Wabush | |
|---|---|
Town | |
 Town of Wabush across Jean Lake | |
 Flag  Coat of arms | |
| Motto(s): | |
  Wabush Wabush (Canada) Show map of Canada | |
| Coordinates:52°52′19″N66°53′27″W / 52.87194°N 66.89083°W /52.87194; -66.89083 | |
| Country | Canada |
| Province | Newfoundland and Labrador |
| Census divisions | 10 |
| Settled | 1955 |
| Founded | 1962 |
| Incorporated | April 11, 1967 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Municipal incorporation |
| • Mayor | Ronald Barron |
| Area | |
• Total | 46.25 km2 (17.86 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 560 m (1,840 ft) |
| Population (2021)[2] | |
• Total | 1,964 |
| • Density | 42/km2 (110/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC−04:00 |
| Highways |  Route 500 (Trans-Labrador Highway) Route 503 (Grenfell Drive) |
| Website | labradorwest |
Wabush is a small town in the western tip ofLabrador, borderingQuebec, known for transportation and iron ore operations.
Wabush is the twin community ofLabrador City.[3] At its peak population in the late 1970s, the region had a population of just over 22,000. A reduction in iron mining operations in the late 20th century caused a major decline in jobs and population, when Cliffs Natural Resources Canada had to close and cold store the Scully Mine property (Wabush mines). Since 2018, Tacora Resources Inc. took over and has successfully restarted the Scully property, slowly reinvigorating the community and investing back into the property.
As of 2021, Wabush's population was 1,964.[2] Most residents work in the nearby mines of theIron Ore Company of Canada, now a unit ofRio Tinto Mines and the Scully Mine of Tacora Resources Inc.
Companies in and around Wabush include:
While remote, the town contains modern amenities. A shopping centre includes a post office, bank, a restaurant, a bar, and a snowmobile store. There is also a recreational centre (now closed) which included a bowling alley, gymnasium, swimming pool, a teen centre, a weight lifting room, an ice arena, a library, a legion building that serves alcoholic beverages, a furniture store, several playgrounds, a school, a church, two corner stores, and a hotel (which also includes a restaurant, a barber shop, and a bar).
Air transportation needs for the twin communities are served byWabush Airport and seasonally byWabush Water Aerodrome. It used to receive more frequent service byAir Gaspé, which was acquired byQuebecair in 1973. The latter ended as an independent business in 1986, acquired in turn byCP Air in 1986 andCanadian Airlines in 1987. Currently the area is serviced byExploits Valley Air Services),Provincial Airlines,Pascan Air andAir Inuit, this airport is no longer covered by ARFF (airport rescue and firefighting) services and the community of Labrador city has withdrawn firefighting services over safety concerns with transport Canada.
Like most of Labrador, Wabush has asubarctic climate (KöppenDfc) with more precipitation than is typical for this type of climate due to the persistentIcelandic Low, which give the region some of the rainiest and snowiest weather in all of Canada. Especially in summer, cloudiness is common due to the lakes nearby and the unstable northerly airstreams that prevail, but because the town is relatively far from the open sea, there is more sunshine in Wabush than inSt. John's due to the absence offog from theLabrador Current. Snow usually melts away in May.
| Climate data for Wabush (Wabush Airport, normals from 1981−2010) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record highhumidex | 7.7 | 5.9 | 14.6 | 16.9 | 35.0 | 37.1 | 39.0 | 35.3 | 32.2 | 22.6 | 13.8 | 6.5 | 39.0 |
