the exploitation of coal and mineral resources, and for the utilisation of peat beds for fuel. Benefiting from the settlement of disputes over fishing rights with France in 1904, and with the New England states in 1910, the fishing industry was looking to develop new markets.[101]
Colourized photo of soldiers in St. John's Road, a support trench, 200 metres behind the British forward line at Beaumont Hamel, 1916
In August 1914, Britaindeclared war on Germany. Out of a total population of about 250,000, Newfoundland offered up some 12,000 men for Imperial service (including 3,000 who joined theCanadian Expeditionary Force).[101] About a third of these were to serve in1st Newfoundland Regiment, which after service in theGallipoli Campaign, was nearly wiped out atBeaumont-Hamel on thefirst day on the Somme, July 1, 1916.[102] The regiment, which the Dominion government had chosen to raise, equip, and train at its own expense, was resupplied and went on to serve with distinction in several subsequent battles, earning the prefix "Royal". The overall fatality and casualty rate for the regiment was high: 1,281 dead, 2,284 wounded.[101]
The FPU members joinedEdward Patrick Morris'wartimeNational Government of 1917, but their reputation suffered when they failed to abide by their promise not to support military conscription without a referendum.[103] In 1919, the FPU joined with theLiberals to form theLiberal Reform Party whose success in the1919 general election allowed Coaker to continue as Fisheries Minister. But there was little he could do to sustain the credibility of the FPU in the face of the post-war slump in fish prices, and the subsequent high unemployment and emigration.[104][105] At the same time the Dominion's war debt due to the regiment and the cost of the trans-island railway, limited the government's ability to provide relief.[106]
In the spring of 1918, in midst of disquiet over wartime inflation and profiteering, there had been protest. The Newfoundland Industrial Workers' Association (NIWA) struck both the rail and steamship operations of theReid Newfoundland Company, effectively isolating the capital and threatening the annual seal hunt. Central to the eventual settlement were not only wage increases, but "the great principle that employees are entitled to be heard in all matters connected with their welfare".[107]
When in January 1919,Sinn Féin formed theDáil Éireann inDublin, theIrish question and local sectarian tensions resurfaced in Newfoundland. In the course of 1920 many Catholics of Irish descent in St. John's joined the local branch of theSelf-Determination for Ireland League (SDIL).[108] Although tempered by expressions of loyalty to the Empire, the League's vocal support for Irish self-government was opposed by the localOrange Order. Claiming to represent 20,000 "loyal citizens", the Order was composed almost exclusively of Anglicans or Methodists of English descent.[109] Tensions ran sufficiently high that Catholic ArchbishopEdward Roche felt constrained to caution League organisers against the hazards of "a sectarian war."[108][110]
Since the early 1800s, Newfoundland and Quebec (or Lower Canada) had been in aborder dispute over the Labrador region. In 1927, the BritishJudicial Committee of the Privy Council ruled that the area known as modern-day Labrador was to be considered part of the Dominion of Newfoundland.[96]
People in front of theColonial Building protesting against economic conditions, 1932. In the next year, the government of Newfoundland collapsed, and the British government resumed direct control over Newfoundland.
Following the stock market crash in 1929, the international market for much of Newfoundland and Labrador's goods—saltfish, pulp paper and minerals—decreased dramatically. In 1930, the country earned $40 million from its exports; that number dropped to $23.3 million in 1933. The fishery suffered particularly heavy losses assalted cod that sold for $8.90 aquintal in 1929 fetched only half that amount by 1932.[106] With this precipitous loss of export income, the level of debt Newfoundland carried from the Great War and from construction of theNewfoundland Railway proved unsustainable. In 1931, the Dominion defaulted.[106] Newfoundland survived with assistance from the United Kingdom and Canada but, in the summer of 1933, faced with unprecedented economic problems at home, Canada decided against any further support.
Following retrenchment in all the Dominion's major industries, the government laid off close to one third of its civil servants and cut the wages of those it retained. For the first time since the 1880s, malnutrition was facilitating the spread ofberiberi,tuberculosis and other diseases.[111]
The British had a stark choice: accept financial collapse in Newfoundland or pay the full cost of keeping the country solvent. The solution, accepted by the legislature in 1933, was to accept a de facto return to direct colonial rule.[112] In exchange for loan guarantees by theCrown and a promise that self-government would in time be re-established, the legislature in St. John's voted itself out of existence.[113]: 8–10 [114] On February 16, 1934, theCommission of Government was sworn in, ending 79 years ofresponsible government.[112] The Commission consisted of seven persons appointed by the British government. For 15 years, no elections took place, and no legislature was convened.[115]
Between 1934 and 1939, the Commission of Government managed the situation but the underlying problem, world-wide depression, resisted solution. The dispirited state of the country is said to have been evident in "'the lack of cheering and of visible enthusiasm' in the crowds that came out to see KingGeorge VI and Queen Elizabeth during their brief visit in June 1939."[116]
The situation changed dramatically, after Newfoundland and Labrador, with no responsible government of its own, was automatically committed to war as a result of Britain's ultimatum to Germany in September 1939. Unlike in 1914–1918, when the Dominion government volunteered and financed a full expeditionary regiment, there would be no separate presence overseas and, by implication, no compulsory enlistment. Volunteers filled the ranks of Newfoundland units in both the Royal Artillery and the Royal Air Force, and of the largest single contingent of Newfoundlanders to go overseas, theNewfoundland Overseas Forestry Unit. As a result, and taking into account service in the Newfoundland Militia, and in the merchant marine, as in the First World War[101] about 12,000 Newfoundlanders were at one time or another directly or indirectly involved in the war effort.[116]
In June 1940, following the defeat of France and the German occupation of most of Western Europe, the Commission of Government, with British approval, authorized Canadian forces to help defend Newfoundland's air bases for the duration of the war. Canada's military commitment greatly increased in 1941 when German submarines began to attack the large numbers of merchant ships in the north-west Atlantic. In addition to reinforcing the bomber squadron atGander, the Royal Canadian Air Force provided a further squadron of bombers that flew from a new airport Canada built at Torbay (the present St. John's airport). From November 1940, a new airbase atGander became one of the so called "sally-ports of freedom" with U.S. manufactured aircraft flying in swarms to Britain.[116]
Already, in March 1941, United Kingdom conceded the United States, then still officially neutral, what were effectively U.S. sovereign base rights. The Americans chose properties at St. John's, where they established an army base (Fort Pepperrell) and a dock facility; atArgentia/Marquise, where they built a naval air base and an army base (Fort McAndrew); and atStephenville, where they built a large airfield (Ernest Harmon Airbase). As allies after December 1941, the Americans were also accommodated atTorbay,Goose Bay and Gander.[116]
This garrisoning of Newfoundland had profound economic, political and social consequences. Enlistment for service abroad and the base building boom at home eliminated the chronic unemployment of the previous decades. By 1942, the country not only enjoyed full employment and could spend more on health, education and housing, it was making interest-free loans of Canadian dollars to the by-then hard-pressed British. At the same time, the presence of so many Canadians and Americans, complete with entertainment and consumer goods, promoted a taste for the more affluent consumerism that had been developing throughout North America.[117]
When prosperity returned with theSecond World War, agitation began to end the Commission and reinstate responsible government.[118] Instead, the British government created theNational Convention in 1946. Chaired by JudgeCyril J. Fox, the Convention consisted of 45 elected members from across the dominion and was formally tasked with advising on the future of Newfoundland.
