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{{short description|Province of Canada}}{{redirect|Newfoundland|the island|Newfoundland (island)|other uses}}{{Use Canadian English|date=September 2022}}{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2022}}{{bots|deny=Citation bot}}

factoids

NATURAL RESOURCES CANADA URL=HTTP://WWW4.RNCAN.GC.CA/SEARCH-PLACE-NAMES/UNIQUE/ACPVZ ARCHIVE-DATE=DECEMBER 17, 2019 URL-STATUS=LIVE, | image_flag = Flag of Newfoundland and Labrador.svg| image_shield = Coat of arms of Newfoundland and Labrador.svg{{native nameQuaerite prime regnum Dei}}“Seek ye first the kingdom of God” (Matthew 6:33)}}| image_map = Newfoundland and Labrador in Canada 2.svg| Label_map = yes53485957type:adm1st_scale:30000000_region:CA-NLACPVYdisplay=inline,title}}de facto)THE LEGAL CONTEXT OF CANADA’S OFFICIAL LANGUAGES URL = HTTPS://SLMC.UOTTAWA.CA/?Q=ENGLISH_FRENCH_LEGAL ARCHIVE-URL = HTTPS://WEB.ARCHIVE.ORG/WEB/20161221032458/HTTPS://SLMC.UOTTAWA.CA/?Q=ENGLISH_FRENCH_LEGAL URL-STATUS = DEAD, mdy-all, St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador>St. John’sSt. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador>St. John’sSt. John’s metropolitan area>Greater St. John’sParliamentary system>Parliamentary constitutional monarchy| ViceroyType = Lieutenant governor| Viceroy = Joan Marie Aylward| Premier = Andrew Furey| Legislature = Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly| area_rank = 10th| area_total_km2 = 405212| area_land_km2 = 373872| area_water_km2 = 31340| PercentWater = 7.7Newfoundland (Island)>NewfoundlanderLabradorian (see notes){{efn|Although the term Newfie is sometimes used in casual speech, some Newfoundlanders consider it a pejorative.}}| population_rank = 9th| population_total = 510550PUBLISHER=STATISTICS CANADA ACCESS-DATE=FEBRUARY 9, 2022 ARCHIVE-DATE=FEBRUARY 9, 2022,web.archive.org/web/20220209134802/https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810000101, 2021 Canadian census>2021| population_est = 540552| pop_est_as_of = Q1 2024URL=HTTPS://WWW150.STATCAN.GC.CA/T1/TBL1/EN/TV.ACTION?PID=1710000901 ARCHIVE-URL=HTTPS://WEB.ARCHIVE.ORG/WEB/20230928010937/HTTPS://WWW150.STATCAN.GC.CA/T1/TBL1/EN/TV.ACTION?PID=1710000901 ACCESS-DATE=SEPTEMBER 28, 2023, Statistics Canada, | DensityRank = 10th| Density_km2 = 1.4| GDP_year = 2011PUBLISHER=STATISTICS CANADA ACCESS-DATE=SEPTEMBER 26, 2013 ARCHIVE-URL=HTTPS://WEB.ARCHIVE.ORG/WEB/20120919211233/HTTP://WWW.STATCAN.GC.CA/TABLES-TABLEAUX/SUM-SOM/L01/CST01/ECON15-ENG.HTM, live, | GDP_rank = 8th| GDP_per_capita = C$65,556| GDP_per_capita_rank = 5th| Former = Dominion of Newfoundland| AdmittanceOrder = 12th| AdmittanceDate = March 31, 1949| HouseSeats = 7| SenateSeats = 6| timezone1_location = Newfoundland| timezone1 = Newfoundland Time Zone| utc_offset1 = -03:30| timezone1_DST =| utc_offset1_DST =| timezone2_location = Labrador (Black Tickle and North)| timezone2 = Atlantic Time Zone| utc_offset2 = -04:00| timezone2_DST =| utc_offset2_DST =| PostalAbbreviation = NL (formerly NF)List of A Postal Codes of Canada>A| iso_code = CA-NL| website = www.gov.nl.caSarracenia purpurea>Pitcher plant| tree = Black spruce| bird = Atlantic puffin| HDI_year = 2021ACCESS-DATE=JULY 18, 2021 ARCHIVE-DATE=JULY 18, 2021URL-STATUS=LIVE, —Very highList of Canadian provinces and territories by Human Development Index>13th}}Newfoundland and Labrador ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|nj|uː|f|É™n|(|d|)|l|É™|n|d|...|’|l|æ|b|r|É™|d|ɔːr|,_|-|l|æ|n|d|...}} {{respelling|NEW|fÉ™n(d)|lÉ™nd|_|...|_|LAB|rÉ™|dor|,_|-|land|_...}}, {{IPAc-en|local|ËŒ|nj|uː|f|É™n|ˈ|l|æ|n|d|...}} {{respelling|NEW|fÉ™n|LAND|_...}}; ; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country’s Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of {{cvt|405,212|km2}} As of January 1, 2024, the population of Newfoundland and Labrador was estimated to be 540,552.WEB, Department of Finance, January 1, 2024, People,www.gov.nl.ca/fin/economics/eb-population/#:~:text=Newfoundland%20and%20Labrador’s%20population%20stood,population%20growth%20for%20the%20province., April 24, 2024, March 29, 2024,web.archive.org/web/20240329051247/https://www.gov.nl.ca/fin/economics/eb-population/#:~:text=Newfoundland%20and%20Labrador’s%20population%20stood,population%20growth%20for%20the%20province., live, 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 the Avalon Peninsula. Labrador shares a land border with both the province of Quebec and the territory of Nunavut on Killiniq Island. The French overseas collectivity of Saint Pierre and Miquelon lies about {{cvt|20|km}} west of the Burin Peninsula. According to the 2016 census, 97.0% of residents reported English as their native language, making Newfoundland and Labrador Canada’s most linguistically homogeneous province. Much of the population is descended from Irish settlers, giving Newfoundland its reputation as “the most Irish place outside Ireland.“Teaching Irish in Newfoundland, the most Irish place outside Ireland {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200624104436www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/abroad/generation-emigration/teaching-irish-in-newfoundland-the-most-irish-place-outside-ireland-1.2575366?mode=amp |date=June 24, 2020 }}, by Sinéad Ní Mheallaigh, The Irish Times, March 16, 2016.St. John’s, the capital and largest city of Newfoundland and Labrador, is Canada’s 22nd-largest census metropolitan area and home to about 40% of the province’s population. St. John’s is the seat of the House of Assembly of Newfoundland and Labrador as well as the province’s highest court, the Newfoundland and Labrador Court of Appeal.Until 1949, the Dominion of Newfoundland was a separate dominion 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-appointed Commission of Government. This followed the suffering caused by the Great Depression and Newfoundland’s participation in the First World War. On March 31, 1949, it became the 10th and newest province to join the Canadian Confederation as “Newfoundland”. On December 6, 2001, the Constitution of Canada was amended to change the province’s name from “Newfoundland” to “Newfoundland and Labrador”.{{TOC limit|3}}

Names

The name “New founde lande” was uttered by King Henry VII about the land explored by Sebastian and John Cabot. In Portuguese, it is (while the province’s full name is ), which literally means “new land” and is also the French name for the province’s island region (). 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 the Portuguese navigator João Fernandes Lavrador.Hamilton, William B. (1978): The Macmillan book of Canadian place names, Macmillan of Canada, Toronto, p. 105.Labrador’s name in the Inuttitut/Inuktitut language (spoken in Nunatsiavut) is (), meaning “the big land” (a common English nickname for LabradorWEB, Four of the best places to visit in The Big Land,www.newfoundlandlabrador.com/trip-ideas/travel-stories/four-of-the-best-places-to-visit-in-the-big-land, June 18, 2022, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada – Official Tourism Website, en, June 25, 2021,web.archive.org/web/20210625073039/https://www.newfoundlandlabrador.com/trip-ideas/travel-stories/four-of-the-best-places-to-visit-in-the-big-land, live, ). Newfoundland’s Inuttitut/Inuktitut name is (), meaning “place of many shoals”. Newfoundland and Labrador’s Inuttitut / Inuktitut name is . 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 of Brian Tobin passed a motion in the Newfoundland House of Assembly requesting the federal government amend the Newfoundland Act to change the province’s name to “Newfoundland and Labrador”. A resolution approving the name change was put forward in the House of Commons in October 2001, introduced by Tobin who had moved to federal politics. Tobin’s successor as premier Roger 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”.NEWS,www.releases.gov.nl.ca/releases/2001/exec/1026n03.htm, Federal government moves forward with province’s request for provincial name change, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, 26 October 2001, 3 December 2023, Following approval by the House of Commons and the Senate, Governor-General Adrienne Clarkson officially proclaimed the name change on December 6, 2001.NEWS,www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-s-name-change-now-official-1.279040, Newfoundland’s name change now official, CBC News, 6 December 2001, 3 December 2023,