| Record high °C (°F) | 8.0 (46.4) | 6.2 (43.2) | 14.7 (58.5) | 16.8 (62.2) | 28.4 (83.1) | 33.3 (91.9) | 32.6 (90.7) | 30.6 (87.1) | 27.8 (82.0) | 21.1 (70.0) | 12.2 (54.0) | 5.6 (42.1) | 33.3 (91.9) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | −16.7 (1.9) | −14.2 (6.4) | −6.7 (19.9) | 1.5 (34.7) | 9.6 (49.3) | 16.1 (61.0) | 19.1 (66.4) | 17.6 (63.7) | 11.8 (53.2) | 3.8 (38.8) | −4.2 (24.4) | −12.6 (9.3) | 2.1 (35.8) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −22.2 (−8.0) | −20.6 (−5.1) | −13.3 (8.1) | −4.3 (24.3) | 4.0 (39.2) | 10.3 (50.5) | 13.8 (56.8) | 12.5 (54.5) | 7.6 (45.7) | 0.5 (32.9) | −8.2 (17.2) | −17.5 (0.5) | −3.1 (26.4) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −27.8 (−18.0) | −27 (−17) | −19.8 (−3.6) | −10 (14) | −1.7 (28.9) | 4.4 (39.9) | 8.3 (46.9) | 7.4 (45.3) | 3.3 (37.9) | −2.9 (26.8) | −12 (10) | −22.5 (−8.5) | −8.4 (16.9) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −43.9 (−47.0) | −47.8 (−54.0) | −46.7 (−52.1) | −37.2 (−35.0) | −21.7 (−7.1) | −11.1 (12.0) | −6.7 (19.9) | −0.6 (30.9) | −7 (19) | −21.7 (−7.1) | −33.1 (−27.6) | −46.1 (−51.0) | −47.8 (−54.0) |
| Record lowwind chill | −62.8 | −57.1 | −52.6 | −41.8 | −32.6 | −9.6 | 0.0 | −6.2 | −13.9 | −25.6 | −43.9 | −59.5 | −62.8 |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 49.2 (1.94) | 40.3 (1.59) | 54.1 (2.13) | 48.8 (1.92) | 53.5 (2.11) | 82.7 (3.26) | 113.9 (4.48) | 103.5 (4.07) | 96.5 (3.80) | 75.7 (2.98) | 70.9 (2.79) | 50.4 (1.98) | 839.5 (33.05) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 0.6 (0.02) | 1.6 (0.06) | 2.6 (0.10) | 12.1 (0.48) | 40.4 (1.59) | 80.6 (3.17) | 113.9 (4.48) | 103.4 (4.07) | 92.3 (3.63) | 42.0 (1.65) | 10.9 (0.43) | 2.5 (0.10) | 502.9 (19.80) |
| Average snowfall cm (inches) | 63.8 (25.1) | 50.9 (20.0) | 65.9 (25.9) | 44.3 (17.4) | 14.4 (5.7) | 2.1 (0.8) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.1 (0.0) | 4.4 (1.7) | 39.0 (15.4) | 77.5 (30.5) | 66.2 (26.1) | 428.7 (168.8) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 0.2 mm) | 17.3 | 14.6 | 16.0 | 14.2 | 15.2 | 17.1 | 19.0 | 20.0 | 20.5 | 20.1 | 20.4 | 19.3 | 213.7 |
| Average rainy days(≥ 0.2 mm) | 0.44 | 0.78 | 1.4 | 3.8 | 11.9 | 16.4 | 19.0 | 20.0 | 19.7 | 10.5 | 3.9 | 1.0 | 109.0 |
| Average snowy days(≥ 0.2 cm) | 17.7 | 15.0 | 16.4 | 12.3 | 6.0 | 1.2 | 0.04 | 0.07 | 2.5 | 13.9 | 19.7 | 19.7 | 124.6 |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 98.0 | 132.2 | 151.3 | 180.1 | 210.6 | 212.5 | 218.0 | 202.7 | 116.6 | 75.4 | 56.9 | 67.3 | 1,721.4 |
| Percentagepossible sunshine | 38.6 | 47.6 | 41.2 | 43.1 | 43.0 | 42.1 | 43.0 | 44.4 | 30.6 | 22.9 | 21.7 | 28.3 | 37.2 |
| Source:Environment Canada[4] | |||||||||||||
In the2021 Census of Population conducted byStatistics Canada, Wabush had a population of1,964 living in798 of its864 total private dwellings, a change of3% from its 2016 population of1,906. With a land area of 42.42 km2 (16.38 sq mi), it had a population density of46.3/km2 (119.9/sq mi) in 2021.[2]
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 3,387 | — |
| 1976 | 3,769 | +11.3% |
| 1981 | 3,157 | −16.2% |
| 1991 | 2,331 | −26.2% |
| 1996 | 2,018 | −13.4% |
| 2001 | 1,894 | −6.1% |
| 2006 | 1,739 | −8.2% |
| 2011 | 1,861 | +7.0% |
| 2016 | 1,906 | +2.4% |
| 2021 | 1,964 | +3.0% |
| Canada 2006 Census | Population | % of Total Population | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Visible minority group Source:[5] | South Asian | 20 | 1.1% |
| Chinese | 0 | 0% | |
| Black | 10 | 0.6% | |
| Filipino | 90 | 5.7% | |
| Latin American | 0 | 0% | |
| Arab | 0 | 0% | |
| Southeast Asian | 0 | 0% | |
| West Asian | 0 | 0% | |
| Korean | 0 | 0% | |
| Japanese | 5 | 0% | |
| Other visible minority | 0 | 0% | |
| Mixed visible minority | 0 | 0% | |
| Total visible minority population | 30 | 1.7% | |
| Aboriginal group Source:[6] | First Nations | 50 | 2.9% |
| Métis | 70 | 4.6% | |
| Inuit | 0 | 0% | |
| Total Aboriginal population | 145 | 8.3% | |
| White | 1,595 | 91.7% | |
| Total population | 1,861 | 100% | |
Wabush appears in theJohn Wyndham post-catastrophe novelThe Chrysalids under the name of Waknuk.[citation needed]
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