Several motions were made byJoey Smallwood – a convention member who later served as the first provincialpremier of Newfoundland[119] – to examine joining Canada by sending a delegation to Ottawa.[119] The first motion was defeated, although the Convention later decided to send delegations to both London and Ottawa to explore alternatives.[120][121] In January 1948, the National Convention voted against adding the issue of Confederation to the referendum 29 to 16, but the British, who controlled the National Convention and the subsequent referendum, overruled this move.[113] Those who supported Confederation were extremely disappointed with the recommendations of the National Convention and organized a petition, signed by more than 50,000 Newfoundlanders, demanding that Confederation with Canada be placed before the people in the upcoming referendum. As most historians agree, the British government keenly wanted Confederation on the ballot and ensured its inclusion.[122]
Three main factions actively campaigned during the lead-up to the referendums on confederation with Canada:
TheConfederate Association (CA), led by Smallwood, advocated entry into the Canadian Confederation. They campaigned through a newspaper known asThe Confederate.
The smallerEconomic Union Party (EUP), led byChesley Crosbie, advocated closer economic ties with the United States. A 1947 Gallup poll found 80% of Newfoundland residents wanting to become Americans,[123] but the United States had no interest in the proposal, and preferred Newfoundland join Canada.[124] The EUP failed to gain much support and after the first referendum merged with the RGL.[125]
The first referendum took place on June 3, 1948; 44.6 per cent of people voted forresponsible government, 41.1 per cent voted for confederation with Canada, while 14.3 per cent voted for the Commission of Government. Since none of the choices had gained more than 50%, a second referendum with only the two more popular choices was held on July 22, 1948. The official outcome of that referendum was 52.3 per cent for confederation with Canada and 47.7 per cent for responsible (independent) government.[126] After the referendum, the British governor named a seven-man delegation to negotiate Canada's offer on behalf of Newfoundland. After six of the delegation signed, the British government passed theBritish North America Act, 1949 through theParliament of the United Kingdom. Newfoundland officially joined Canada at midnight on March 31, 1949.[126]
As documents in British and Canadian archives became available in the 1980s, it became evident that both Canada and the United Kingdom had wanted Newfoundland to join Canada. Some have charged it was a conspiracy to manoeuvre Newfoundland into Confederation in exchange for forgiveness of Britain's war debt and for other considerations.[113]: 68 Yet, most historians who have examined the relevant documents have concluded that, while Britain engineered the inclusion of a Confederation option in the referendum, Newfoundlanders made the final decision themselves, if by a narrow margin.[127]
Following the referendum, there was a rumour that the referendum had been narrowly won by the "responsible government" side, but that the result had been fixed by theBritish governor.[113]: 225–26 Shortly after the referendum, several boxes of ballots from St. John's were burned by order ofHerman William Quinton, one of only two commissioners who supported confederation.[113]: 224 Some have argued that independent oversight of the vote tallying was lacking, though the process was supervised by respected Corner Brook Magistrate Nehemiah Short, who had also overseen elections to the National Convention.[113]: 224–25
In 1959, a strike led by the International Woodworkers of America (IWA) that resulted the "most bitter labour dispute in Newfoundland's history."[128] Smallwood, although he had himself been an organizer in the lumber industry, feared that the strike would shut down what had become the province's largest employer. His government introduced emergency legislation that immediately decertified the IWA, prohibited secondary picketing, and made unions liable for illegal acts committed on their behalf.[99]
TheInternational Labour Organization,Canadian Labour Congress, and theNewfoundland Federation of Labour condemned the legislation, and Canadian Prime MinisterJohn Diefenbaker refused to provide the province with additional police to enforce the legislation. But running out of food and money, the loggers eventually abandoned the strike, joined Smallwood's newly created Newfoundland Brotherhood of Wood Workers, and negotiated a settlement with the logging companies, ending the strike and effectively undermining the IWA.[99]
From the early 1950s, the provincial government pursued a policy ofpopulation transfer by centralizing the rural population. Aresettlement of the many isolated communities scattered along Newfoundland's coasts was seen as a way to save rural Newfoundland by moving people to what were referred to as "growth centres". It was believed this would allow the government to provide more and better public services such as education, health care, roads and electricity. The resettlement policy was also expected to create more employment opportunities outside of the fishery, or in spinoff industries, which meant a stronger and more modern fishing industry for those remaining in it.[129]
Three attempts of resettlement were initiated by the Government between 1954 and 1975 which resulted in the abandonment of 300 communities and nearly 30,000 people moved.[130] Denounced as poorly resourced and as a historic injustice,[129] resettlement has been viewed as possibly the most controversial government policy of the post-Confederation Newfoundland and Labrador.[130]