Geography

Newfoundland and Labrador is the most easterly province in Canada, situated in the northeastern region of North America.WEB,www.nlimmigration.ca/about-newfoundland-and-labrador/geography-and-climate.aspx, Geography and Climate, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, January 10, 2011, October 31, 2010,www.nlimmigration.ca/about-newfoundland-and-labrador/geography-and-climate.aspx," title="web.archive.org/web/20101031113304www.nlimmigration.ca/about-newfoundland-and-labrador/geography-and-climate.aspx,">web.archive.org/web/20101031113304www.nlimmigration.ca/about-newfoundland-and-labrador/geography-and-climate.aspx, live, The Strait of Belle Isle separates the province into two geographical parts: Labrador, connected to mainland Canada, and Newfoundland, an island in the Atlantic Ocean.WEB,www.heritage.nf.ca/environment/landscape.html, Landscape (of Newfoundland and Labrador), Bell, Trevor, Liverman, David, Memorial University of Newfoundland, June 16, 2008, March 15, 2015,www.heritage.nf.ca/environment/landscape.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20150315115626www.heritage.nf.ca/environment/landscape.html,">web.archive.org/web/20150315115626www.heritage.nf.ca/environment/landscape.html, live, The province also includes over 7,000 tiny islands.WEB,atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/learningresources/facts/islands.html, Atlas of Canada: Sea islands, Natural Resources Canada (Government of Canada), June 16, 2008, January 22, 2013,atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/learningresources/facts/islands.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20130122002132atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/learningresources/facts/islands.html,">web.archive.org/web/20130122002132atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/learningresources/facts/islands.html, dead, Newfoundland has a roughly triangular shape. Each side is about {{cvt|400|km}} long, and its area is {{cvt|108860|km2}}. Newfoundland and its neighbouring small islands (excluding French possessions) have an area of {{cvt|111390|km2}}.WEB,www.gov.nf.ca/aboutnl/area.htm, About Newfoundland and Labrador: Land Area, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador,www.gov.nf.ca/aboutnl/area.htm," title="web.archive.org/web/20061003160224www.gov.nf.ca/aboutnl/area.htm,">web.archive.org/web/20061003160224www.gov.nf.ca/aboutnl/area.htm, October 3, 2006, January 30, 2018, Newfoundland extends between latitudes 46°36′N and 51°38′N.WEB,www2.marianopolis.edu/nfldhistory/Newfoundland%20geography.html, Newfoundland Geography, Bélanger, Claude, Marianopolis College, June 16, 2008, dead,www2.marianopolis.edu/nfldhistory/Newfoundland%20geography.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20070412042640www2.marianopolis.edu/nfldhistory/Newfoundland%20geography.html,">web.archive.org/web/20070412042640www2.marianopolis.edu/nfldhistory/Newfoundland%20geography.html, April 12, 2007, WEB,www.nlbusiness.ca/aboutnl/location.html, Location and Climate, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, June 16, 2008,www.nlbusiness.ca/aboutnl/location.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20080415200111www.nlbusiness.ca/aboutnl/location.html,">web.archive.org/web/20080415200111www.nlbusiness.ca/aboutnl/location.html, April 15, 2008, Labrador is also roughly triangular in 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, 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 with Nunavut on Killiniq Island. Labrador also has a maritime border with Greenland. Labrador’s land area (including associated small islands) is {{cvt|294330|km2}}. Together, Newfoundland and Labrador make up 4.06 per cent of Canada’s area,WEB,atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/learningresources/facts/surfareas.html, Atlas of Canada: Land and Freshwater Areas, Natural Resources Canada (Government of Canada), June 16, 2008, dead,atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/learningresources/facts/surfareas.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20080616053900atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/learningresources/facts/surfareas.html,">web.archive.org/web/20080616053900atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/learningresources/facts/surfareas.html, June 16, 2008, with a total area of {{cvt|405720|km2}}.WEB, About Newfoundland and Labrador: Land Area, Province of Newfoundland and Labrador,www.gov.nl.ca/aboutnl/area.html, January 30, 2018, January 31, 2018,web.archive.org/web/20180131200924/https://www.gov.nl.ca/aboutnl/area.html, live,

Geology

File:NLW Table2 tango7174.jpg|thumb|The Long Range Mountains on Newfoundland’s west coast are the northernmost extension of the Appalachian MountainsAppalachian MountainsLabrador is the easternmost part of the Canadian Shield, a vast area of ancient metamorphic rock making up 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,WEB,www.pc.gc.ca/docs/pm-wh/rspm-whsr/rapports-reports/r3_e.asp, Report on the State of Conservation of Gros Morne National Park, Parks Canada, June 16, 2008, dead,www.pc.gc.ca/docs/pm-wh/rspm-whsr/rapports-reports/r3_e.asp," title="web.archive.org/web/20050805075101www.pc.gc.ca/docs/pm-wh/rspm-whsr/rapports-reports/r3_e.asp,">web.archive.org/web/20050805075101www.pc.gc.ca/docs/pm-wh/rspm-whsr/rapports-reports/r3_e.asp, August 5, 2005, 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.WEB,www.heritage.nf.ca/environment/climate.html, Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage Web Site: Climate, Memorial University of Newfoundland, June 16, 2008, November 19, 2014,www.heritage.nf.ca/environment/climate.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20141119144357www.heritage.nf.ca/environment/climate.html,">web.archive.org/web/20141119144357www.heritage.nf.ca/environment/climate.html, live,

Climate

Newfoundland, in broad terms, has a cool summer subtype, with a humid continental climate attributable to its proximity to water — no part of the island is more than {{cvt|100|km}} from the Atlantic Ocean.BOOK, Bornstein, Stephen,www.worldcat.org/oclc/1223011941, Newfoundland and Labrador : a health system profile, 2021, John Abbott, Victor Maddalena, Aimee Letto, Melissa Sullivan, Pablo Navarro, 978-1-4875-0840-1, Toronto, 1223011941, University of Toronto Press, However, Northern Labrador is classified as a polar tundra climate, and southern Labrador has a subarctic climate.WEB, Climate Characteristics,www.heritage.nf.ca/environment/seasonal.html, live,www.heritage.nf.ca/environment/seasonal.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20080618214933www.heritage.nf.ca/environment/seasonal.html,">web.archive.org/web/20080618214933www.heritage.nf.ca/environment/seasonal.html, June 18, 2008, June 17, 2008, Memorial University of Newfoundland, 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.File:Newfoundland and Labrador Köppen.svg|thumb|Köppen climate types of Newfoundland and Labrador]]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 and Wabush the interior of Labrador. Climate data for 56 places in the province is available from Environment Canada.WEB,climate.weather.gc.ca/climate_normals/stnselect_1981_2010_e.html?lang=e&province=NL&provSubmit=go, Station Results – 1981–2010 Climate Normals and Averages, Environment Canada, May 9, 2016,climate.weather.gc.ca/climate_normals/stnselect_1981_2010_e.html?lang=e&province=NL&provSubmit=go," title="web.archive.org/web/20160316212407climate.weather.gc.ca/climate_normals/stnselect_1981_2010_e.html?lang=e&province=NL&provSubmit=go,">web.archive.org/web/20160316212407climate.weather.gc.ca/climate_normals/stnselect_1981_2010_e.html?lang=e&province=NL&provSubmit=go, March 16, 2016, dead, 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 {{cvt|12|C}} inshore and {{cvt|9|C}} offshore to winter lows of {{cvt|-1|C}} inshore and {{cvt|2|C}} offshore. Sea temperatures on the west coast are warmer than Atlantic side by 1–3 Â°C (approximately 2–5 Â°F). The sea keeps winter temperatures slightly higher and summer temperatures a little lower on the coast than 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.WEB,atlantic-web1.ns.ec.gc.ca/climatecentre/default.asp?lang=En&n=83846147-1, The Climate of Newfoundland, Environment Canada, June 17, 2008,atlantic-web1.ns.ec.gc.ca/climatecentre/default.asp?lang=En&n=83846147-1," title="web.archive.org/web/20080519102701atlantic-web1.ns.ec.gc.ca/climatecentre/default.asp?lang=En&n=83846147-1,">web.archive.org/web/20080519102701atlantic-web1.ns.ec.gc.ca/climatecentre/default.asp?lang=En&n=83846147-1, May 19, 2008, {| class=“wikitable sortable” style="margin:auto;”climate.weatheroffice.gc.ca/Welcome_e.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20091211013802climate.weatheroffice.gc.ca/Welcome_e.html,">web.archive.org/web/20091211013802climate.weatheroffice.gc.ca/Welcome_e.html, live, !Location!July (°C)!July (°F)!January (°C)!January (°F)St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador>St. John’s 20/11 68/52 −1/−9 30/16Grand Falls-Windsor >| 27/9Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador>Gander 21/11 71/51 −3/−12 26/11Corner Brook >| 28/15Stephenville, Newfoundland and Labrador>Stephenville 20/12 68/54 −2/−9 27/15Fogo Island, Newfoundland and Labrador>Fogo Island 19/10 66/50 −3/–9 26/16Labrador City >| 2/–18Happy Valley-Goose Bay >| 9/−8Nain, Newfoundland and Labrador>Nain 15/5 59/41 −14/−23 7/−10

History

{{See|Monarchy in Newfoundland and Labrador#History}}

Early history and the Beothuks

File:Port au Choix Artwork.jpg|thumb|An artistic depiction of the Maritime Archaic culture, at the Port au Choix Archaeological Site. The Maritime Archaic peoples were the first to settle Newfoundland.]]

Dorset culture

Human habitation in Newfoundland and Labrador can be traced back about 9,000 years.WEB,www.therooms.ca/museum/mnotes12.asp, Museum Notes – The Maritime Archaic Tradition, Tuck, James A., “The Rooms” Provincial museum, June 17, 2008, dead,www.therooms.ca/museum/mnotes12.asp," title="web.archive.org/web/20060510135435www.therooms.ca/museum/mnotes12.asp,">web.archive.org/web/20060510135435www.therooms.ca/museum/mnotes12.asp, May 10, 2006, The Maritime Archaic peoples were sea-mammal hunters in the subarctic. They prospered along the Atlantic Coast of North America from about 7000 BC to 1500 BC.WEB,www.therooms.ca/museum/mnotes12.asp, Museum Notes-The Maritime Archaic Tradition, By James A. Tuck-The Rooms Provincial Art Gallery, October 5, 2009, dead,www.therooms.ca/museum/mnotes12.asp," title="web.archive.org/web/20060510135435www.therooms.ca/museum/mnotes12.asp,">web.archive.org/web/20060510135435www.therooms.ca/museum/mnotes12.asp, May 10, 2006, Their settlements included longhouses and boat-topped temporary or seasonal houses. They engaged in long-distance trade, using as currency white chert, a rock quarried from northern Labrador to Maine.BOOK, Tuck, J. A., The excavation of an Archaic Indian Cemetery in Newfoundland. Newfoundland Social and Economic Studies 17, 1976, Institute of Social and Economic Research, St. John’s, Ancient peoples of Port au Choix, 978-0-919666-12-2, The Maritime Archaic peoples were gradually displaced by people of the Dorset culture (Late Paleo-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 exposed headlands and outer islands. They were more oriented to the sea than earlier peoples, and had developed sleds and boats similar to kayaks. They burned seal blubber in soapstone lamps.Ralph T. Pastore, “Aboriginal Peoples: Palaeo-Eskimo Peoples” {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130923033457www.heritage.nf.ca/aboriginal/palaeo.html |date=September 23, 2013 }}, Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage: Newfoundland and Labrador Studies Site 2205, 1998, Memorial University of NewfoundlandMany of these sites, such as Port 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 of harp seal bones at Port au Choix, indicating that this place was a prime location for the hunting of these animals.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.BOOK,books.google.com/books?id=PHsyINzEEgEC&pg=PA88, 88–89, Canada’s Changing North, William C, Wonders, McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2003, 978-0-7735-2590-0, May 23, 2022, May 23, 2022,web.archive.org/web/20220523120626/https://books.google.com/books?id=PHsyINzEEgEC&pg=PA88, live, The massive decline in sea ice during the Medieval Warm Period would have had a devastating effect upon their way of life.

