Newfoundland and Labrador (; , , ) is a
province of
Canada on the country's
Atlantic coast in northeastern
North America. This
easternmost Canadian province comprises two main parts: the island of
Newfoundland off the country's eastern coast, and
Labrador on the mainland to the northwest of the island.
A former
colony and
dominion of the
United Kingdom, it became the tenth province to enter the
Canadian Confederation on
31 March 1949, named simply as
Newfoundland. Since 1964, the province's government has referred to itself as the
Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, and on
6 December 2001, an
amendment was made to the
Constitution of Canada to
change the province's official name to
Newfoundland and Labrador. In day-to-day conversation, however, Canadians generally still refer to the province itself as Newfoundland and to the region on the Canadian mainland as
Labrador.
As of July 2009, the province's population is estimated to be 508,925.
Approximately 94% of the province's population resides on the Island of Newfoundland (including its associated smaller islands). The Island of Newfoundland has its own dialects of the
English,
French, and previously of the
Irish language (now extinct). The English dialect in Labrador shares much with that of Newfoundland. Labrador also has its own dialects of
Innu-aimun and
Inuktitut.
Etymology
While the name
Newfoundland is derived from
English as "New Found Land" (a translation from the
Latin Terra Nova),
Labrador comes from
Portuguese lavrador, a title meaning "landholder/ploughman" held by
Portuguese explorer of the region
João Fernandes Lavrador.
Geography
Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of
Canada. The
Strait of Belle Isle separates the province into two geographical divisions,
Labrador and island of
Newfoundland.
The province also includes over
7,000 tiny islands.
Newfoundland is roughly triangular, with each side being approximately , and has an area of .
Newfoundland and its associated small islands have a total area of .
Newfoundland extends between latitudes 46°36'N and 51°38'N.
Labrador is an irregular shape: the western part of its border with
Quebec is the
drainage divide of the
Labrador Peninsula. Lands drained by rivers that flow into the
Atlantic Ocean are part of Labrador, the rest belong to Quebec. Labrador’s extreme northern tip, at 60°22'N, shares a short border with
Nunavut. Labrador’s area (including associated small islands) is .
Together, Newfoundland and Labrador make up 4.06% of Canada’s area.
Labrador is the easternmost part of the
Canadian Shield, a vast area of ancient
metamorphic rock comprising much of northeastern North America. Colliding
tectonic plates have shaped much of the geology of Newfoundland.
Gros Morne National Park has a reputation as an outstanding example of tectonics at work,
and as such has been designated a
World Heritage Site. The
Long Range Mountains on Newfoundland's west coast are the northeasternmost extension of the
Appalachian Mountains.
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.
Northern Labrador is classified as a
polar tundra climate, southern Labrador is considered to be a
subarctic climate while most of Newfoundland would be considered to have a
humid continental climate, Dfb: Cool summer subtype.
Climate
The province has been divided into six climate types,
but in broader terms Newfoundland is considered to be a cool summer subtype of a
humid continental climate, which is greatly influenced by the sea since no part of the island is more than 100 kilometers (62 miles) from the ocean. Northern Labrador is classified as a
polar tundra climate, southern Labrador is considered to have a
subarctic climate.
Newfoundland and Labrador average monthly temperatures
Newfoundland and Labrador average monthly rainfall
Newfoundland and Labrador average monthly snowfall
Monthly average temperatures, rainfall and snowfall for four communities 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 and
Wabush the interior of Labrador. The detailed information and information for 73 communities in the province is available from a government website. The data used in making the graphs is the average taken over thirty years. Error bars on the temperature graph indicate the range of daytime highs and night time lows. Snowfall is the total amount which 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 that no snow remains on the ground.
Surface water temperatures on the Atlantic side reaches a summer average of inshore and offshore to winter lows of inshore and offshore. Sea temperatures on the west coast are warmer than Atlantic side by . The sea keeps winter temperatures slightly higher and summer temperatures a little lower on the coast than at places inland. The maritime climate produces more variable weather, ample precipitation in a variety of forms, greater
humidity, lower visibility, more clouds, less sunshine, and higher winds than a continental climate.
Some of these effects can be seen in the graphs. Labrador's climate differs from that of the island not only because it is further north, but also because the interior does not see the moderating effects of the ocean.