Many of the remaining small ruraloutports were hit by the1992 cod moratorium. Loss of an important source of income caused widespread out-migration.[131] In the 21st century, the Community Relocation Policy allows for voluntary relocation of isolated settlements. Eight communities have moved between 2002 and 2018.[132] At the end of 2019, the decommissioning of ferry and hydroelectricity services ended settlement on theLittle Bay Islands.[133][134]
In the new century, the provincial government is anticipating the challenges of global warming. Locally average annual temperatures are variously estimated to be already between 0.8 °C[135] and 1.5 °C above historical norms[136] and the frequency of hurricanes and tropical storms have doubled in comparison to the last century. As a result, the province is experiencing increased permafrost melt, flooding, and infrastructure damage, reduced sea ice, and greater risk from new invasive species and infectious diseases.[135]
The government believes that in just fifty years (2000–2050), temperatures in Newfoundland will have risen by two and a half to three degrees in summer and three and a half to five degrees in winter, and that in Labrador warming will be even more severe. Under those conditions the winter season could shorten by as much as four to five weeks in some locations and that extreme storm events could result in an increase of precipitation by over 20% or more, enhancing the likelihood and magnitude of flooding. Meanwhile, sea levels are anticipated to rise by a half meter, putting coastal infrastructure at risk. Against these hazards, the government sets the province's "vast renewable [wind, sea and hydro] energy resources" with their potential to reduce carbon emissions in the province and elsewhere.[135]
In April 2023, following years of delays and billions of dollars in cost overruns, a major hydro-generation project atMuskrat Falls,[137] was declared complete with the final testing of the 1,100 km transmission link from the site in Labrador to a converter station outside St John's.[138] Theoretically it could replace all the province's existing hydro-carbon sources of electricity. On the other hand, critics note that, in the decade to 2030, the government plans to double offshore oil production, significantly adding to emissions.[139]
On January 17, 2020, the province experienced a large blizzard, nicknamed 'Snowmageddon', with winds up to 134 km/h (83 mph). The communities of St. John's,Mount Pearl,Paradise, andTorbay declared a state of emergency. On January 18, 2020, PremierDwight Ball said his request for aid from the Canadian Armed Forces was approved, and troops from the 2nd Battalion of theRoyal Newfoundland Regiment,CFB Halifax, andCFB Gagetown would arrive in the province to assist with snow-clearing and emergency services. An avalanche hit a house inThe Battery section of St. John's. St. John's mayorDanny Breen said the storm cost the city $7 million.[140]
The province announced its first presumptive case ofCOVID-19 on March 14, 2020, and declared a public health emergency on March 18. Health orders, including the closure of non-essential businesses and mandatoryself-isolation for all travellers entering the province (including from within Canada), were enacted over the days that followed.[141]
The emergency and all COVID-related restrictions ended in February 2022. There had been 18,464 recorded cases of persons testing positive for the virus, including 46 deaths.[142]
As of October 1, 2021, Newfoundland and Labrador had a population of 521,758.[146] More than half the population lives on theAvalon Peninsula of Newfoundland, site of the capital and historical early settlement.[147] Since 2006, the population of the province has started to increase for the first time since the early 1990s. In the 2006 census, the population of the province decreased by 1.5% compared to 2001 and stood at 505,469.[148] But, by the 2011 census, the population had risen by 1.8%.[149]
At the beginning of 2021, Newfoundland and Labrador started accepting applications for a Priority Skills immigration program.[150] Focusing on highly educated, highly skilled newcomers with specialized experience in areas where demand has outpaced local training and recruitment, such as technology and ocean sciences occupations, the government hopes the program will attract 2,500 new permanent residents annually.[151]
This section needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(March 2023)
According to the2001 Canadian census, the largest ethnic group in Newfoundland and Labrador is English (39.4%), followed by Irish (19.7%), Scots (6.0%),French (5.5%) andFirst Nations (3.2%).[152] While half of all respondents also identified their ethnicity as "Canadian", 38 per cent report their ethnicity as "Newfoundlander" in a 2003Statistics Canada Ethnic Diversity Survey.[153]
During the initial registration phase for theQalipu Miꞌkmaq First Nation Band in 2013, more than 100,000 Newfoundlanders applied for membership (equivalent to one-fifth of the total population).[154] The subsequent process led to around 24,000 people being recognized as members of the Qalipu First Nation.[155]
French language ability in Newfoundland and Labrador
As of the2021 Canadian Census, the ten most spoken languages in the province included English (501,135 or 99.81%), French (26,130 or 5.2%), Arabic (2,195 or 0.44%), Spanish (2,085 or 0.42%), Innu (Montagnais) (1,925 or 0.38%), Tagalog (1,810 or 0.36%), Hindi (1,565 or 0.31%), Mandarin (1,170 or 0.23%), German (1,075 or 0.21%), and Punjabi (1,040 or 0.21%).[156] The question on knowledge of languages allows for multiple responses.
