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Newfoundland and Labrador
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Newfoundland and Labrador is a province of Canada, on the country's Atlantic coast in northeastern North America. This easternmost Canadian province comprises two main parts: the island of Newfoundland off the country's eastern coast, and Labrador on the mainland to the northwest of the island.
A former colony and dominion of the United Kingdom, it became the tenth province to have entered into Canadian Confederation on 31 March 1949, named simply as Newfoundland.
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Newfoundland and Labrador is a province of Canada, on the country's Atlantic coast in northeastern North America. This easternmost Canadian province comprises two main parts: the island of Newfoundland off the country's eastern coast, and Labrador on the mainland to the northwest of the island.
A former colony and dominion of the United Kingdom, it became the tenth province to have entered into Canadian Confederation on 31 March 1949, named simply as Newfoundland. Since 1964, the province's government has referred to itself as the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, and on 6 December 2001, an amendment was made to the Constitution of Canada to change the province's official name to Newfoundland and Labrador. In day-to-day conversation, however, Canadians generally still refer to the province itself as Newfoundland and to the region on the Canadian mainland as Labrador.
As of July 2008, the province's population is estimated to be 508,944. Approximately 94% of the province's population resides on the Island of Newfoundland (including its associated smaller islands). The Island of Newfoundland has its own dialects of the English, French, and Irish languages. The English dialect in Labrador shares much with that of Newfoundland. Labrador also has its own dialects of Innu-aimun and Inuit.
Etymology
While the name Newfoundland is derived from English as "New Found Land" (a translation from the Latin Terra Nova), Labrador comes from the Portuguese lavrador, a title meaning "landholder/ploughman" held by Portuguese explorer of the region Joćo Fernandes Lavrador.
History
Human inhabitation in Newfoundland and Labrador can be traced back over 9,000 years to the people of the Maritime Archaic Tradition. They were gradually displaced by people of the Dorset Culture (paleoeskimos and finally by the Innu and Inuit in Labrador and the Beothuks on the island. The oldest known European contact was made over a thousand years ago when the Vikings briefly settled in L'Anse aux Meadows. Five hundred years later, European explorers (John Cabot, Gaspar Corte-Real, Jacques Cartier, and others), fishermen from England, Ireland, Portugal, France and Spain and Basque whalers (the remains of several whaling stations have been found at Red Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador) began exploration and exploitation of the area.
The overseas expansion of British Empire began when Sir Humphrey Gilbert took possession of Newfoundland in the name of England in 1583. Apart from St.John's, which was already established, early settlements were started at Cupids, Ferryland and other places.
During its history Newfoundland and Labrador have had many forms of government, including a time as the Dominion of Newfoundland, equivalent in status to Canada and Australia. Newfoundland and Labrador became the tenth province of Canada on 31 March 1949.
Newfoundland has been a battleground in numerous early wars among Great Britain, France, Spain and even the United States. The Royal Newfoundland Regiment fought with distinction in World War I. Numerous bases were built in Newfoundland and Labrador by Canada and the United States during World War II, particularly to safeguard the Atlantic convoys to Europe.
Politics of the province were dominated by the Liberal Party, led by Joseph R. Smallwood, from confederation until 1972. In 1972, the Smallwood government was replaced by the Progressive Conservative administration of Frank Moores. In 1979, Brian Peckford, another Progressive Conservative, became Premier. During this time, Newfoundland was involved in a dispute with the federal government for control of offshore oil resources. In the end, the dispute was decided by compromise. In 1989, Clyde Wells and the Liberal Party returned to power ending 17 years of Conservative government.
In the late 1980s, the federal government, along with its Crown corporation Petro-Canada and other private sector petroleum exploration companies, committed to developing the oil and gas resources of the Hibernia oil field on the northeast portion of the Grand Banks. Throughout the mid-1990s, thousands of Newfoundlanders were employed in the oil industry.
The pressure of the oil and gas industry to explore offshore in Atlantic Canada saw Newfoundland and Nova Scotia submit to a federal arbitration to decide on a disputed offshore boundary between the two provinces in the Laurentian Basin. The 2003 settlement rewrote an existing boundary in Newfoundland's favour, opening this area up to energy exploration.