Beothuk settlement

File:Labrador Eskimoindianer, nach den Berichten eines Herrnhuter Missionars, 1812.jpg|thumb|upright|Depiction of the 1812}}The appearance of the Beothuk culture is believed to be the most recent cultural manifestation of peoples who first migrated from Labrador to Newfoundland around 1 AD.BOOK,books.google.com/books?id=ckOav3Szu7oC&pg=PA13, 13, A History and Ethnography of the Beothuk, Ingeborg, Marshall, McGill-Queen’s University Press, 1998, 978-0-7735-1774-5, November 18, 2020, August 15, 2021,web.archive.org/web/20210815185014/https://books.google.com/books?id=ckOav3Szu7oC&pg=PA13, live, The Inuit, found mostly in Labrador, are the descendants of what anthropologists call the Thule people, who emerged from western Alaska around 1000 AD and spread eastwards across the High Arctic tundra reaching Labrador around 1300–1500.BOOK,archive.org/details/nativeamericanen0000prit, registration, Inuit migration to labrador., 535, A Native American encyclopedia: history, culture, and peoples, Barry, Pritzker, Oxford University Press, 2000, 978-0-19-513877-1, Researchers believe the Dorset culture lacked the dogs, larger weapons and other technologies that gave the expanding Inuit an advantage.BOOK,books.google.com/books?id=P69EpMJ-C_8C&q=Dorset%20culture%20lacked%20dogs&pg=PA101, 101, Inujjuamiut foraging strategies : evolutionary ecology of an arctic hunting economy, Smith, Eric Alden, A. de Gruyter, 1991, 978-0-202-01181-3, November 18, 2020, August 14, 2021,web.archive.org/web/20210814132645/https://books.google.com/books?id=P69EpMJ-C_8C&q=Dorset%20culture%20lacked%20dogs&pg=PA101, live, The inhabitants eventually organized themselves into small bands of a few families, grouped into larger tribes and chieftainships. The Innu are the inhabitants of an area they refer to as Nitassinan, i.e. most of what is now referred to as northeastern Quebec and Labrador. Their subsistence activities were historically centered on hunting and trapping caribou, deer and small game.BOOK,books.google.com/books?id=Bnabh4i3ppMC&q=Innu+traditional+diet&pg=PA37, 37, Native American History, Educational Britannica Educational, J E, Luebering, 2011, 978-1-61530-265-9, November 18, 2020, August 14, 2021,web.archive.org/web/20210814103130/https://books.google.com/books?id=Bnabh4i3ppMC&q=Innu+traditional+diet&pg=PA37, live, Coastal clans also practiced agriculture, fished and managed maple sugar bush. The Innu engaged in tribal warfare along the coast of Labrador with Inuit groups that had large populations.BOOK,books.google.com/books?id=GkAuYRVjlE8C&q=Innu%20and%20Inuit%20warfare&pg=PA102, 102, Aboriginal peoples of Canada: a short introduction, Paul R, Magocsi, University of Toronto Press, 2002, 978-0-8020-3630-8, November 18, 2020, August 15, 2021,web.archive.org/web/20210815022128/https://books.google.com/books?id=GkAuYRVjlE8C&q=Innu%20and%20Inuit%20warfare&pg=PA102, live, The Miꞌkmaq 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.BOOK,books.google.com/books?id=-PRUMG5Ukx4C&q=Mi’kmaq&pg=PA4, 4, Mi’kmaq landscapes: from animism to sacred ecology, Anne-Christine, Hornborg, Burlington, VT : Ashgate, 2007, 978-0-7546-6371-3, July 16, 2022, August 16, 2021,web.archive.org/web/20210816163958/https://books.google.com/books?id=-PRUMG5Ukx4C&q=Mi%27kmaq&pg=PA4, live, 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.BOOK,books.google.com/books?id=UAvyE0pN5akC&q=Place%20names%20of%20Atlantic%20Canada&pg=PA3, 3, Place names of Atlantic Canada, William, Baillie Hamilton, University of Toronto Press, 1996, 978-0-8020-0471-0, November 18, 2020, August 17, 2021,web.archive.org/web/20210817225141/https://books.google.com/books?id=UAvyE0pN5akC&q=Place%20names%20of%20Atlantic%20Canada&pg=PA3, live, In addition to the district councils, the Miꞌkmaq tribes also developed a Grand Council or Santé Mawiómi, which according to oral tradition was formed before 1600.BOOK,books.google.com/books?id=0MEQyYggQE8C&pg=PA53, 53, Mi’kmaq Treaties on Trial: History, Land and Donald Marshall Junior, William, Wicken, University of Toronto Press, 2002, 978-0-8020-0718-6, July 16, 2022, August 14, 2021,web.archive.org/web/20210814214226/https://books.google.com/books?id=0MEQyYggQE8C&q=Mi%27kmaq%20%20Grand%20Council%20formation&pg=PA53, live,

European contact

File:Beothuk camp.jpg|thumb|A 18th century}}By the time European contact with Newfoundland began in the early 16th century, the Beothuk were the only indigenous group living permanently on the island. Unlike other groups in the Northeastern area of the Americas, the Beothuk never established sustained trading relations with European settlers. Their interactions were sporadic, and they largely attempted to avoid contact.JOURNAL, Holly, Donald H. Jr., The Beothuk on the Eve of Their Extinction, Arctic Anthropology, 2000, 37, 1, 79–95, 17722364, 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.Timothy Severin, “The Voyage of the ‘Brendan’”, National Geographic Magazine, 152: 6 (December 1977), p. 768-97.Tim Severin, The Brendan Voyage: A Leather Boat Tracks the Discovery of America by the Irish Sailor Saints, McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1978, {{ISBN|0-07-056335-7}}.Tim Severin, “Atlantic Navigators: The Brendan Voyage”, 2005 presentation at Gresham College, voices.nationalgeographic.com/2013/05/16/did-st-brendan-reach-north-america-500-years-before-the-vikings/" title="web.archive.org/web/20150210223018voices.nationalgeographic.com/2013/05/16/did-st-brendan-reach-north-america-500-years-before-the-vikings/">video posted on National Geographic Voices by Andrew Howley May 16, 2013.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 to tuberculosis had decimated the Beothuk population, and they were extinct by 1829.The oldest confirmed accounts of European contact date from a thousand years ago as described in the Viking (Norse) Icelandic Sagas. Around the year 1001, the sagas refer to Leif Erikson landing in three places to the west,BOOK, Pálsson, Hermann, The Vinland sagas: the Norse discovery of America, Penguin Classics,books.google.com/books?id=m-4rb_GhQ5EC&morning&pg=PA28, 28, 1965, 978-0-14-044154-3, April 15, 2010, August 12, 2021,web.archive.org/web/20210812210827/https://books.google.com/books?id=m-4rb_GhQ5EC&q=The%20Vinland%20sagas%3A%20the%20Norse%20discovery%20of%20America&pg=PA28, live, the first two being Helluland (possibly Baffin Island) and Markland (possibly Labrador).WEB,sagadb.org/eiriks_saga_rauda.en, Eiríks saga rauða, The Saga of Erik the Red, 1880, J., Sephton, Icelandic Saga Database, August 11, 2010, May 4, 2016,sagadb.org/eiriks_saga_rauda.en," title="web.archive.org/web/20160504211747sagadb.org/eiriks_saga_rauda.en,">web.archive.org/web/20160504211747sagadb.org/eiriks_saga_rauda.en, live, WEB,www.mnh.si.edu/vikings/voyage/subset/markland/history.html, Vikings: The North Atlantic Saga, National Museum of Natural History, Arctic Studies Centre- (Smithsonian Institution), 2008, August 11, 2010, December 24, 2015,www.mnh.si.edu/vikings/voyage/subset/markland/history.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20151224040949www.mnh.si.edu/vikings/voyage/subset/markland/history.html,">web.archive.org/web/20151224040949www.mnh.si.edu/vikings/voyage/subset/markland/history.html, live, BOOK, Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail Or Succeed, Jared M, Diamond,archive.org/details/collapse00jare, registration, Vikings Settle Helluland Markland., 207, 2006, Penguin Books, 978-0-14-303655-5Vinland (possibly Newfoundland).WAS VINLAND IN NEWFOUNDLAND?FIRST=EINARPUBLISHER=ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN PROCEEDINGS OF THE EIGHTH VIKING CONGRESS, ARHUS (AUGUST 24–31, 1977). REPUBLISHED UNIVERSITY PRESS OF SOUTHERN DENMARK, 1981>DATE=1977EDITOR1-LAST=BEKKER-NIELSENEDITOR2-LAST=FOOTEEDITOR3-LAST=OLSENARCHIVE-URL=HTTPS://WEB.ARCHIVE.ORG/WEB/20010515202742/HTTP://WWW.CAPECOD.NET/~NMGOOD/URL-STATUS=DEAD, Archaeological evidence of a Norse settlement was found in L’Anse aux Meadows, Newfoundland (island), which was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1978.L’ANSE AUX MEADOWS NATIONAL HISTORIC SITEPUBLISHER=UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE CENTRE (UNITED NATIONS)ACCESS-DATE=APRIL 15, 2010ARCHIVE-URL=HTTPS://WEB.ARCHIVE.ORG/WEB/20060616164041/HTTPS://WHC.UNESCO.ORG/EN/LIST/4, live, WEB, L’Anse aux Meadows National Historic Site of Canada, Parks Canada, 2007,www.pc.gc.ca/lhn-nhs/nl/meadows/index_e.asp, April 15, 2010, December 16, 2008,www.pc.gc.ca/lhn-nhs/nl/meadows/index_E.asp," title="web.archive.org/web/20081216063635www.pc.gc.ca/lhn-nhs/nl/meadows/index_E.asp,">web.archive.org/web/20081216063635www.pc.gc.ca/lhn-nhs/nl/meadows/index_E.asp, dead, There are several other unconfirmed accounts of European discovery and exploration, one tale of men from the Channel Islands being blown off course in the late 15th century into a strange land full of fish,WEB, LE MESSURIER, H. W., THE EARLY RELATIONS BETWEEN NEWFOUNDLAND AND THE CHANNEL ISLANDS,archive.org/stream/jstor-207514/207514_djvu.txt, December 1916, Geographical Review, and another from Portuguese maps that depict the Terra do Bacalhau, or land of codfish, west of the Azores. The earliest, though, is the Voyage of Saint Brendan, the fantastical account of an Irish monk who made a sea voyage in the early 6th century. While the story became a part of myth and legend, some historians believe it is based on fact.File:Bonavista Cabot 2.jpg|thumb|A statue of John Cabot at reason=muddled grammar makes meaning unclear|date=September 2019}}In 1496, John Cabot obtained a charter from English King 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 in Cape Bonavista. Historians disagree on whether Cabot landed in Nova 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 mariners João Fernandes Lavrador and Pero de Barcelos explored and mapped the coast, the former’s name appearing as “Labrador” on topographical maps of the period.BOOK,books.google.com/books?id=vtZtMBLJ7GgC&q=The%20name%20%22Labrador%22%20and%20Jo%C3%A3o%20Fernandes%20Lavrador&pg=PA464, Foundations of the Portuguese empire, University of Minnesota Press, Bailey W. Diffie, George D. Winius, amp, 464, 1977, 978-0-8166-0782-2, August 13, 2010, August 13, 2021,web.archive.org/web/20210813214351/https://books.google.com/books?id=vtZtMBLJ7GgC&q=The%20name%20%22Labrador%22%20and%20Jo%C3%A3o%20Fernandes%20Lavrador&pg=PA464, live, Based on the Treaty of Tordesillas, the Portuguese Crown claimed it had territorial rights in the area John Cabot visited in 1497 and 1498.WEB, John Cabot’s voyage of 1498,www.heritage.nf.ca/exploration/cabot1498.html, Memorial University of Newfoundland (Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage), 2000, April 12, 2010, August 5, 2011,www.heritage.nf.ca/exploration/cabot1498.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20110805084234www.heritage.nf.ca/exploration/cabot1498.html,">web.archive.org/web/20110805084234www.heritage.nf.ca/exploration/cabot1498.html, live, Subsequently, in 1501 and 1502, the Corte-Real brothers, Miguel and Gaspar, explored Newfoundland and Labrador, claiming them as part of the Portuguese Empire.DCB, L.-A., Vigneras, Corte-Real, Miguel, 1,www.biographi.ca/en/bio/corte_real_miguel_1E.html, April 12, 2010, BOOK,books.google.com/books?id=vtZtMBLJ7GgC&q=The%20name%20%22Labrador%22%20and%20Jo%C3%A3o%20Fernandes%20Lavrador&pg=PA464, Foundations of the Portuguese empire, University of Minnesota Press, Bailey W, Diffie, George D, Winius, 464–465, 1977, 978-0-8166-0782-2, August 13, 2010, August 13, 2021,web.archive.org/web/20210813214351/https://books.google.com/books?id=vtZtMBLJ7GgC&q=The%20name%20%22Labrador%22%20and%20Jo%C3%A3o%20Fernandes%20Lavrador&pg=PA464, live, In 1506, king Manuel I of Portugal created taxes for the cod fisheries in Newfoundland waters.BOOK, Sixteenth century North America : the land and the people as seen by the Europeans, Sauer, Carl Ortwin, 1971, University of California Press, 978-0-520-01854-9, Berkeley, 215780, João Álvares Fagundes and Pero de Barcelos established seasonal fishing outposts in Newfoundland and Nova Scotia around 1521, and older Portuguese settlements may have existed.BOOK, Chronology of world history: a calendar of principal events from 3000 BC to.., Rowman & Littlefield, 1975, 387, 978-0-87471-765-5Humphrey Gilbert, provided with letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I, landed in St. John’s in August 1583, and formally took possession of the island.Brian Cuthbertson, “John Cabot and His Historians: Five Hundred Years of Controversy.” Journal of the Royal Nova Scotia Historical Society 1998 1: 16–35. {{ISSN>1486-5920}}.See Samuel Eliot Morison, The European Discovery of America: The Northern Voyages (1971){{anchor|colony}}