Newfoundland English is a term referring to any of severalaccents anddialects of theEnglish language found in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Most of these differ substantially from the English commonly spoken elsewhere in neighbouringCanada and theNorth Atlantic. Many Newfoundland dialects are similar to thedialects of theWest Country in England, particularly the city ofBristol and counties ofCornwall,Devon,Dorset,Hampshire andSomerset, while other Newfoundland dialects resemble those of Ireland's southeastern counties, particularlyWaterford,Wexford,Kilkenny andCork. Still others blend elements of both, and there is also a discernible influence ofScottish English.[157] While the Scots came in smaller numbers than the English and Irish, they had a large influence on Newfoundland society.[158][159][160]
Local place names in theIrish language include Newfoundland (Talamh an Éisc,Land of the Fish)[161] andSt. John's (Baile Sheáin)[162]Ballyhack (Baile Hac),Cappahayden (Ceapach Éidín),Kilbride and St. Bride's (Cill Bhríde), Duntara,Port Kirwan andSkibbereen (Scibirín). While the distinct local dialect of theIrish language in Newfoundland is now extinct, the language is still taught locally and theGaelic revival organizationConradh na Gaeilge remains active in the province.[163] A distinct local dialect ofScots Gaelic was also once spoken in theCodroy Valley of Newfoundland, following the settlement there, from the middle of the 19th century, ofCanadian Gaelic-speakers fromCape Breton, Nova Scotia. Some 150 years later, the language has not entirely disappeared, although it no longer has any fluent speakers. In Canadian Gaelic, the two main names for Newfoundland areTalamh an Èisg andEilein a' Trosg.[164][165]
The largest single religious denomination by number of adherents according to the2011 National Household Survey was theRoman Catholic Church, at 35.8% of the province's population (181,590 members). The major Protestant denominations made up 57.3% of the population, with the largest groups being theAnglican Church of Canada at 25.1% of the total population (127,255 members), theUnited Church of Canada at 15.5% (78,380 members), and thePentecostal churches at 6.5% (33,195 members), with other Protestant denominations in much smaller numbers. Non-Christians constituted only 6.8% of the population, with the majority of those respondents indicating "no religious affiliation" (6.2% of the population).[168]
For many years, Newfoundland and Labrador experienced a depressed economy. Following thecollapse of the cod fishery during the early 1990s, the province suffered record unemployment rates and the population decreased by roughly 60,000.[176][177] Due to a major energy and resources boom, the provincial economy has had a major turnaround since the turn of the 21st century.[178] Unemployment rates decreased, the population stabilized and had moderate growth. The province has gained record surpluses, which has rid it of its status as a "have not" province.[179][180]
Economic growth, gross domestic product (GDP), exports, and employment resumed in 2010, after suffering the effects of thelate-2000s recession. In 2010, total capital investment in the province grew toC$6.2 billion, an increase of 23.0% compared to 2009. 2010 GDP reached $28.1 billion, compared to $25.0 billion in 2009.[181]
Oil production from offshoreoil platforms on theHibernia,White Rose andTerra Novaoil fields on theGrand Banks was of 110 million bbl (17 million m3), which contributed to more than 15 per cent of the province's GDP in 2006. Total production from the Hibernia field from 1997 to 2006 was 733 million bbl (116.5 million m3) with an estimated value of $36 billion. This will increase with the inclusion of the latest project, Hebron. Remaining reserves are estimated at almost 2 Gbbl (320 million m3) as of December 31, 2006. Exploration for new reserves is ongoing.[182] On June 16, 2009, provincial premierDanny Williams announced a tentative agreement to expand theHibernia oil field. The government negotiated a 10 per cent equity stake in the Hibernia South expansion, which will add an estimated $10 billion to Newfoundland and Labrador's treasury.[183]
Themining sector in Labrador is still growing. The iron ore mine atWabush/Labrador City, and the nickel mine inVoisey's Bay produced a total of $3.3 billion worth of ore in 2010.[181] A mine at Duck Pond (30 km (19 mi) south of the now-closed mine atBuchans), started producing copper,zinc, silver and gold in 2007, and prospecting for new ore bodies continues.[184] Mining accounted for 3.5% of the provincial GDP in 2006.[182] The province produces 55% of Canada's totaliron ore.[185]Quarries producingdimension stone such asslate andgranite, account for less than $10 million worth of material per year.[186]
Thefishing industry remains an important part of the provincial economy, employing roughly 20,000 and contributing over $440 million to the GDP. The combined harvest of fish such ascod,haddock,halibut,herring andmackerel was 92,961 tonnes in 2017, with a combined value of $141 million.Shellfish, such as crab,shrimp andclams, accounted for 101,922 tonnes in the same year, yielding $634 million. The value of products from theseal hunt was $1.9 million.[187] In 2015,aquaculture produced over 22,000 tonnes ofAtlantic salmon,mussels andsteelhead trout worth over $161 million.Oyster production is also forthcoming.[188]
Newsprint is produced by onepaper mill inCorner Brook with a capacity of 420,000 t (460,000 tons) per year. The value of newsprint exports varies greatly from year to year, depending on the global market price. Lumber is produced by numerous mills in Newfoundland. Apart from seafood processing, paper manufacture andoil refining,[190] manufacturing in the province consists of smaller industries producing food,[191] brewing and other beverage production.