Average temperatures in towns & cities
Municipalities
History
Human inhabitation in Newfoundland and Labrador can be traced back over 9,000 years to the people of the Maritime Archaic Tradition. They were gradually displaced by the Palaeoeskimo people of the
Dorset Culture, the L'nu, or Mi'kmaq and finally by the
Innu and
Inuit in Labrador and the
Beothuks on the island. The oldest known European contact was made over a thousand years ago when the
Vikings briefly settled in
L'Anse aux Meadows. Five hundred years later, European explorers (
John Cabot,
Gaspar Corte-Real,
Jacques Cartier, and others), fishermen from
England,
Ireland,
Portugal,
France and
Spain and
Basque whalers (the remains of several whaling stations have been found at
Red Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador) began exploration and exploitation of the area.
The overseas expansion of
British Empire began when
Sir Humphrey Gilbert took possession of Newfoundland in the name of England in 1583. Apart from
St.John's, which was already established, early settlements were started at
Cupids,
Ferryland and other places.
The Newfoundland Red Ensign was an unofficial commercial ensign from 1904 to 1931.
During its history Newfoundland and Labrador have had many forms of government, including a time as the
Dominion of Newfoundland, equivalent in status to
Canada and
Australia. Newfoundland and Labrador became the tenth province of Canada on
31 March 1949.
Newfoundland has been a battleground in numerous early wars among
Great Britain,
France,
Spain and even the
United States.
The Royal Newfoundland Regiment fought with distinction in
World War I. Numerous bases were built in Newfoundland and Labrador by
Canada and the
United States during
World War II, particularly to safeguard the
Atlantic convoys to Europe.
Politics of the province were dominated by the
Liberal Party, led by Joseph R. Smallwood, from confederation until 1972. In 1972, the Smallwood government was replaced by the
Progressive Conservative administration of
Frank Moores. In 1979,
Brian Peckford, another Progressive Conservative, became Premier. During this time, Newfoundland was involved in a dispute with the federal government for control of offshore oil resources. In the end, the dispute was decided by compromise. In 1989,
Clyde Wells and the Liberal Party returned to power ending 17 years of Conservative government.
Newfoundland and Canadian Government delegation signing the agreement admitting Newfoundland to confederation in December 1948. Prime Minister
Louis St. Laurent and
Albert Walsh shake hands following signing of agreement.
In the late 1980s, the federal government, along with its
Crown corporation Petro-Canada and other private sector petroleum exploration companies, committed to developing the oil and gas resources of the
Hibernia oil field on the northeast portion of the
Grand Banks. Throughout the mid-1990s, thousands of Newfoundlanders were employed in the oil industry.
The pressure of the oil and gas industry to explore offshore in Atlantic Canada saw Newfoundland and
Nova Scotia submit to a
federal arbitration to decide on a disputed offshore boundary between the two provinces in the Laurentian Basin. The 2003 settlement rewrote an existing boundary in Newfoundland's favour, opening this area up to energy exploration.
In 1992 and again in 2003, the federal government declared moratoriums on the
Atlantic cod fishery due to declining catches, which deeply affected the economy of Newfoundland.
From late October 2003 to early January 2006, Premier Williams argued that then Prime Minister
Paul Martin had not held up his promises for a new deal on the "Atlantic Accord". The issue is the royalties from oil. Toward the end of 2004, Williams ordered the
Canadian flag to be removed from all provincial buildings as a protest against federal policies, and asked for municipal councils to consider doing the same. The flags went back up in January 2005 after much controversy nationwide. At the end of January, the federal government signed a deal to allow 100% of oil revenues to go to the province.
Demographics
According to the 2001 Canadian census, the largest ethnic group in Newfoundland and Labrador is
English (39.4%), followed by
Irish (19.7%),
Scottish (6.0%),
French (5.5%), and
First Nations (3.2%). While half of all respondents also identified their ethnicity as "Canadian," 38% report their ethnicity as "Newfoundlander" in a 2003 Statistics Canada Ethnic Diversity Survey.
Population since 1951*Preliminary 2006 census estimate.Source: Statistics CanadaLanguage
The 2006 census returns showed a population of 505,469.
Of the 499,830 singular responses to the census question concerning 'mother tongue' the languages most commonly reported were:
Figures shown above are for the number of single language responses and the percentage of total single-language responses. There were also 435 responses of both English and a 'non-official language'; 30 of both French and a 'non-official language'; 295 of both English and French; 10 of English, French and a 'non-official language'; and about 14,305 people who either did not respond to the question, or reported multiple non-official languages, or else gave some other unenumerated response.