In 1992 and again in 2003, the federal government declared moratoriums on the Atlantic cod fishery due to declining catches, which deeply affected the economy of Newfoundland.
From late October 2004 to early January 2006, Premier Williams argued that then Prime Minister Paul Martin had not held up his promises for a new deal on the "Atlantic Accord". The issue is the royalties from oil. Toward the end of 2004, Williams ordered the Canadian flag to be removed from all provincial buildings as a protest against federal policies, and asked for municipal councils to consider doing the same. The flags went back up in January 2005 after much controversy nationwide. At the end of January, the federal government signed a deal to allow 100% of oil revenues to go to the province.
Geography
Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. The Strait of Belle Isle separates the province into two geographical divisions, Labrador and island of Newfoundland. The province also includes over 7000 small islands.
Newfoundland is roughly triangular, with each side being approximately 400 km (250 mi), and has an area of 108,860 km² (41,700 sq mi). Newfoundland and its associated small islands have a total area of 111,390 km² (43,008 sq mi). Newfoundland extends between latitudes 46°36'N and 51°38'N.
Labrador is an irregular shape: the western part of its border with Quebec is the drainage divide of the Labrador Peninsula. Lands drained by rivers that flow into the Atlantic Ocean are part of Labrador, the rest belong to Quebec. Labradors extreme northern tip, at 60°22'N, shares a short border with Nunavut. Labradors area (including associated small islands) is 294,330 km² (113,641 sq mi). Together, Newfoundland and Labrador make up 4.06% of Canadas area.
Labrador is the most eastern part of the Canadian Shield, a vast area of ancient metamorphic rock comprising much of northeastern North America. Colliding tectonic plates have shaped much of the geology of Newfoundland. Gros Morne National Park has a reputation as an outstanding example of tectonics at work, and as such has been designated a World Heritage Site. The Long Range Mountains on Newfoundland's west coast are the northeasternmost extension of the Appalachian Mountains.
The north-south extent of the province (46°36'N to 60°22'N), prevalent westerly winds, cold ocean currents and local factors such as mountains and coastline combine to create the various climates of the province. Northern Labrador is classified as a polar tundra climate, southern Labrador is considered to be a subarctic climate while most of Newfoundland would be considered to have a humid continental climate, Dfb: Cool summer subtype.
Fauna and flora
Demographics
According to the 2001 Canadian census, the largest ethnic group in Newfoundland and Labrador is English (39.4%), followed by Irish (19.7%), Scottish (6.0%), French (5.5%), and First Nations (3.2%). While half of all respondents also identified their ethnicity as "Canadian," 38% report their ethnicity as "Newfoundlander" in a 2003 StatsCan Ethnic Diversity Survey.
Population since 1951
| Year | Population | Five Year
% change | Ten Year
% change | Rank Among
Provinces |
|---|
| 1951 | 361,416 | n/a | n/a | 9 | | 1956 | 415,074 | 14.8 | n/a | 9 | | 1961 | 457,853 | 10.3 | 26.7 | 9 | | 1966 | 493,396 | 7.8 | 18.9 | 9 | | 1971 | 522,100 | 5.8 | 14.0 | 9 | | 1976 | 557,720 | 6.8 | 13.0 | 9 | | 1981 | 567,681 | 1.8 | 8.7 | 9 | | 1986 | 568,350 | 0.1 | 1.9 | 9 | | 1991 | 568,475 | 0.02 | 0.1 | 9 | | 1996 | 551,790 | 9 | | 2001 | 512,930 | 9 | | 2006* | 505,469 | 9 |
*Preliminary 2006 census estimate.
Source: Statistics Canada
Language
The 2006 census returns showed a population of 505,469.
Of the 499,830 singular responses to the census question concerning 'mother tongue' the languages most commonly reported were:
Figures shown above are for the number of single language responses and the percentage of total single-language responses. There were also 435 responses of both English and a 'non-official language'; 30 of both French and a 'non-official language'; 295 of both English and French; 10 of English, French and a 'non-official language'; and about 14,305 people who either did not respond to the question, or reported multiple non-official languages, or else gave some other unenumerated response.