Service industries accounted for the largest share of GDP, especially financial services, health care and public administration. Other significant industries are mining, oil production and manufacturing. The total labour force in 2018 was 261,400 people.[192] Per capita GDP in 2017 was $62,573, higher than the national average and third only to Alberta and Saskatchewan out of Canadian provinces.[193]
Tourism is also a significant contributor to the province's economy. In 2006, nearly 500,000 non-resident tourists visited Newfoundland and Labrador, spending an estimated $366 million.[182] In 2017, non-resident tourists spent an estimated $575 million.[194] Tourism is most popular throughout the months of June–September, the warmest months of the year with the longest hours of daylight.[195]
The direct participation of the royal and viceroyal figures in governance is limited; in practice, their use of the executive powers is directed by theExecutive Council, a committee ofministers of the Crown responsible to the unicameral, electedHouse of Assembly. The Council is chosen and headed by thePremier of Newfoundland and Labrador, thehead of government.[198] After each general election, the lieutenant governor will usually appoint as premier the leader of the political party that has amajority orplurality in the House of Assembly. The leader of the party with the second-most seats usually becomes theLeader of His Majesty's Loyal Opposition and is part of an adversarial parliamentary system intended to keep the government in check.[199]
Each of the 40Members of the House of Assembly (MHA) is elected by simple plurality in anelectoral district. General elections must be called by the lieutenant governor on the second Tuesday in October four years after the previous election, or may be called earlier, on the advice of the premier, should the government lose aconfidence vote in the legislature.[200] Traditionally, politics in the province have been dominated by both theLiberal Party and theProgressive Conservative Party. However, in the2011 provincial election theNew Democratic Party, which had only ever attained minor success, had a major breakthrough and placed second in the popular vote behind the Progressive Conservatives.[201]
Before 1950, the visual arts were a minor aspect of Newfoundland cultural life, compared with the performing arts such as music or theatre. Until about 1900, most art was the work of visiting artists, who included members of theGroup of Seven,Rockwell Kent andEliot O'Hara. Artists such as Newfoundland-bornMaurice Cullen andRobert Pilot travelled to Europe to study art in prominent ateliers.[202]
Photograph of an artist sketching St. John's harbour and skyline,c. 1890
By the turn of the 20th century, amateur art was made by people living and working in the province. These artists included J.W. Hayward and his son Thomas B. Hayward, Agnes Marian Ayre, andHarold B. Goodridge, the last of whom worked on a number of mural commissions, notably one for the lobby of theConfederation Building in St. John's.[203] Local art societies became prominent in the 1940s, particularly The Art Students Club, which opened in 1940.[204]
After Newfoundland and Labrador joined Canada in 1949, government grants fostered a supportive environment for visual artists, primarily painters. The visual arts of the province developed significantly in the second half of the century, with the return of young Newfoundland artists whom had studied abroad. Amongst the first wereRae Perlin, who studied at theArt Students League in New York, andHelen Parsons Shepherd and her husband Reginald Shepherd, who both graduated from theOntario College of Art.[203] The Shepherds established the province's first art school, the Newfoundland Academy of Art.[205]
Newfoundland and Labrador's arts community is recognized nationally and internationally. The creation ofFogo Island Arts in 2008 onFogo Island created a residency-based contemporary art program for artists, filmmakers, writers, musicians, curators, designers, and thinkers.[208] In 2013 and 2015, the province was represented at theVenice Biennale as Official Collateral Projects.[209] In 2015,Philippa Jones became the first Newfoundland and Labrador artist to be included in theNational Gallery of Canada contemporary art biennial.[210] Other notable contemporary artists who have received national and international attention includeWill Gill,Kym Greeley,Ned Pratt andPeter Wilkins.
As of 2011, a study documented approximately 1,200 artists, representing 0.47% of the province's labour force.[211]
Newfoundland and Labrador has a folk musical heritage based on theIrish,English andScottish traditions that were brought to its shores centuries ago. Though similar in itsCeltic influence to neighbouringNova Scotia andPrince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador are more Irish than Scottish, and have more elements imported from English and French music than those provinces.[212] Much of the region's music focuses on the strong seafaring tradition in the area, and includessea shanties and other sailing songs. Some modern traditional musicians includeGreat Big Sea,The Ennis Sisters,The Dardanelles,Ron Hynes andJim Payne.
TheNewfoundland Symphony Orchestra began in St. John's in 1962 as a 20-piece string orchestra known as the St. John's Orchestra.[213] A school of music atMemorial University schedules a variety of concerts and has a chamber orchestra and jazz band.[214] Two members of its faculty, Nancy Dahn on violin and Timothy Steeves on piano, perform as Duo Concertante[215] and are responsible for establishing an annual music festival in August, theTuckamore Festival.[216] Both the school of music andOpera on the Avalon[217] produce operatic works. A leading institution for research in ethnomusicology, Memorial's Research Centre for the Study of Music, Media, and Place, offers academic lectures, scholarly residencies, conferences, symposia, and outreach activities to the province on music and culture.
The pre-confederation and current provincial anthem is the "Ode to Newfoundland", written by British colonial governor Sir CharlesCavendish Boyle in 1902. It was adopted as the official Newfoundland anthem on May 20, 1904. In 1980, the province re-adopted the song as an official provincial anthem. "The Ode to Newfoundland" is still sung at public events in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Michael Crummey is a contemporary novelist from Newfoundland and Labrador.
Margaret Duley (1894–1968) was Newfoundland's first novelist to gain an international audience. Her works includeThe Eyes of the Gull (1936),Cold Pastoral (1939) andHighway to Valour (1941).[218] Other writers who wrote major works in the 20th century includeHarold Horwood, author ofTomorrow Will Be Sunday (1966) andWhite Eskimo (1972);Percy Janes, author ofHouse of Hate (1970);M. T. Dohaney, author ofThe Corrigan Women (1988); andBernice Morgan, author ofRandom Passage (1992).[219]
E. J. Pratt wrote a number of poems describing maritime life and the history of Canada.
The earliest works of poetry inBritish North America, mainly written by visitors and targeted at a European audience, described the new territories in optimistic terms. One of the first works wasRobert Hayman'sQuodlibets, a collection of verses composed in Newfoundland and published in 1628.