Religion
The largest denominations by number of adherents according to the 2001 census were the
Roman Catholic Church with 187,405 (37%); the
Anglican Church of Canada with 132,680 (26%); and the
United Church of Canada with 86,420 (17%).
Economy
All currency is in Canadian dollars.In 2005 the
gross domestic product (GDP) of Newfoundland and Labrador was approximately fourteen billion dollars.
accounted for over $8 billion with financial services, health care and public administration being the top three contributors. Other significant industries are
mining,
oil production and manufacturing. The total workforce in 2005 was 215,000 people.
Per capita GDP in 2006 was 47,520, higher than the national average and second only to Alberta out of Canadian provinces. The GDP in Newfoundland and Labrador surged 9.1 per cent in 2007, nearly three times the rate of its growth in 2006. Without solid numbers verified for 2008 it is expected that Alberta will see a 3.2 per cent economic growth and regain the provincial lead it lost to Newfoundland in 2007, who are expected to see a 2.2 per cent growth.
Traditional industries include
mining,
logging,
fishery and forest-based industries (
sawmills and
paper mills).
Mining and oil production
Mines in Labrador, the
iron ore mine at
Wabush/
Labrador City, and the new
nickel mine in
Voisey's Bay produced a total of $2.5 billion worth of ore in 2006. A new mine at Duck Pond (30 kilometers (18 mi) south of the now-closed mine at
Buchans), started producing
copper,
zinc,
silver and
gold in 2007 and prospecting for new ore bodies continues. Mining accounted for 3.5% of the provincial GDP in 2006.
The province produces 55% of Canada’s total iron ore.
producing
dimension stone such as
slate and
granite, account for less than $10 million worth of material per year.
Oil production from offshore
oil platforms on
Hibernia,
White Rose Terra Nova oil fields on the
Grand Banks was 110 million
barrels which contributed 15% of the provinces GDP in 2006. Total production from the Hibernia field from 1997 to 2006 was 733 million barrels 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 billion barrels as of
December 31,
2006. Exploration for new reserves is ongoing.
On
April 8 2009 another oil discovery was announced.
StatoilHydro announced that they were making plans to make an application for a Significant Discovery License over the coming months, it revealed that during deepwater drilling in an area about 500 kilometres east-northeast of St. John's "hydrocarbons were encountered".
On
June 16 2009 Danny Williams announced a tentative agreement to expand the
Hibernia Oil Field. Williams said the government has negotiated a 10-per-cent equity stake in the Hibernia South expansion and that the deal will add an estimated $10 billion to Newfoundland and Labrador's treasury.
Fishing and aquaculture
The
fishing industry remains an important part of the provincial economy, employing 26,000 and contributing over $440 million to the GDP. The combined harvest of fish such as
cod,
haddock,
halibut,
herring and
mackerel was 150,000 tonnes (165,000 tons) valued at about $130 million in 2006.
Shellfish, such as
crab,
shrimp and
clams, accounted for 195,000 tonnes (215,000 tons) with a value of $316 million in the same year. The value of products from the
seal hunt was $55 million.
is a new industry for the province, which in 2006 produced over 10,000 tonnes of
Atlantic salmon,
mussels and
steelhead trout worth over $50 million.
Manufacturing
Newsprint is produced by one
paper mill, Kruger operates a mill in
Corner Brook with a capacity of 420,000 tonnes (462,000 tons) per year. A second mill existed in
Grand Falls which had a capacity of 210,000 tonnes (230,000 tons) per year but after a century of operation the mill closed in March 2009. 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 and
oil refining, manufacturing in the province consists of smaller industries producing
food,
brewing and other
beverage production, and
footwear.
Agriculture
Agriculture in Newfoundland is limited to areas south of
St. John's, near
Deer Lake and in the
Codroy Valley.
Potatoes,
rutabagas, known locally as "
turnips",
carrots and
cabbage are grown for local consumption.
Poultry,
eggs are also produced. Wild
blueberries,
partridgeberries (lingonberries) and
bakeapples (cloudberries) are harvested commercially and used in
jams and
wine making. Dairy production is also another huge part of the Newfoundland Agriculture Industry.
Tourism
Tourism is a significant part of the economy. In 2006 nearly 500,000 non-resident tourists visited Newfoundland and Labrador, spending an estimated $366 million.
Provincial symbols
Notable people
Music
See also