European settlement and conflict

Sometime before 1563, Basque fishermen, who had been fishing cod shoals off Newfoundland’s coasts since the beginning of the sixteenth century, founded Plaisance (today Placentia), a seasonal haven which French fishermen later used. In the Newfoundland will 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.WEB,canadashistory.ca/Community/Community-Features/Articles/Basque-Will, The 1563 Basque Will, Dawson, Joanna, canadahistory.ca,canadashistory.ca/Community/Community-Features/Articles/Basque-Will," title="web.archive.org/web/20170301144128canadashistory.ca/Community/Community-Features/Articles/Basque-Will,">web.archive.org/web/20170301144128canadashistory.ca/Community/Community-Features/Articles/Basque-Will, March 1, 2017, dead, July 1, 2018, WEB,www.placentiahistory.ca/images/pdfs/Basque_will_translation_PDF.pdf, The Oldest Original Civil Document Written in Canada: The Last Will of Basque Sailor Domingo de Luca a, Placentia, Newfoundland, 1563, Barkham, Michael M., placentia.ca, July 1, 2018, March 16, 2017,placentiahistory.ca/images/pdfs/Basque_will_translation_PDF.pdf," title="web.archive.org/web/20170316062025placentiahistory.ca/images/pdfs/Basque_will_translation_PDF.pdf,">web.archive.org/web/20170316062025placentiahistory.ca/images/pdfs/Basque_will_translation_PDF.pdf, live, commemorating the English claim over Newfoundland, and the beginning of the British overseas empireTwenty years later, in 1583, Newfoundland became England’s first possession in North America and one of the earliest permanent English colonies in the New WorldBOOK, Sir Francis Drake, Sugden, John, 1990, Barrie & Jenkins, 978-0-7126-2038-3, 118, when Sir Humphrey Gilbert claimed it for Elizabeth I. 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.In 1585, during the initial stages of Anglo-Spanish War, Bernard Drake led a devastating raid on the Spanish and Portuguese fisheries. This provided an opportunity to secure the island and led to the appointment of Proprietary Governors to establish colonial settlements on the island from 1610 to 1728. John Guy became governor of the first settlement at Cuper’s Cove. Other settlements included Bristol’s Hope, Renews, New Cambriol, South Falkland and Avalon (which became a province in 1623). The first governor given jurisdiction over all of Newfoundland was Sir David Kirke in 1638.Explorers quickly realized the waters around Newfoundland had the best fishing in the North Atlantic.Grant C. Head, Eighteenth Century Newfoundland: A Geographer’s Perspective (1976){{request quotation|date=November 2016}} By 1620, 300 fishing boats worked the Grand Banks, employing some 10,000 sailors; many continuing to come from the Basque Country, Normandy, or Brittany. They dried and salted cod on the coast and sold it to Spain and Portugal. Heavy investment by Sir George 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 his other colony in Maryland.DCB, Allan M., Fraser, Calvert, Sir George, 1,www.biographi.ca/en/bio/calvert_george_1E.html, After Calvert left, small-scale entrepreneurs such as Sir David Kirke made good use of the facilities.Compare: DCB, John S., Moir, Kirke, Sir David, 1,www.biographi.ca/en/bio/kirke_david_1E.html, In 1639 Sir David, as the first governor of Newfoundland, took possession of Baltimore’s “Mansion House” and the other property at Ferryland., Kirke became the first governor of Newfoundland in 1638.

Triangular Trade

A triangular trade with New England, the West Indies, and Europe gave Newfoundland an important economic role.Pope, Peter Edward. 2004. Fish into Wine: the Newfoundland Plantation in the Seventeenth Century. Chapel Hill: Published for the Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture, Williamsburg, Virginia, by the University of North Carolina Press.By the 1670s, there were 1,700 permanent residents and another 4,500 in the summer months.Gordon W. Handcock, “So Longe as There Comes Noe Women”: Origins of English Settlement in Newfoundland (1989)This trade relied upon the labour of enslaved people of African descent.Campbell, Xavier. “The Dark Side of Cod, Rum and Molasses: Dispelling the Myths around N.L. Staple Foods.” CBCnews. CBC/Radio Canada, January 8, 2022.www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/opinion-xaiver-campbell-cod-myths-1.6284952.Walker, Barrington. 2012. “Jamaicans and the Making of Modern Canada.” In Jamaica in the Canadian Experience: a Multiculturalizing Presence, edited by Carl James and Andrea Davis, 23–34. Canada: Fernwood Pub. Salted cod from Newfoundland was used to feed the enslaved persons of African descent on plantations in the West Indies. 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. Some merchants in Newfoundland enslaved persons of African descent such as St. John’s merchant, Thomas Oxford. 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 the Slavery Abolition Act in 1833.WHITFIELD, HARVEY AMANI. 2012. “The Struggle over Slavery in the Maritime Colonies.” Acadiensis (Fredericton) 41 (2): 17–44.Henry, Natasha. “Black Enslavement in Canada.” The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica Canada. Article published June 13, 2016; Last Edited February 09, 2022.www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/black-enslavementNotably, the Kirke brothers who were merchants in the triangular trade, brought Olivier Le Jeune to New France, where he was sold in 1629.File:Les Anglais attaqués par les Français à Terre-Neuve en 1696.jpg|upright|thumb|left|French forces sacking English settlements in Newfoundland in 1696]]In 1655, France appointed a governor in Plaisance (Placentia), the former Basque fishing settlement, thus starting a formal French colonization period in NewfoundlandWEB,collections.mun.ca/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=/hist_trust&CISOPTR=242&CISOSHOW=123&REC=5, History of Placentia, Memorial University of Newfoundland, February 26, 2010, October 25, 2011,collections.mun.ca/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=%2Fhist_trust&CISOPTR=242&CISOSHOW=123&REC=5," title="web.archive.org/web/20111025190440collections.mun.ca/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=%2Fhist_trust&CISOPTR=242&CISOSHOW=123&REC=5,">web.archive.org/web/20111025190440collections.mun.ca/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=%2Fhist_trust&CISOPTR=242&CISOSHOW=123&REC=5, live, 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 by New France explorer Pierre Le Moyne d’Iberville who during King 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 at Carbonear Island and those in the then remote Bonavista.After France lost political control of the area after the Siege of Port Royal in 1710, the Miꞌkmaq engaged in warfare with the British throughout Dummer’s War (1722–1725), King George’s War (1744–1748), Father Le Loutre’s War (1749–1755) and the French and Indian War (1754–1763). The French colonization period lasted until the Treaty of Utrecht of 1713, which ended the War of the Spanish Succession: France ceded to the British its claims to Newfoundland (including its claims to the shores of Hudson Bay) and to the French possessions in Acadia. Afterward, under the supervision of the last French governor, the French population of Plaisance moved to ÃŽle Royale (now Cape Breton Island), part of Acadia which remained then under French control.In the Treaty of Utrecht (1713), France had acknowledged British ownership of the island. However, in the Seven 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 led William Pitt to insist nobody other than Britain should have access to Newfoundland. The Battle of Signal Hill was fought on September 15, 1762, and was the last battle of the North American theatre of the Seven Years’ War. A British force under Lieutenant Colonel William Amherst recaptured St. John’s,{{London Gazette| issue = 10251| date = October 9, 1762| page = 2}} which the French had seized three months earlier in a surprise attack.File:Vue de la descente a Terre Neuve par le chevalier de Ternay en 1762.jpg|thumb|A French invasion of the Newfoundland was repulsed during the Battle of Signal HillBattle of Signal HillFrom 1763 to 1767, James Cook made a detailed survey of the coasts of Newfoundland and southern Labrador while commander of {{HMS|Grenville|1754|6}}. (The following year, 1768, Cook began his first circumnavigation of the world.) In 1796, a Franco-Spanish expedition again succeeded 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 nearby St. Pierre and Miquelon islands; the French gave up their French Shore rights in 1904.) In 1783, the British signed the Treaty 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.

