Canada is the second largest country in the world and like other countries,
it is broken up into subdivisions; 10 provinces and 3 territories. The easternmost province
of Canada or the one closest to Ireland, is Newfoundland and Labrador. Yes, I said that right,
Newfoundland and Labrador is the name of one of the provinces of Canada, consisting of the Island
of Newfoundland and the much larger continental region of Labrador to the north-west. The two
regions aren’t even connected to each other with the 20km wide Strait of Belle Isle dividing them.
So how is this province made up of 2 separate regions, why did it only join Canada in 1949
and what is being done to connect Newfoundland with Labrador? Intro.
Intro
Newfoundland and Labrador is the 6th smallest province of Canada, at around 400,000km2 in Area.
By population it is the 2nd smallest, with around 520,000 inhabitants or less
than County Cork or Luxembourg. The continental region of Labrador makes
up 71% of the province’s land area but is home to only 6% of its population.
The majority live on the 109,000km2 Island of Newfoundland
and over half of these people live on the Avalon Peninsula in the south-east of the island.
It is here where the capital and largest city of Newfoundland and Labrador, St John’s is found.
The next 3 largest urban areas are dotted around the island of Newfoundland.
These are Corner Brook, Grand Falls-Windsor and Gander which is famed for Gander International
Airport, once the largest and one of the most important in the world.
Today St John’s international airport is the busiest in the province with flights to the UK,
USA, Mexico and many other locations within Canada.
The largest city in Labrador is the 5th largest in the province,
Labrador City, which is home to less than 8,000 people.
Roads connect the major cities while the
last railways in Newfoundland were closed in the late 1980’s.
The majority of people in Newfoundland and Labrador speak English
though unique varieties of French and even Irish were found here before. Some
indiginous languages are also spoken in parts of Labrador.
The south of Newfoundland has a cool maritime climate similar to Ireland.
The further north you go, the colder it gets as you find yourself passing
through the Subarctic climates up to the Tundra of Northern Labrador.
So that's the brief introduction on Newfoundland and Labrador. So why is the province made up of
Newfoundland AND Labrador? Like many geographic anomalies, the reason is the British Empire.
The British settled the island of Newfoundland while the French colonised Quebec.
Two points of contention between these two powers was the ownership
of Newfoundland and the Labrador Peninsula.
The English first attempted to formally settle the area in the early 17th centuries
but France also had a claim due to a Basque fishing settlement. At the Treaty of Utrecht
in 1713, France recognised British ownership over Newfoundland. In 1763 after the Seven Years' War,
New France was given to Britain, while St Pierre and Miquelon was kept by France.
However, in 1809 the British Imperial government detached Labrador from Lower Canada
and gave it to the Newfoundland Colony. I couldn't find a definite
reason for why they did this, something to do with fishing.
The exact border between Labrador and Quebec was never officially set,
giving birth to a border dispute on the Labrador Peninsula.
Canada argued that Newfoundland only owned the coastal areas while
Newfoundland claimed up to the coastal watershed.
By now both Canada and Newfoundland were semi-independent dominions within
the British Empire. The matter was taken to London where the border was decided,
following the coastal watershed and the 52nd parallel north.
The Quebec government within Canada never formally accepted this.
The Great depression caused the dominion of Newfoundland. to give up its independence.
Newfoundland recovered after the war and now its people had a choice.
To remain a colony of Britain, to regain independence or to join neighbouring
Canada. Both Canada and Britain favoured the latter option and in 1948 after 2 referendums,
the population of Newfoundland voted to join Canada.
Some of the reasons for this choice included having economic stability
and the social benefits of living in Canada.
In the 2nd referendum 52.3% voted for confederation with Canada
so at midnight on March 31, 1949, Newfoundland officially
joined Canada. It became the country’s 10 province and the newest to this day.
Finally, the name of Newfoundland was changed to Newfoundland and Labrador in 2001.
Newfoundland is not connected by any fixed link to Labrador or the rest of Canada,
though there have been many ideas to connect the largest land mass outside the Arctic Islands to
the mainland across the Strait of Belle Ile. It’s very unlikely that we’ll see it any time soon.
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