In 1967 the St. John's Arts and Culture Centre was opened along with the first all-Canadian Dominion Drama Festival:
Playwrights across Canada began writing, and this explosion was also felt in Newfoundland and Labrador. Subregional festivals saw Newfoundland plays compete—Wreakers byCassie Brown,Tomorrow Will Be Sunday byTom Cahill, andHoldin' Ground byTed Russell. Cahill's play went on to receive top honours and a performance atExpo 67 in Montreal. Joining Brown and Cahill in the seventies wereMichael Cook andAl Pittman, both prolific writers.[236]
Rossleys, a "vaudeville-style performance troupe", put onblackface minstrelsy shows which were a popular source of entertainment in Newfoundland between 1911 and 1917.[237] Modern theatre companies include the New Curtain Theatre Company inClarenville and the New World Theatre Project inCupids.Shakespeare by the Sea presents outdoor productions of the plays ofWilliam Shakespeare, as well as pieces related to the province and culture.[238]
George Street in St. John's is the location of an annual Mardi Gras celebration in October, but the largest celebration held there is the six-night George Street Festival in early August. The festival is rumoured to be the largest of its kind in North America with over 120,000 people making their way through the two block street during the six-day period.[243]
Newfoundland and Labrador'spresent provincial flag, designed by Newfoundland artistChristopher Pratt, was officially adopted by the legislature on May 28, 1980, and first flown on "Discovery Day" that year. The blue is meant to represent the sea, the white represents snow and ice, the red represents the efforts and struggles of the people, and the gold represents the confidence of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. The blue triangles are a tribute to the Union Flag, and represent the British heritage of the province. The two red triangles represent Labrador (the mainland portion of the province) and the island. In Pratt's words, the golden arrow points towards a "brighter future".[244]
What has commonly but mistakenly been called the Newfoundland tricolour"Pink, White and Green"(sic) is the flag of the Catholic Church affiliated Star of the Sea Association (SOSA). It originated in the late nineteenth century and enjoyed popularity among people who were under the impression that it was the Native Flag of Newfoundland which was created before 1852 by the Newfoundland Natives' Society. The true Native Flag (red-white-green tricolour) was widely flown into the late nineteenth century. Neither tricolour was ever adopted by the Newfoundland government.[245] The "Pink, White and Green"(sic) has been adopted by some residents as a symbol of ties with Irish heritage and as a political statement. Many of the province'sProtestants, who make up nearly 60% of the province's total population,[246] may not identify with this heritage. At the same time, many of the province's Catholics, approximately 37% of the total population (with at least 22% of the population claiming Irish ancestry),[158][247] think the current provincial flag does not satisfactorily represent them.[248] But, a government-sponsored poll in 2005 revealed that 75% of Newfoundlanders rejected adoption of the Tricolour flag as the province's official flag.[249]
Mary Brown's Centre (formerly Mile One Centre) is an indoor arena in St. John's.
Newfoundland and Labrador has a somewhat different sports culture from the rest of Canada, owing in part to its long history separate from the rest of Canada and under British rule.Ice hockey, however, remains popular; though operations ceased in April 2024, a minor league professional team called theNewfoundland Growlers of theECHL played atMary Brown's Centre (formerly Mile One Centre) in St. John's from the 2018–19 to 2023–24 seasons. The area had an intermittentAmerican Hockey League presence with theSt. John's Maple Leafs thenSt. John's IceCaps until 2017, and theNewfoundland Senior Hockey League had teams around the island. After the departure of theSt. John's Fog Devils in 2008, Newfoundland and Labrador has been the only province in Canada to not have a team in the major juniorCanadian Hockey League. However, this is set to change in 2025, with theAcadie–Bathurst Titan scheduled to relocate to St. John's to becomeNewfoundland Regiment in theQMJHL.
Association football (soccer) andrugby union are both more popular in Newfoundland and Labrador than the rest of Canada in general. Soccer is hosted atKing George V Park, a 6,000-seat stadium built as Newfoundland's national stadium during the time as an independent dominion.Swilers Rugby Park is home of theSwilers RFC rugby union club, as well as theAtlantic Rock, one of the four regional teams in theCanadian Rugby Championship. Other sports facilities in Newfoundland and Labrador includePepsi Centre, an indoor arena in Corner Brook; andSt. Patrick's Park, a baseball park in St. John's.
Cricket was once a popular sport. The earliest mention is in theNewfoundland Mercantile Journal, Thursday September 16, 1824, indicating the St. John's Cricket Club was an established club at this time.[253] The St. John's Cricket club was one of the first cricket clubs in North America. Other centres were atHarbour Grace,Twillingate andTrinity. The heyday of the game was the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, at which time there was league in St. John's, as well as an interschool tournament. John Shannon Munn is Newfoundland's most famous cricketer, having represented Oxford University. After the first World War, cricket declined in popularity and was replaced by soccer and baseball. However, with the arrival of immigrants from theIndian subcontinent, cricket is once again gaining interest in the province.[253]
In 2024 Newfoundland and Labrador became the shirt sponsors ofBarrow A.F.C., an association football (soccer) team located in North West England.
Within the province, the Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Transportation and Works operates or sponsors 15 automobile, passenger and freight ferry routes which connect various communities along the province's significant coastline.[254]
A regular passenger and car ferry service, lasting about 90 minutes, crosses theStrait of Belle Isle, connecting the province'sisland of Newfoundland with the region ofLabrador on the mainland. The ferry MV Qajaq W travels fromSt. Barbe, Newfoundland, on theGreat Northern Peninsula, to the port town ofBlanc-Sablon, Quebec, located on the provincial border and beside the town ofL'Anse-au-Clair, Labrador.[255] The MVSir Robert Bond once provided seasonal ferry service betweenLewisporte on the island and the towns ofCartwright andHappy Valley-Goose Bay in Labrador, but has not run since the completion of theTrans-Labrador Highway in 2010, allowing access fromBlanc-Sablon, Quebec, to major parts of Labrador.[256] Several smaller ferries connect numerous other coastal towns and offshore island communities around the island of Newfoundland and up the Labrador coast as far north asNain.[257] There are also two ferries, MV Legionnaire and MV Flanders, that operate betweenBell Island and Portugal Cove–St. Philips yearly, mainly used by those commuting to St. John's for work. The MV Veteran, a sister ship of MV Legionnaire, operates between Fogo Island, Change Islands, and Farewell.