Religion
The largest denominations by number of adherents according to the 2001 census were the Roman Catholic Church with 187,405 (37 %); the Anglican Church of Canada with 132,680 (26 %); and the United Church of Canada with 86,420 (17 %).
Industry and economy
All currency is in Canadian dollars.
In 2005 the gross domestic product (GDP) of Newfoundland and Labrador was approximately fourteen billion dollars. Service industries accounted for over $8 billion with financial services, health care and public administration being the top three contributors. Other significant industries are mining, oil production and manufacturing. The total workforce in 2005 was 215,000 persons. Per capita GDP in 2006 was 47,520, higher than the national average and second only to Alberta out of Canadian provinces.
Traditional industries include mining, logging, fishery and forest-based industries (sawmills and paper mills).
Mining and oil production
Mines in Labrador, the iron ore mine at Wabush/Labrador City, and the new nickel mine in Voisey's Bay produced a total of $2.5 billion worth of ore in 2006. A new mine at Duck Pond (30 kilometers (18 mi) south of the now-closed mine at Buchans), started producing copper, zinc, silver and gold in 2007 and prospecting for new ore bodies continues. Mining accounted for 3.5% of the provincial GDP in 2006. The province produces 55% of Canadas total iron ore. Quarries producing dimension stone such as slate and granite, account for less than $10 million worth of material per year.
Oil production from offshore oil platforms on Hibernia, White Rose Terra Nova oil fields on the Grand Banks was 110 million barrels which contributed 15% of the provinces GDP in 2006. Total production from the Hibernia field from 1997 to 2006 was 733 million barrels with an estimated value of $36 billion. This will increase with the inclusion of the latest project, Hebron. Remaining reserves are estimated at almost 2 billion barrels as of December 31, 2006. Exploration for new reserves is ongoing.
Fishing and aquaculture
The fishing industry remains an important part of the provincial economy, employing 26,000 and contributing over $440 million to the GDP. The combined harvest of fish such as cod, haddock, halibut, herring and mackerel was 150,000 tonnes (165,000 tons) valued at about $130 million in 2006. Shellfish, such as crab, shrimp and clams, accounted for 195,000 tonnes (215,000 tons) with a value of $316 million in the same year. The value of products from the seal hunt was $55 million.
Aquaculture is a new industry for the province, which in 2006 produced over 10,000 tonnes of Atlantic salmon, mussels and steelhead trout worth over $50 million.
Manufacturing
Newsprint is produced by two paper mills, one in Grand Falls with a capacity of 210,000 tonnes (230,000 tons) per year currently operated by Abitibi - Bowater, which announced in December 2008 that it would close the mill in March 2009. Kruger operates a mill in Corner Brook with a capacity of 420,000 tonnes (462,000 tons) per year. The value of newsprint exports varies greatly from year to year, depending on the global market price. Lumber is produced by numerous mills in Newfoundland.
Apart from seafood processing, paper manufacture and oil refining, manufacturing in the province consists of smaller industries producing food, brewing and other beverage production, and footwear.
Agriculture
Agriculture in Newfoundland is limited to areas south of St. John's, near Deer Lake and in the Codroy Valley. Potatoes, rutabagas, known locally as "turnips", carrots and cabbage are grown for local consumption. Poultry, eggs and pork are also produced. Wild blueberries, partridgeberries (lingonberries) and bakeapples (cloudberries) are harvested commercially and used in jams and wine making.
Tourism
Tourism is a significant part of the economy. In 2006 nearly 500,000 non-resident tourists visited Newfoundland and Labrador, spending an estimated $366 million.
Provincial symbols
Notable people
The celtic band "Great Big Sea" has strong roots from Newfoundland.
Master Printmaker David Blackwood, born in Wesleyville NL. 1941, portrays his childhood memories of Newfoundland through a large portion of his work.
Music
See also
External links
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