Newfoundland and Labrador

Newfoundland and Labrador, the youngest of the Canadian provinces, joined Confederation at midnight on March 31, 1949. Some portion of the coast of this easternmost part of Canada was assuredly one of the first parts of the continent seen by Europeans. Tenth-century Viking explorers from Iceland and Greenland saw Labrador and settled briefly in the northern part of the Island of Newfoundland. In the late 15th century the Grand Banks southeast of Newfoundland were known to Basque, French and Portuguese fishermen.

MAIN MENU: PROVINCES and TERRITORIES: NEWFOUNDLAND and LABRADOR

Capital: St. John's
Other major cities: Corner Brook, Mount Pearl
Date Entered the Federation: March 31, 1949
Provincial Flower: Pitcher Plant
Provincial Bird: Atlantic Puffin
Motto: Quaerite Prime Regnum Dei; "Seek Ye First the Kingdom of God"
Population: 531,948 (2023)
Area: 405,212 sq km
Lieutenant Governor: Her Honour The Honourable Joan Marie Aylward
Premier: The Honourable Andrew Furey (Liberal Party)

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Newfoundland, often called "the Rock," is a large island off the east coast of Canada. The province has had astronomically high unemployment ever since the cod fisheries were shut down in 1992. Overfishing and climatic change have been blamed for the absence of cod in a part of the ocean that used to be teeming with them. Former Premier Brian Tobin, then the federal Minister of Fisheries, was the most prominent Canadian involved in Canada's seizure of a Spanish fishing trawler in 1995.

Newfoundland and Labrador is the only province to have its own breed of dog. Around the turn of the century, these dogs, harnessed to sleds, transported mail to remote areas of the province. These large dogs are noted for intelligence, docility, loyalty, and webbed feet that enable them to swim with ease. Another oddity of the province is its language - Newfoundland has its own dictionary: The Dictionary of Newfoundland English.

Leif Ericson's Sighting of Newfoundland

Evidence that Norse explorers settled at Newfoundland was discovered in 1963 at L'Anse-aux-Meadows. This painting dramatizes Leif Ericson's sighting of Newfoundland in the year 1000.

Traditional Flags: There has always been traditional flags for each of Newfoundland (the island) and Labrador (the mainland) to represent their distinct differences.

Newfoundland	Labrador