MVAtlantic Vision is one of several ships that provides inter-provincial ferry service to Newfoundland.
TheSt. John's International Airport (YYT) and theGander International Airport (YQX) are the only airports in the province that are part of theNational Airports System.[259] The St. John's International Airport handles nearly 1.2 million passengers a year making it the busiest airport in the province and the fourteenth busiest airport in Canada.[260] YYT airport underwent a major expansion of the terminal building which was completed in 2021.[261] TheDeer Lake Airport (YDF) handles over 300,000 passengers a year.[262]
TheNewfoundland Railway operated on the island ofNewfoundland from 1898 to 1988. With a total track length of 1,458 km (906 mi), it was the longest3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm)narrow-gauge railway system in North America.[263] The railway ended on June 20, 1988, in the rails for roads deal.[264]
^Tuck, J. A. (1976). "Ancient peoples of Port au Choix".The excavation of an Archaic Indian Cemetery in Newfoundland. Newfoundland Social and Economic Studies 17. St. John's: Institute of Social and Economic Research.ISBN978-0-919666-12-2.
^"Eiríks saga rauða" [The Saga of Erik the Red]. Translated by Sephton, J. Icelandic Saga Database. 1880.Archived from the original on May 4, 2016. RetrievedAugust 11, 2010.
^"Vikings: The North Atlantic Saga". National Museum of Natural History, Arctic Studies Centre- (Smithsonian Institution). 2008.Archived from the original on December 24, 2015. RetrievedAugust 11, 2010.
^Haugen, Einar (1977). Bekker-Nielsen, Hans; Foote, Peter; Olsen, Olaf (eds.)."Was Vinland in Newfoundland?". Originally published in Proceedings of the Eighth Viking Congress, Arhus (August 24–31, 1977). RepublishedOdense University Press, 1981. Archived fromthe original on May 15, 2001. RetrievedJune 21, 2010.
^abTimothy Severin, "The Voyage of the 'Brendan'",National Geographic Magazine, 152: 6 (December 1977), p. 768–97.
^abTim Severin,The Brendan Voyage: A Leather Boat Tracks the Discovery of America by the Irish Sailor Saints, McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1978,ISBN0-07-056335-7.
^"John Cabot's voyage of 1498". Memorial University of Newfoundland (Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage). 2000.Archived from the original on August 5, 2011. RetrievedApril 12, 2010.
^Sauer, Carl Ortwin (1971).Sixteenth century North America : the land and the people as seen by the Europeans. Berkeley: University of California Press.ISBN978-0-520-01854-9.OCLC215780.
^Freeman-Grenville (1975).Chronology of world history: a calendar of principal events from 3000 BC to. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 387.ISBN978-0-87471-765-5.
^Holly, Donald H. Jr. (2000). "The Beothuk on the Eve of Their Extinction".Arctic Anthropology.37 (1):79–95.PMID17722364.
^Brian Cuthbertson, "John Cabot and His Historians: Five Hundred Years of Controversy."Journal of the Royal Nova Scotia Historical Society 1998 1: 16–35.ISSN1486-5920.
^See Samuel Eliot Morison,The European Discovery of America: The Northern Voyages (1971)
^Grant C. Head,Eighteenth Century Newfoundland: A Geographer's Perspective (1976)
^Compare:Moir, John S. (1979) [1966]."Kirke, Sir David". In Brown, George Williams (ed.).Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Vol. I (1000–1700) (online ed.).University of Toronto Press.In 1639 Sir David, as the first governor of Newfoundland, took possession of Baltimore's "Mansion House" and the other property at Ferryland.
^abcdePope, Peter Edward (2004).Fish into Wine: the Newfoundland Plantation in the Seventeenth Century. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.
^Gordon W. Handcock,"So Longe as There Comes Noe Women": Origins of English Settlement in Newfoundland (1989)
^abWalker, Barrington (2012). "Jamaicans and the Making of Modern Canada". In James, Carl; Davis, Andrea (eds.).Jamaica in the Canadian Experience: a Multiculturalizing Presence. Fernwood Pub. pp. 23–34.
^Whitfield, Harvey Amani (2012). "The Struggle over Slavery in the Maritime Colonies".Acadiensis.41 (2):17–44.
^abHenry, Natasha (February 9, 2022) [June 13, 2016]."Black Enslavement in Canada".The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica Canada. Archived fromthe original on March 21, 2023.
^"History of Placentia". Memorial University of Newfoundland.Archived from the original on October 25, 2011. RetrievedFebruary 26, 2010.
^Rollman, Hans (1986)."Prince William in Newfoundland".Religion Society and Culture: The Newfoundland and Labrador pages of Dr Hans Rollman, Memorial University, Newfoundland. Archived fromthe original on January 10, 2011. RetrievedJuly 16, 2022.
^John P. Greene (1999),Between Damnation and Starvation: Priests and Merchants in Newfoundland Politics, 1745–1855, McGill-Queen's University Press.ISBN978-0-7735-1880-3.
^Higgins, Jenny (2009)."Reform Movement".Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage.Archived from the original on June 19, 2021. RetrievedMarch 12, 2021.
^Castelle, George (2019). "The Newfoundland Potato Famine, 1846–48: An Account from the Colony's Newspapers".Journal of Newfoundland and Labrador Studies, 34 (2). St. John's, Newfoundland, pp. 304, 314–315
^abBelshaw, John Douglas (2020). "2:13 The Other Dominion".Canadian History: Post-Confederation (2nd ed.).Archived from the original on April 13, 2021. RetrievedApril 13, 2021 – via BCcampus Open Publishing.