British colony

The United Irish Conspiracy and Catholic Emancipation

The founding proprietor of the Province 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 the Province of Maryland on the American mainland, it soon passed out of the Calvert family’s control. The majority Catholic population that developed, thanks to Irish immigration, in St. John’s and the Avalon Peninsula, was subjected to same disabilities that applied elsewhere under the British Crown. On visiting St. John’s in 1786, Prince William Henry (the future King William IV) noted that “there are ten Roman Catholics to one Protestant”,Memorial University {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110110015234www.mun.ca/rels/ang/texts/pwh.htm |date=January 10, 2011 }}, Note 87: PWH to King, September 21, 1786, Later Correspondence of George III, Vol. 1, 251. and he counselled against any measure of Catholic relief.WEB, Rollman, Hans, 1986, Prince William in Newfoundland,www.mun.ca/rels/ang/texts/pwh.htm, Religion Society and Culture: The Newfoundland and Labrador pages of Dr Hans Rollman, Memorial University, Newfoundland, July 16, 2022, January 10, 2011,www.mun.ca/rels/ang/texts/pwh.htm," title="web.archive.org/web/20110110015234www.mun.ca/rels/ang/texts/pwh.htm,">web.archive.org/web/20110110015234www.mun.ca/rels/ang/texts/pwh.htm, Following news of rebellion in Ireland, in June 1798, Governor Vice-Admiral Waldegrave cautioned London that the English constituted but a “small proportion” of the locally raised Regiment 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 as United Irishmen, and that eighty soldiers were committed to killing their officers and seizing their Anglican governors at Sunday service.JOURNAL, Mannion, John, January 1, 2000, “... Notoriously disaffected to the Government...” British allegations of Irish disloyalty in eighteenth-century Newfoundland,journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/NFLDS/article/view/816, Newfoundland and Labrador Studies, en, 1715-1430, March 12, 2021, July 30, 2021,web.archive.org/web/20210730211028/https://journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/NFLDS/article/view/816, live, The abortive mutiny, for which for which eight men (denounced by Catholic Bishop James Louis O’Donel as “favourers of the infidel French“)BOOK, MacGiollabhui, Muiris,escholarship.org/uc/item/75x28210, Sons of Exile: The United Irishmen in Transnational Perspective 1791-1827, UC Santa Cruz (Thesis), 2019, 118, 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.WEB, Fitzgerald, John Edward, 2001, The United Irish Uprising in Newfoundland, 1800,www.heritage.nf.ca/articles/society/united-irish-uprising.php#:~:text=In%201798%2C%20many%20people%20in,rise%20up%20against%20British%20rule., live, March 11, 2021, Heritage: Newfoundland and Labrador, February 9, 2021,web.archive.org/web/20210209221118/https://www.heritage.nf.ca/articles/society/united-irish-uprising.php#:~:text=In%201798%2C%20many%20people%20in,rise%20up%20against%20British%20rule., Yet the Newfoundland Irish would have been aware of the agitation in the homeland for civil equality and political rights.WEB, February 7, 2013, “The entire island is United...”,www.historyireland.com/18th-19th-century-history/the-entire-island-is-united/, March 11, 2021, History Ireland, July 31, 2021,web.archive.org/web/20210731220850/https://www.historyireland.com/18th-19th-century-history/the-entire-island-is-united/, live, There were reports of communication with United men in Ireland from before ‘98 rebellion; of Thomas Paine’s pamphlets circulating in St. John’s;Fitzgerald (2001), p. 25 and, despite the war with France, of hundreds of young 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.BOOK, Pedley, Rev. Charles,books.google.com/books?id=HGABAAAAQAAJ, The History of Newfoundland from the Earliest Times to 1860, Longman, Green, Longman, Roberts & Green, 1863, London, 210, en, March 19, 2021, August 14, 2021,web.archive.org/web/20210814150713/https://books.google.com/books?id=HGABAAAAQAAJ, live, When news reached Newfoundland in May 1829 that the UK Parliament had finally conceded Catholic 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 the United Kingdom, the Roman Catholic Relief Act did not apply. The discrimination was a matter of local ordinance.WEB, Fitzgerald, John Edward, Newfoundland and Daniel O’Connell,www.heritage.nf.ca/articles/society/daniel-oconnell.php, April 22, 2022, heritage.nf.ca, November 12, 2020,web.archive.org/web/20201112040237/https://www.heritage.nf.ca/articles/society/daniel-oconnell.php, live, It was not until May 1832 that the British Secretary of State for the Colonies formally stated that a new commission would be issued to Governor Cochrane to remove any and all Roman Catholic disabilities in Newfoundland.John P. Greene (1999), Between Damnation and Starvation: Priests and Merchants in Newfoundland Politics, 1745–1855, McGill-Queen’s University Press. {{ISBN|978-0-7735-1880-3}}. By then Catholic emancipation was bound up (as in Ireland) with the call for home rule.

Achievement of home rule

After the end of the Napoleonic 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.WEB, Higgins, Jenny, 2009, Reform Movement,www.heritage.nf.ca/articles/politics/reform-movement.php, live, Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage, March 12, 2021, June 19, 2021,web.archive.org/web/20210619072255/https://www.heritage.nf.ca/articles/politics/reform-movement.php, 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”.JOURNAL, Thomsen, Robert Chr., 2005, Democracy, Sectarianism and Denomi(-)nationalism: The Irish in Newfoundland,www.jstor.org/stable/30001517, Nordic Irish Studies, 4, 13–27, 16, 30001517, 1602-124X, March 12, 2021, August 15, 2021,web.archive.org/web/20210815134056/https://www.jstor.org/stable/30001517, live, A broad home-rule coalition of Irish community leaders and (Scottish and Welsh) 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”.Standing as Liberals, 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 the Conservatives (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.WEB, Higgins, Jenny, 2009, Liberals, Conservatives and Sectarianism,www.heritage.nf.ca/articles/politics/sectarianism.php, live, March 13, 2021, Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage, May 4, 2021,web.archive.org/web/20210504135340/https://www.heritage.nf.ca/articles/politics/sectarianism.php, Economic conditions remained harsh. As in Ireland, the potato which made possible a steady growth in population failed as a result of the Phytophthora infestans blight. The number of deaths from the 1846–1848 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.“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 The wave of post-famine emigration from Ireland notably passed over Newfoundland.

Era of responsible government

Fisheries revived, and the devolution of responsibilities from London continued. In 1854, the British government established Newfoundland’s first responsible government,WEB,www.heritage.nf.ca/law/representative.html, Representative Government, 1832–1855, Webb, Jeff, October 17, 2008, October 25, 2014,www.heritage.nf.ca/law/representative.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20141025071524www.heritage.nf.ca/law/representative.html,">web.archive.org/web/20141025071524www.heritage.nf.ca/law/representative.html, live, an executive accountable to the colonial legislature. In 1855, with an Assembly majority, the Liberals under Philip Francis Little (the first Roman Catholic to practise law in St. John’s) formed Newfoundland’s first parliamentary government (1855–1858). Newfoundland rejected confederation with Canada in the 1869 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.BOOK, Belshaw, John Douglas, 2020, Canadian History: Post-Confederation, 2nd, 2:13 The Other Dominion,opentextbc.ca/postconfederation2e/chapter/2-13-the-other-dominion/, live, BCcampus Open Publishing, April 13, 2021, April 13, 2021,web.archive.org/web/20210413134227/https://opentextbc.ca/postconfederation2e/chapter/2-13-the-other-dominion/, 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 of Nova Scotia. There was also a considerable outflow to the United States and, in particular, to New England.WEB, Higgins, Jenny, 2008, 19th Century Migration,www.heritage.nf.ca/articles/society/19th-century-migration.php, live, March 13, 2021, Heritage: Newfoundland and Labrador, June 16, 2021,web.archive.org/web/20210616022310/https://www.heritage.nf.ca/articles/society/19th-century-migration.php, In 1892, St. John’s burned. The Great 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.Newfoundland lay outside the direct route of world traffic. St. John’s, {{cvt|2000|mi|order=flip}} from Liverpool 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. at Grand Falls for the supply of the publishing empires in the UK of Lord Northcliffe and Lord Rothermere. Iron ore mines were established at Bell Island.The Times (1918), Newfoundland and the War”, The Times History of the War, Vol XIV, (181–216), 184–186.

British Dominion

File:Town and Harbour of St. John’s, Newfoundland (1911).jpg|thumb|center|upright=3|Town and Harbour of St. John’s, 1911 by John William HaywardJohn William Hayward

Reform and the Fisherman’s Union

In 1907, Newfoundland acquired dominion status, or self-government, within the British Empire or British Commonwealth.WEB,www.mapleleafweb.com/old/features/constitution/federalism/newfoundland-labrador/nfld-history.html, Mapleleafweb, Newfoundland & Labrador and Canadian Federalism – History of Newfoundland & Labrador, February 5, 2011, dead,www.mapleleafweb.com/old/features/constitution/federalism/newfoundland-labrador/nfld-history.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20110602120916www.mapleleafweb.com/old/features/constitution/federalism/newfoundland-labrador/nfld-history.html,">web.archive.org/web/20110602120916www.mapleleafweb.com/old/features/constitution/federalism/newfoundland-labrador/nfld-history.html, June 2, 2011, 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 the United States. A new reform-minded government was formed under Edward Morris, a senior Catholic politician who had split from the Liberals to form the People’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.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.WEB, Rennie, Rick, 1996, Labour Organization and Unions,www.heritage.nf.ca/articles/economy/labour-movements.php, January 25, 2022, heritage.nf.ca, January 25, 2022,web.archive.org/web/20220125223539/https://www.heritage.nf.ca/articles/economy/labour-movements.php, live, These obstacles to organization were overcome from 1908 by a new co-operative movement, the Fishermen’s Protective Union (FPU). Mobilizing more than 21,000 members in 206 councils across the island; more than half of Newfoundland’s fishermen,Formation of the Fishermen’s Protective Union {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305071041www.mun.ca/mha/fpu/fpu18.php |date=March 5, 2016 }}, Maritime History Archive, Memorial University. Retrieved February 20, 2008. the FPU challenged the economic control of the island’s merchantocracy.WEB, 1959 Newfoundland and the IWA – Canada’s Human Rights History,historyofrights.ca/encyclopaedia/main-events/1959-iww-strike-newfoundland/, January 24, 2022, historyofrights.ca, January 2, 2022,web.archive.org/web/20220102154558/https://historyofrights.ca/encyclopaedia/main-events/1959-iww-strike-newfoundland/, live, Despite opposition from the Catholic Church which objected to the FPU’s oath taking and alleged socialism, led by William Coaker the candidates for the FPU won 8 of 36 seats in the House of Assembly in the 1913 general election.WEB, Election Results 1913,www.heritage.nf.ca/law/fpu_1913_election.html, dead, Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage, Memorial University, January 24, 2022,www.heritage.nf.ca/law/fpu_1913_election.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20121005061757www.heritage.nf.ca/law/fpu_1913_election.html,">web.archive.org/web/20121005061757www.heritage.nf.ca/law/fpu_1913_election.html, October 5, 2012, 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.