^Higgins, Jenny (2008)."19th Century Migration".Heritage: Newfoundland and Labrador.Archived from the original on June 16, 2021. RetrievedMarch 13, 2021.
^abThe Times (1918), Newfoundland and the War",The Times History of the War, Vol XIV, (181–216), 184–186.
^"Election Results 1913".Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage. Memorial University. Archived fromthe original on October 5, 2012. RetrievedJanuary 24, 2022.
^abcdefMalone, Greg (2012).Don't Tell the Newfoundlanders: The True Story of Newfoundland's Confederation with Canada. Toronto: Alfred A Knopf Canada.ISBN978-0-307-40133-5.: 145
^Peter Neary, Newfoundland in the North Atlantic World, 1929–1949 (Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen's University Press, 1988), especially chapter 2
^Joseph Roberts Smallwood,I chose Canada: The Memoirs of the Honourable Joseph R. "Joey" Smallwood (1973) p. 256
^Richard Gwyn,Smallwood: The Unlikely Revolutionary (1972)
^David MacKenzie, Inside the Atlantic Triangle: Canada and the Entrance of Newfoundland into Confederation, 1939–49 (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1986), 192
^Baker, Melvin (March 2003)."Falling into the Canadian Lap: The Confederation of Newfoundland and Canada, 1945-1949"(PDF).Royal Commission on Renewing and Strengthening Our Place in Canada: 52.Archived(PDF) from the original on January 26, 2022. RetrievedJuly 9, 2022.Complicating the anti-Confederate movement was strong political sentiment in St. John's for greater economic union with the United States. On March 20, 1948 those opposed to Confederation divided into two groups with the formation by St. John's businessman Chesley Crosbie of the Economic Union Movement. Unfortunately for this group, the American Government wanted no part of Crosbie's group and preferred the political union of Newfoundland with Canada. As Peter Neary has observed, the Americans under the 1941 bases deal with the British Government had gotten what they wanted in Newfoundland and went along with British plans for Newfoundland's future constitutional development.
^"The Economic Review 2011"(PDF). Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. 2011.Archived(PDF) from the original on December 22, 2011. RetrievedDecember 21, 2011.
^ab"Economic Review 2010"(PDF). Government of Newfoundland and Labrador.Archived(PDF) from the original on July 6, 2011. RetrievedFebruary 5, 2011.
^abc"Economic Research and Analysis 2007". Economics and Statistics Branch, Department of Finance, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, Office of the Queens Printer. Archived fromthe original on June 24, 2007. RetrievedJune 17, 2008.
^"Buchans mine". Filing Services Canada Inc. Archived fromthe original on September 29, 2007. RetrievedJune 17, 2006.
^Bell, Trevor; Liverman, David."Mineral Resources". Memorial University of Newfoundland.Archived from the original on October 2, 2008. RetrievedJune 17, 2008.
^Edited by Natasha Sumner and Aidan Doyle (2020),North American Gaels: Speech, Song, and Story in the Diaspora,McGill-Queen's University Press. Pages 73–91.
^Brian Trehearne ed., "E. J. Pratt 1882–1964Archived May 13, 2016, at theWayback Machine,"Canadian Poetry 1920 to 1960 (Toronto: McLelland & Stewart, 2010), 21. Google Books, Web, March 20, 2011.
^Nicola Vulpe, "Pratt, E.J. 1882–1964,"Reader's Guide to Literature in English. BookRags.com, Web, March 26, 2011.
^"Edwin John Pratt".The Canadian Encyclopedia.Archived from the original on August 18, 2019. RetrievedAugust 18, 2019.
^"Playwrights".heritage.nf.ca.Archived from the original on November 26, 2015. RetrievedNovember 26, 2015.
^Quigley, Colleen; Templeton, Melissa (2020). "Performing Blackface on the Newfoundland Stage: The Rossleys, Transnational Connections, and Early Twentieth Century Theatre in St. John's".Theatre Research in Canada.41 (1):64–87.doi:10.3138/TRIC.41.1.64.
Atlas of Newfoundland and Labrador by Department of Geography Memorial University of Newfoundland, Breakwater Books Ltd;ISBN978-1-55081-000-4; (1991)
Bavington, Dean L.Y.Managed Annihilation: An Unnatural History of the Newfoundland Cod Collapse (University of British Columbia Press; 2010) 224 pages. Links the collapse of Newfoundland and Labrador cod fishing to state management of the resource.
Cadigan, Sean T.Newfoundland and Labrador: A History U. of Toronto Press, 2009. Standard scholarly history
Casey, G.J. Casey and Elizabeth Miller, eds.,Tempered Days: A Century of Newfoundland Fiction St. John's: Killick Press, 1996.
Earle, Karl Mcneil. "Cousins of a Kind: The Newfoundland and Labrador Relationship with the United States"American Review of Canadian Studies Vol: 28. Issue: 4. 1998. pp: 387–411.
Fay, C. R.Life and Labour in Newfoundland University of Toronto Press, 1956
R. A. MacKay;Newfoundland; Economic, Diplomatic, and Strategic Studies Oxford University Press, 1946
Patrick O'Flaherty,The Rock Observed: Studies in the Literature of Newfoundland University of Toronto Press, 1979
Joseph Smallwood ed.The Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador St. John's: Newfoundland Book Publishers, 1981–, 2 vol.
This Marvelous Terrible Place: Images of Newfoundland and Labrador by Momatiuk et al., Firefly Books;ISBN978-1-55209-225-5; (September 1998)
True Newfoundlanders: Early Homes and Families of Newfoundland and Labrador byMargaret McBurney et al., Boston Mills Pr;ISBN978-1-55046-199-2; (June 1997)
Biogeography and Ecology of the Island of Newfoundland: Monographiae Biologicae by G. Robin South (Editor) Dr W Junk Pub Co;ISBN978-90-6193-101-0; (April 1983)
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