First World War and its aftermath

(File:Somme 1July16 Newfoundlandstjohnsroadtrench watermarked.jpg|thumb|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, Britain declared 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 the Canadian Expeditionary Force). About a third of these were to serve in 1st Newfoundland Regiment, which after service in the Gallipoli Campaign, was nearly wiped out at Beaumont-Hamel on the first day on the Somme, July 1, 1916.BOOK,books.google.com/books?id=Zoktc9xBDvwC&q=.%20History%20of%20Newfoundland%20and%20Labrador%E2%80%8E&pg=PP1, Newfoundland and Labrador: a history, Sean Thomas, Cadigan, University of Toronto Press, 2009, 978-0-8020-4465-5, November 18, 2020, June 1, 2021,web.archive.org/web/20210601214606/https://books.google.com/books?id=Zoktc9xBDvwC&q=.%20History%20of%20Newfoundland%20and%20Labrador%E2%80%8E&pg=PP1, live, 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.WEB, Newfoundlanders and Labradorians in the First World War,www.heritage.nf.ca/first-world-war/articles/nl-in-the-first-world-war.php#:~:text=in%20March%201918.-,Heavy%20Losses,Another%202,284%20were%20wounded., January 24, 2022, heritage.nf.ca, January 24, 2022,web.archive.org/web/20220124125909/https://www.heritage.nf.ca/first-world-war/articles/nl-in-the-first-world-war.php#:~:text=in%20March%201918.-,Heavy%20Losses,Another%202,284%20were%20wounded., live, The FPU members joined Edward Patrick Morris’ wartime National Government of 1917, but their reputation suffered when they failed to abide by their promise not to support military conscription without a referendum.Union and Politics {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210418195947www.mun.ca/mha/fpu/fpu20.php |date=April 18, 2021 }}, Maritime History Archive, Memorial University. Retrieved February 20, 2008. In 1919, the FPU joined with the Liberals to form the Liberal Reform Party whose success in the 1919 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.Fishermen’s Protective Union {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210419222254www.mun.ca/mha/fpu/fpu21.php |date=April 19, 2021 }}, Maritime History Archive, Memorial University. Retrieved January 24, 2022Fisheries Policy {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220124175632www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/fisheries-policy |date=January 24, 2022 }}, Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved January 24, 2022 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.WEB, Higgins, Jenny, 2007, Events Leading up to the Great Depression,www.heritage.nf.ca/articles/politics/depression-origin.php, live, May 21, 2021, Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage, May 8, 2021,web.archive.org/web/20210508022405/https://www.heritage.nf.ca/articles/politics/depression-origin.php, 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 the Reid 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”.JOURNAL, McInnis, Peter, 1990, All Solid along the Line: The Reid Newfoundland Strike of 1918,www.jstor.org/stable/25143419, Labour / Le Travail, 26, 61–84, 10.2307/25143419, 0700-3862, January 25, 2022, January 25, 2022,web.archive.org/web/20220125151701/https://www.jstor.org/stable/25143419, live, When in January 1919, Sinn Féin formed the Dáil Éireann in Dublin, the Irish 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 the Self-Determination for Ireland League (SDIL).WEB, Mannion, Patrick, The Self-Determination for Ireland League of Canada and Newfoundland,www.rte.ie/centuryireland/index.php/articles/the-self-determination-for-ireland-league-of-canada-and-newfoundland, December 16, 2020, Century Ireland, RTE, December 18, 2020,web.archive.org/web/20201218213844/https://www.rte.ie/centuryireland/index.php/articles/the-self-determination-for-ireland-league-of-canada-and-newfoundland, live, Although tempered by expressions of loyalty to the Empire, the League’s vocal support for Irish self-government was opposed by the local Orange Order. Claiming to represent 20,000 “loyal citizens”, the Order was composed almost exclusively of Anglicans or Methodists of English descent.JOURNAL, Mannion, Patrick, January 2015, Contested nationalism: The “Irish question” in St. John’s, Newfoundland, and Halifax, Nova Scotia, 1919–1923,journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/acadiensis/article/view/24359/28203, Acadiensis, 44, 2, 27–49, UNB Libraries, April 13, 2021, April 13, 2021,web.archive.org/web/20210413161932/https://journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/acadiensis/article/view/24359/28203, live, Tensions ran sufficiently high that Catholic Archbishop Edward Roche felt constrained to caution League organisers against the hazards of “a sectarian war.“NEWS, June 4, 1945, Lindsay Crawford of Trade Council, The New York Times, 19, Since the early 1800s, Newfoundland and Quebec (or Lower Canada) had been in a border dispute over the Labrador region. In 1927, the British Judicial Committee of the Privy Council ruled that the area known as modern-day Labrador was to be considered part of the Dominion of Newfoundland.

Commission government

The Great Depression and the return of colonial rule

File:Colonial riot 500.jpg|thumb|left|People in front of the Colonial BuildingColonial BuildingFollowing 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 as salted cod that sold for $8.90 a quintal in 1929 fetched only half that amount by 1932. With this precipitous loss of export income, the level of debt Newfoundland carried from the Great War and from construction of the Newfoundland Railway proved unsustainable. In 1931, the Dominion defaulted. 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 of beriberi, tuberculosis and other diseases.WEB, Higgins, Jenny, 2007, Great Depression – Impacts on the Working Class,www.heritage.nf.ca/articles/politics/depression-impacts.php, January 25, 2022, heritage.nf.ca, January 25, 2022,web.archive.org/web/20220125153442/https://www.heritage.nf.ca/articles/politics/depression-impacts.php, live, 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.WEB,www.heritage.nf.ca/law/collapse_responsible_gov.html, Collapse of Responsible Government, 1929–1934, Heritage Newfoundland and Labrador, February 5, 2011, December 20, 2014,www.heritage.nf.ca/law/collapse_responsible_gov.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20141220171415www.heritage.nf.ca/law/collapse_responsible_gov.html,">web.archive.org/web/20141220171415www.heritage.nf.ca/law/collapse_responsible_gov.html, live, In exchange for loan guarantees by the Crown and a promise that self-government would in time be re-established, the legislature in St. John’s voted itself out of existence.{{rp|8–10}}Peter Neary, Newfoundland in the North Atlantic World, 1929–1949 (Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 1988), especially chapter 2 On February 16, 1934, the Commission of Government was sworn in, ending 79 years of responsible government. The Commission consisted of seven persons appointed by the British government. For 15 years, no elections took place, and no legislature was convened.WEB,www.heritage.nf.ca/law/commission_gov.html, The Commission of Government, 1934–1949, Heritage Newfoundland and Labrador, February 6, 2011, December 20, 2014,www.heritage.nf.ca/law/commission_gov.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20141220171931www.heritage.nf.ca/law/commission_gov.html,">web.archive.org/web/20141220171931www.heritage.nf.ca/law/commission_gov.html, live, 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 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth during their brief visit in June 1939.“WEB, Neary, Peter, The History of Newfoundland and Labrador during the Second World War {{!, Dispatches {{!}} Learn {{!}} Canadian War Museum|url=https://www.warmuseum.ca/learn/dispatches/the-history-of-newfoundland-and-labrador-during-the-second-world-war/|access-date=January 25, 2022|language=en-US|archive-date=June 7, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190607175224www.warmuseum.ca/learn/dispatches/the-history-of-newfoundland-and-labrador-during-the-second-world-war/|url-status=live}}

Second World War

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, the Newfoundland 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 about 12,000 Newfoundlanders were at one time or another directly or indirectly involved in the war effort.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 at Gander, 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 at Gander became one of the so called “sally-ports of freedom” with U.S. manufactured aircraft flying in swarms to Britain.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; at Argentia/Marquise, where they built a naval air base and an army base (Fort McAndrew); and at Stephenville, where they built a large airfield (Ernest Harmon Airbase). As allies after December 1941, the Americans were also accommodated at Torbay, Goose Bay and Gander.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.WEB, The Second World War, 1939–1945,www.heritage.nf.ca/articles/politics/second-world-war.php, January 25, 2022, heritage.nf.ca, January 25, 2022,web.archive.org/web/20220125151704/https://www.heritage.nf.ca/articles/politics/second-world-war.php, live,

The National Convention

When prosperity returned with the Second World War, agitation began to end the Commission and reinstate responsible government.Gene Long, Suspended State: Newfoundland Before Canada (1999) Instead, the British government created the National Convention in 1946. Chaired by Judge Cyril 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 by Joey Smallwood (a convention member who later served as the first provincial premier of NewfoundlandWEB,www.heritage.nf.ca/law/national.html, The Newfoundland National Convention, Heritage.nf.ca, December 3, 2010, April 29, 2014,www.heritage.nf.ca/law/national.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20140429044917www.heritage.nf.ca/law/national.html,">web.archive.org/web/20140429044917www.heritage.nf.ca/law/national.html, live, ) to examine joining Canada by sending a delegation to Ottawa. The first motion was defeated, although the Convention later decided to send delegations to both London and Ottawa to explore alternatives.Joseph Roberts Smallwood, I chose Canada: The Memoirs of the Honourable Joseph R. “Joey” Smallwood (1973) p. 256Richard Gwyn, Smallwood: The Unlikely Revolutionary (1972) 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.BOOK, Malone, Greg, Don’t Tell the Newfoundlanders: The True Story of Newfoundland’s Confederation with Canada, 2012, Alfred A Knopf Canada, Toronto, 978-0-307-40133-5, {{rp|145}} 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.David MacKenzie, Inside the Atlantic Triangle: Canada and the Entrance of Newfoundland into Confederation, 1939–49 (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1986), 192

Canadian province

The referendums on confederation

Three main factions actively campaigned during the lead-up to the referendums on confederation with Canada:

• The Confederate Association (CA), led by Smallwood, advocated entry into the Canadian Confederation. They campaigned through a newspaper known as The Confederate.
• The Responsible Government League (RGL), led by Peter Cashin, advocated an independent Newfoundland with a return to responsible government. Their newspaper was The Independent.
• The smaller Economic Union Party (EUP), led by Chesley Crosbie, advocated closer economic ties with the United States. A 1947 Gallup poll found 80% of Newfoundland residents wanting to become Americans,NEWS,archive.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2010/05/02/altered_states/?page=full, Altered states: The strange history of efforts to redraw the New England map, May 2, 2010, Michael J. Trinklein, Boston Globe, September 5, 2016, September 16, 2016,archive.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2010/05/02/altered_states/?page=full," title="web.archive.org/web/20160916133428archive.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2010/05/02/altered_states/?page=full,">web.archive.org/web/20160916133428archive.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2010/05/02/altered_states/?page=full, live, but the United States had no interest in the proposal, and preferred Newfoundland join Canada.JOURNAL, Baker, Melvin, March 2003, Falling into the Canadian Lap: The Confederation of Newfoundland and Canada, 1945-1949,www.gov.nl.ca/publicat/royalcomm/research/fallingintothecanadianlap.pdf, Royal Commission on Renewing and Strengthening Our Place in Canada, 52, 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., July 9, 2022, January 26, 2022,web.archive.org/web/20220126105722/https://www.gov.nl.ca/publicat/royalcomm/research/fallingintothecanadianlap.pdf, live, The EUP failed to gain much support and after the first referendum merged with the RGL.“The 1948 Referendums” {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20060211154609www.collectionscanada.ca/confederation/023001-2230-e.htmlg |date=February 11, 2006 }}, Library and Archives Canada

File:Joseph Smallwood signing Newfoundland into Confederation.jpg|thumb|Joey Smallwood signing a document bringing Newfoundland into the Canadian ConfederationCanadian ConfederationThe first referendum took place on June 3, 1948; 44.6 per cent of people voted for responsible 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.WEB,www2.marianopolis.edu/nfldhistory/NewfoundlandJoinsCanada-Confederation1949.htm, Newfoundland Joins Canada) and Newfoundland and Confederation (1949), .marianopolis.edu, December 3, 2010, dead,www2.marianopolis.edu/nfldhistory/NewfoundlandJoinsCanada-Confederation1949.htm," title="web.archive.org/web/20080720173301www2.marianopolis.edu/nfldhistory/NewfoundlandJoinsCanada-Confederation1949.htm,">web.archive.org/web/20080720173301www2.marianopolis.edu/nfldhistory/NewfoundlandJoinsCanada-Confederation1949.htm, July 20, 2008, 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 the British North America Act, 1949 through the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Newfoundland officially joined Canada at midnight on March 31, 1949.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.{{rp|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.Jeff Webb, “Confederation, Conspiracy and Choice: A Discussion,” Newfoundland Studies 14, 2 (1998): 170–87.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 the British governor.{{rp|225–26}} Shortly after the referendum, several boxes of ballots from St. John’s were burned by order of Herman William Quinton, one of only two commissioners who supported confederation.{{rp|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.{{rp|224–25}}

1959 Woodworkers’ strike

In 1959, a strike led by the International Woodworkers of America (IWA) that resulted the “most bitter labour dispute in Newfoundland’s history.“Gwynn, Richard (199),.Smallwood: The Unlikely Revolutionary. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart. 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.The International Labour Organization, Canadian Labour Congress, and the Newfoundland Federation of Labour condemned the legislation, and Canadian Prime Minister John 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.

Resettlement programs

From the early 1950s, the provincial government pursued a policy of population transfer by centralizing the rural population. A resettlement 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.WEB, Whiffen, Glen, Newfoundland and Labrador’s forced resettlement a historic injustice, brothers say {{!, The Telegram|url=http://www.thetelegram.com/news/local/newfoundland-and-labradors-forced-resettlement-a-historic-injustice-brothers-say-170787/|access-date=March 15, 2021|website=thetelegram.com|language=en|archive-date=February 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224234604www.thetelegram.com/news/local/newfoundland-and-labradors-forced-resettlement-a-historic-injustice-brothers-say-170787/|url-status=live}}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.Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador, Volume four, p. 585, {{ISBN|978-0-9693422-1-2}}. Denounced as poorly resourced and as an historic injustice, resettlement has been viewed as possibly the most controversial government policy of the post-Confederation Newfoundland and Labrador.Many of the remaining small rural outports were hit by the 1992 cod moratorium. Loss of an important source of income caused widespread out-migration.NEWS, Far from a temporary move: N.L.’s cod moratorium is 25 years old, en, CBC News,www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/cod-moratorium-twenty-five-1.4187322, December 29, 2017, January 13, 2018,www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/cod-moratorium-twenty-five-1.4187322," title="web.archive.org/web/20180113111248www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/cod-moratorium-twenty-five-1.4187322,">web.archive.org/web/20180113111248www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/cod-moratorium-twenty-five-1.4187322, live, In the 21st century, the Community Relocation Policy allows for voluntary relocation of isolated settlements. Eight communities have moved since 2002.WEB, An emotionally fraught decision: Should residents of remote Newfoundland outports resettle?,nationalpost.com/news/canada/leaving-home-growing-number-of-n-l-outports-make-wrenching-choice-to-resettle, March 15, 2021, nationalpost, en-CA, At the end of 2019, the decommissioning of ferry and hydroelectricity services ended settlement on the Little Bay Islands.NEWS, February 14, 2019, Nfld. & Labrador: Little Bay Islands votes unanimously to resettle,www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/little-bay-islands-unanimous-resettlement-vote-1.5019053, live, May 14, 2021, CBC News, July 29, 2021,web.archive.org/web/20210729200838/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/little-bay-islands-unanimous-resettlement-vote-1.5019053, NEWS, The people of this remote Canadian island village are taking government money to clear out. One couple is staying., en-US, The Washington Post,www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/the-people-of-this-remote-canadian-island-village-are-taking-government-money-to-clear-out-one-couple-is-staying/2019/12/29/46d2a9f2-202f-11ea-b034-de7dc2b5199b_story.html, May 15, 2021, 0190-8286, January 25, 2021,web.archive.org/web/20210125054931/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/the-people-of-this-remote-canadian-island-village-are-taking-government-money-to-clear-out-one-couple-is-staying/2019/12/29/46d2a9f2-202f-11ea-b034-de7dc2b5199b_story.html, live,

21st century

Climate change

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 Â°CBOOK, Municipal Affairs and Environment: Climate Change Branch,www.gov.nl.ca/ecc/files/publications-the-way-forward-climate-change.pdf, The Way Forward: On Climate Change in Newfoundland and Labrador, 2019, St. Johns, May 21, 2021, June 21, 2021,web.archive.org/web/20210621175527/https://www.gov.nl.ca/ecc/files/publications-the-way-forward-climate-change.pdf, live, and 1.5 Â°C above historical normsWEB, Turn Back the Tide {{!, Impacts of Climate Change|url=https://www.turnbackthetide.ca/about-climate-change-and-energy-efficiency/impacts-of-climate-change.shtml|access-date=May 21, 2021|website=turnbackthetide.ca|language=en|archive-date=February 12, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210212091213www.turnbackthetide.ca/about-climate-change-and-energy-efficiency/impacts-of-climate-change.shtml|url-status=live}} 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.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.In April 2023, following years of delays and billions of dollars in cost overruns, a major hydro-generation project at Muskrat Falls,NEWS, September 23, 2020, First power flows from Muskrat Falls, in major project milestone,www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/first-power-flows-muskrat-falls-1.5735500, CBC News, November 29, 2020, December 2, 2020,web.archive.org/web/20201202031327/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/first-power-flows-muskrat-falls-1.5735500, live, 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.WEB, Muskrat Falls hydroelectric project in N.L. considered commissioned: CEO {{!, Globalnews.ca |url=https://globalnews.ca/news/9619115/muskrat-falls-hydroelectric-project-in-n-l-considered-commissioned-ceo/ |access-date=2023-04-16 |website=Global News |language=en-US}} 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.NEWS, Goudie, Zach, May 2, 2019, What’s the plan? Explaining the N.L. climate change strategy,www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/climate-change-explainer-1.5094377, live, CBC News, May 21, 2021, July 31, 2021,web.archive.org/web/20210731001356/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/climate-change-explainer-1.5094377, On January 17, 2020, the province experienced a large blizzard, nicknamed ‘Snowmageddon’, with winds up to {{cvt|134|km/h}}. The communities of St. John’s, Mount Pearl, Paradise, and Torbay declared a state of emergency. On January 18, 2020, Premier Dwight Ball said his request for aid from the Canadian Armed Forces was approved, and troops from the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment, CFB Halifax, and CFB Gagetown would arrive in the province to assist with snow-clearing and emergency services. An avalanche hit a house in The Battery section of St. John’s. St. John’s mayor Danny Breen said the storm cost the city $7 million.WEB, Waterman, Andrew, Looking back at Snowmageddon in St. John’s metro area,www.saltwire.com/nova-scotia/news/looking-back-at-snowmageddon-in-st-johns-metro-area-535714/, January 17, 2022, saltwire.com, en, January 18, 2022,web.archive.org/web/20220118182650/https://www.saltwire.com/nova-scotia/news/looking-back-at-snowmageddon-in-st-johns-metro-area-535714/, live,

The COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic in Newfoundland and Labrador is ongoing. The province announced its first presumptive case on March 14, 2020, and declared a public health emergency on March 18. Health orders, including the closure of non-essential businesses and mandatory self-isolation for all travellers entering the province (including from within Canada), were enacted over the days that followed.WEB, March 18, 2020, N.L. announces strict measures, including jail time, to halt the spread of COVID-19,www.ctvnews.ca/health/coronavirus/n-l-announces-strict-measures-including-jail-time-to-halt-the-spread-of-covid-19-1.4858499, live,web.archive.org/web/20200407080800/https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/coronavirus/n-l-announces-strict-measures-including-jail-time-to-halt-the-spread-of-covid-19-1.4858499, April 7, 2020, February 13, 2021, CTV News, en, 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.WEB, Home,www.gov.nl.ca/covid-19/, COVID-19, en-CA, January 11, 2022, March 27, 2020,web.archive.org/web/20200327081324/https://www.gov.nl.ca/covid-19/, live, The province’s travel requirements can be found on its website.

Demographics

(File:Canada Newfoundland and Labrador Density 2016.png|thumb|right|Population density of Newfoundland and Labrador){{See also|List of communities in Newfoundland and Labrador|List of Newfoundland and Labrador communities by population}}

Population

{{Historical populations|title = Historical populations|type = Canada|align = right|width =|state =|shading =|percentages =WEBSITE=COLLECTIONS.MUN.CAARCHIVE-DATE=AUGUST 5, 2020URL-STATUS=LIVE, HTTP://WWW40.STATCAN.CA/L01/CST01/DEMO62B.HTM>TITLE=POPULATION URBAN AND RURAL, BY PROVINCE AND TERRITORY – NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADORURL-STATUS=DEADARCHIVE-DATE=MARCH 21, 2008, March 30, 2020, and Statistics CanadaWEB,www.stats.gov.nl.ca/Publications/Historical/PDF/Historical_Statistics_of_Newfoundland_and_Labrador_V2_N7_1994.pdf, Historical Statistics of Newfoundland and Labrador, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, November 1994, January 9, 2022, live,web.archive.org/web/20220223004526/https://www.stats.gov.nl.ca/Publications/Historical/PDF/Historical_Statistics_of_Newfoundland_and_Labrador_V2_N7_1994.pdf, Feb 23, 2022, WEB,www.gov.nl.ca/fin/economics/eb-population/, Population stood at 521,758 as of October, 2021 – Finance, Gov.nl.ca, February 27, 2022, February 9, 2022,web.archive.org/web/20220209133916/https://www.gov.nl.ca/fin/economics/eb-population/, live, 557197509496295101600124288146536161374197335202040220984242619263033289588321819361416415074493396522100557720567681568350568475Canada 1996 Census>1996|551790Canada 2001 Census>2001|512930Canada 2006 Census>2006|505469Canada 2011 Census>2011|514536Canada 2016 Census>2016|5197162021 Canadian Census>2021|510550540418}}As of October 1, 2021, Newfoundland and Labrador had a population of 521,758.WEB, Population stood at 521,758 as of October, 2021,www.gov.nl.ca/fin/economics/eb-population/, February 9, 2022, Finance, en-CA, February 9, 2022,web.archive.org/web/20220209133916/https://www.gov.nl.ca/fin/economics/eb-population/, live, More than half the population lives on the Avalon Peninsula of Newfoundland, site of the capital and historical early settlement.WEB,www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/91-214-x/91-214-x2008000-eng.pdf, Annual Demographic Estimates:Subprovincial Areas, Statistics Canada, January 10, 2011, July 14, 2011,www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/91-214-x/91-214-x2008000-eng.pdf," title="web.archive.org/web/20110714035629www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/91-214-x/91-214-x2008000-eng.pdf,">web.archive.org/web/20110714035629www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/91-214-x/91-214-x2008000-eng.pdf, live, 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.WEB,www12.statcan.ca/english/census06/data/popdwell/Table.cfm?T=101, Population and dwelling counts (2006 Census), Statistics Canada, January 10, 2011, February 13, 2008,www12.statcan.ca/english/census06/data/popdwell/Table.cfm?T=101," title="web.archive.org/web/20080213160312www12.statcan.ca/english/census06/data/popdwell/Table.cfm?T=101,">web.archive.org/web/20080213160312www12.statcan.ca/english/census06/data/popdwell/Table.cfm?T=101, dead, But, by the 2011 census, the population had risen by 1.8%.WEB,www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2011/dp-pd/hlt-fst/pd-pl/Table-Tableau.cfm?LANG=Eng&T=101&S=50&O=A, Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, 2011 and 2006 censuses, Statistics Canada, January 30, 2013, November 3, 2013, March 24, 2020,archive.today/20200324223623/https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2011/dp-pd/hlt-fst/pd-pl/Table-Tableau.cfm?LANG=Eng&T=101&S=50&O=A, live, At the beginning of 2021, Newfoundland and Labrador started accepting applications for a Priority Skills immigration program.WEB, December 30, 2020, Newfoundland and Labrador to open new immigration program for skilled workers {{!, Canada Immigration News|url=https://www.cicnews.com/2020/12/newfoundland-and-labrador-to-open-new-immigration-program-for-skilled-workers-1216648.html|access-date=June 11, 2021|website=cicnews.com|language=en-US|archive-date=July 29, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210729054102www.cicnews.com/2020/12/newfoundland-and-labrador-to-open-new-immigration-program-for-skilled-workers-1216648.html|url-status=live}} 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.WEB, December 31, 2020, Newfoundland and Labrador eyeing up to 350 Invitations to Apply annually under Priority Skills NL,www.immigration.ca/newfoundland-and-labrador-eyeing-up-to-350-invitations-to-apply-annually-under-priority-skills-nl, June 11, 2021, Canada Immigration and Visa Information. Canadian Immigration Services and Free Online Evaluation., en-US, June 11, 2021,web.archive.org/web/20210611115837/https://www.immigration.ca/newfoundland-and-labrador-eyeing-up-to-350-invitations-to-apply-annually-under-priority-skills-nl, live, {| class=“wikitable”! Municipality! 2006! 2011! 2016! 2021St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador>St. John’s|100,646|106,172|108,860|110,525|Conception Bay South|21,966|24,848|26,199|27,168Paradise, Newfoundland and Labrador>Paradise|12,584|17,695|21,389|22,957|Mount Pearl|24,671|24,284|22,957|22,477|Corner Brook|20,083|19,886|19,806|19,333|Grand Falls-Windsor|13,558|13,725|14,171|13,853Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador>Gander|9,951|11,054|11,688|11,880|Portugal Cove-St. Philip’s|6,575|7,366|8,147|8,415|Happy Valley-Goose Bay|7,519|7,572|8,109|8,040Torbay, Newfoundland and Labrador>Torbay|6,281|7,397|7,899|7,852 Table source: Statistics Canada

Ethnicity

{{update section|2023|date=March 2023}}According to the 2001 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%) and First Nations (3.2%).WEB,www40.statcan.ca/l01/cst01/demo26b.htm, Population by selected ethnic origins, by province and territory (2006 Census), 0.statcan.ca, July 28, 2009, July 26, 2010, dead,www40.statcan.ca/l01/cst01/demo26b.htm," title="web.archive.org/web/20080621074723www40.statcan.ca/l01/cst01/demo26b.htm,">web.archive.org/web/20080621074723www40.statcan.ca/l01/cst01/demo26b.htm, June 21, 2008, While half of all respondents also identified their ethnicity as “Canadian”, 38 per cent report their ethnicity as “Newfoundlander” in a 2003 Statistics Canada Ethnic Diversity Survey.WEB,www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/030929/d030929a.htm,web.archive.org/web/20080317012903/https://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/030929/d030929a.htm, dead, The Daily, Monday, September 29, 2003. Ethnic Diversity Survey, March 17, 2008, During the initial registration phase for the Qalipu Miꞌkmaq First Nation Band in 2013, more than 100,000 Newfoundlanders applied for membership (equivalent to one-fifth of the total population).NEWS,www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/ottawa-moves-to-tighten-aboriginal-membership-criteria/article17954032/, Surge in Newfoundland native band has Ottawa stunned, skeptical, The Globe and Mail, February 26, 2018, January 16, 2018,web.archive.org/web/20180116213118/https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/ottawa-moves-to-tighten-aboriginal-membership-criteria/article17954032/, live, The subsequently process led to around 24,000 people being recognised as members of the Qalipu First Nation.NEWS,www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/qalipu-10-years-1.6186538, Qalipu First Nation marks a milestone, celebrating 10 years as recognized Indigenous band, 23 September 2021, CBC, Colleen, Connors, 29 December 2023,

Language

{{Further|Newfoundland English|Newfoundland Irish|Beothuk language}}As of the 2021 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%).WEB, Statistics Canada, 2022-08-17, Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population Profile table Newfoundland and Labrador [Province],www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?LANG=E&GENDERlist=1,2,3&STATISTIClist=1,4&DGUIDlist=2021A000210&HEADERlist=,15,13,18,12,16,14,17&SearchText=Newfoundland%20and%20Labrador, August 17, 2022, The question on knowledge of languages allows for multiple responses.Newfoundland English is a term referring to any of several accents and dialects of the English language found in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Most of these differ substantially from the English commonly spoken elsewhere in neighbouring Canada and the North Atlantic. Many Newfoundland dialects are similar to the dialects of the West Country in England, particularly the city of Bristol and counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Hampshire and Somerset, while other Newfoundland dialects resemble those of Ireland’s southeastern counties, particularly Waterford, Wexford, Kilkenny and Cork. Still others blend elements of both, and there is also a discernible influence of Scottish English.WEB,www.heritage.nf.ca/society/scottish.html, Scottish in NL, heritage.nf.ca, November 26, 2015, October 13, 2014,www.heritage.nf.ca/society/scottish.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20141013145759www.heritage.nf.ca/society/scottish.html,">web.archive.org/web/20141013145759www.heritage.nf.ca/society/scottish.html, live, While the Scots came in smaller numbers than the English and Irish, they had a large influence on Newfoundland society.WEB,www.heritage.nf.ca/society/west_country.html, West Country, heritage.nf.ca, November 26, 2015, April 23, 2015,www.heritage.nf.ca/society/west_country.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20150423033448www.heritage.nf.ca/society/west_country.html,">web.archive.org/web/20150423033448www.heritage.nf.ca/society/west_country.html, live, Newfoundland Historical Society, A Short History of Newfoundland and Labrador, St. John’s, NL, Boulder Publications, 2008.Local place names in the Irish language include Newfoundland (Talamh an Éisc, Land of the Fish)Edited by Natasha Sumner and Aidan Doyle (2020), North American Gaels: Speech, Song, and Story in the Diaspora, McGill-Queen’s University Press. Page 80. and St. John’s (Baile Sheáin)Edited by Natasha Sumner and Aidan Doyle (2020), North American Gaels: Speech, Song, and Story in the Diaspora, McGill-Queen’s University Press. Page 76. Ballyhack (Baile Hac), Cappahayden (Ceapach Éidín), Kilbride and St. Bride’s (Cill Bhríde), Duntara, Port Kirwan and Skibbereen (Scibirín). While the distinct local dialect of the Irish language in Newfoundland is now extinct, the language is still taught locally and the Gaelic revival organization remains active in the province. A distinct local dialect of Scots Gaelic was also once spoken in the Codroy Valley of Newfoundland, following the settlement there, from the middle of the 19th century, of Canadian Gaelic-speakers from Cape 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 are Talamh an Èisg and Eilein a’ Trosg.WEB,www.heritage.nf.ca/articles/society/language.php, Language, heritage.nf.ca, December 9, 2015, January 14, 2016,www.heritage.nf.ca/articles/society/language.php," title="web.archive.org/web/20160114151132www.heritage.nf.ca/articles/society/language.php,">web.archive.org/web/20160114151132www.heritage.nf.ca/articles/society/language.php, live, THESIS,research.library.mun.ca/1319/, Some aspects of the Scottish Gaelic traditions of the Codroy Valley, Newfoundland, 1975, Memorial University of Newfoundland, masters, Bennett, Margaret, A community of Newfoundland French speakers still exists on the Port au Port Peninsula—a remnant of the “French Shore” along the island’s west coast.Heritage Newfoundland and LabradorSeveral indigenous languages are spoken in the Province, representing the Algonquian (Miꞌkmaq and Innu) and Eskimo-Aleut (Inuktitut) linguistic families.Languages of the population – mother tongue (2011){|class=“wikitable sortable” style="text-align: centre;” style="background:#ccc;“!Rank!Language!Respondents!Percentage|1.|English|498,095|97.7|2.|French|2,745|0.5|3.|Innu-aimun|1,585|0.3|4.|Chinese|1,080|0.2|5.|Spanish|670|0.16|6.|German|655|0.15|7.|Inuktitut|595|0.1|8.|Urdu|550|0.1|9.Arabic language>Arabic|540|0.1|10.Dutch language>Dutch|300|< 0.1|11.|Russian|225|< 0.1|12.|Italian|195|< 0.1

Religion

According to the 2021 census, religious groups in Newfoundland and Labrador included:WEB, Statistics Canada, 2022-10-26, Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population,www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&SearchText=Newfoundland%20and%20Labrador&DGUIDlist=2021A000210&GENDERlist=1,2,3&STATISTIClist=1&HEADERlist=0,

• Christianity (413,915 persons or 82.4%)
• Irreligion (80,330 persons or 16.0%)
• Islam (3,995 persons or 0.8%)
• Hinduism (1,200 persons or 0.2%)
• Sikhism (855 persons or 0.2%)
• Buddhism (490 persons or 0.1%)
• Judaism (240 persons or