The province is Canada’s most linguistically homogeneous, with 97.0% of residents reporting English (Newfoundland English<\/a>) as their mother tongue in the 2016 census. Historically, Newfoundland was also home to unique varieties of French and Irish, as well as the extinct Beothuk<\/a> language. In Labrador, the indigenous languages Innu-aimun<\/a> and Inuktitut<\/a> are also spoken.<\/p>\n Newfoundland and Labrador’s capital and largest city, St. John’s<\/a>, is Canada’s 20th-largest census metropolitan area and is home to almost 40 per cent of the province’s population. St. John’s is the seat of government, home to the House of Assembly of Newfoundland and Labrador and to the highest court in the jurisdiction, the Newfoundland and Labrador Court of Appeal.<\/p>\n A former colony and then dominion of the United Kingdom, Newfoundland gave up its independence in 1933, following significant economic distress caused by the Great Depression<\/a> and the aftermath of Newfoundland’s participation in World War I<\/a>. It became the tenth province to enter the Canadian Confederation<\/a> on 31 March 1949, as “Newfoundland”. On 6 December 2001, an amendment was made to the Constitution of Canada to change the province’s name to Newfoundland and Labrador.<\/p>\n The name “New founde lande” was uttered by King Henry VII in reference to the land explored by the Cabots. In Portuguese it is Terra Nova, which literally means “new land” which is also the French name for the Province’s island region (Terre-Neuve). 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 Jo\u00e3o Fernandes Lavrador<\/a>.<\/p>\n Labrador’s name in the Inuttitut<\/a> language (spoken in Nunatsiavut<\/a>) is Nunatsuak, meaning “the big land” (a common English nickname for Labrador). Newfoundland’s Inuttitut name is Ikkarumikluak meaning “place of many shoals”.<\/p>\n Newfoundland and Labrador is the most easterly province in Canada, and is at the north-eastern corner of North America<\/a>. The Strait of Belle Isle<\/a> separates the province into two geographical parts: Labrador, which is a large area of mainland Canada, and Newfoundland, an island in the Atlantic Ocean. The province also includes over 7,000 tiny islands.<\/p>\n Newfoundland is roughly triangular. Each side is about 250 miles long, and its area is 42,030 square miles. Newfoundland and its neighboring small islands (excluding French possessions) have an area of 43,010 square miles.<\/p>\n Labrador is roughly triangular. The western part of its border with Quebec<\/a> is the drainage divide of the Labrador Peninsula<\/a>. 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\u00b022\u2032N, shares a short border with Nunavut<\/a>. Labrador’s area (including associated small islands) is 113,640 square miles. Together, Newfoundland and Labrador make up 4.06% of Canada’s area, with a total area of 156,650 square miles.<\/p>\n Labrador is the easternmost part of the Canadian Shield, a vast area of ancient metamorphic rock comprising much of northeastern North America. Colliding tectonic plates have shaped much of the geology of Newfoundland. Gros Morne National Park<\/a> has a reputation as an outstanding example of tectonics at work, and as such has been designated a World Heritage Site<\/a>. The Long Range Mountains<\/a> on Newfoundland’s west coast are the northeasternmost extension of the Appalachian Mountains<\/a>.<\/p>\n Human habitation in Newfoundland and Labrador can be traced back about 9,000 years. The Maritime Archaic<\/a> peoples were groups of Archaic<\/a> cultures of sea-mammal hunters in the subarctic<\/a>. They prospered along the Atlantic Coast of North America from about 7000 BC to 1500 BC. Their settlements included longhouses<\/a> 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<\/a>. The southern branch of these people was established on the north peninsula of Newfoundland by 5,000 years ago. The Maritime Archaic period is best known from a mortuary site in Newfoundland at Port au Choix<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Maritime Archaic peoples were gradually displaced by people of the Dorset culture<\/a> (Late Paleo-Eskimo<\/a>) who also occupied Port au Choix. The number of their sites discovered on Newfoundland indicates they may have been the most numerous group of Aboriginal people to live there. They thrived from about 2000 BC to AD 800. 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.<\/p>\n 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. The Inuit, found mostly in Labrador, are the descendants of what anthropologists call the Thule people, who emerged from western Alaska around AD 1000 and spread eastwards across the High Arctic, reaching Labrador around 1300\u20131500. Researchers believe the Dorset culture lacked the dogs, larger weapons and other technologies that gave the expanding Inuit people an advantage. Over time, groups started to focus on resources available to them locally.<\/p>\n The inhabitants eventually organized themselves into small bands of a few families, grouped into larger tribes and chieftainships. The Innu<\/a> are the inhabitants of an area they refer to as Nitassinan<\/a>, i.e. most of what is now referred to as northeastern Quebec and Labrador. Their subsistence activities were historically centred on hunting and trapping caribou, deer and small game. Coastal clans also practiced agriculture, fished and managed maple sugar bush. The Innu engaged in tribal warfare along the coast of Labrador with the Inuit groups that had large populations.<\/p>\n The Mi’kmaq 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. Over time, the Mi’kmaq 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. In addition to the district councils, the Mi’kmaq tribes also had a Grand Council or Sant\u00e9 Mawi\u00f3mi, which according to oral tradition was formed before 1600.<\/p>\n 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. Instead, their trading interactions were sporadic, and they largely attempted to avoid contact in order to preserve their culture. 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Geneticists have suggested some Icelanders may carry Beothuk DNA, which has been passed down matrilineally over the centuries. This suggests that when the Vikings abandoned their colonization of Newfoundland around 1000 AD, they might have brought back Beothuk women to Europe.<\/p>\n The oldest confirmed accounts of European contact date from a thousand years ago as described in the Viking<\/a> (Norse) Icelandic Sagas<\/a>. Around the year 1001, the sagas refer to Leif Ericson<\/a> landing in three places to the west, the first two being Helluland<\/a> (possibly Baffin Island<\/a>) and Markland<\/a> (possibly Labrador). Leif’s third landing was at a place he called Vinland (possibly Newfoundland). Archaeological evidence of a Norse settlement was found in L’Anse aux Meadows<\/a>, Newfoundland, which was declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO<\/a> in 1978.<\/p>\n There are several other unconfirmed accounts of European discovery and exploration, one tale by men from the Channel Islands being blown off course in the late 15th century into a strange land full of fish, and another from Portuguese maps that depict the Terra do Bacalhau<\/a>, or land of codfish, west of the Azores<\/a>. The earliest, though, is the Voyage of Saint Brendan<\/a>, 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.<\/p>\n In 1496 John Cabot<\/a> obtained a charter from English King Henry VII<\/a> 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 24 June 1497, landed in Cape Bonavista<\/a>. Historians disagree on whether Cabot landed in Nova Scotia<\/a> in 1497 or in Newfoundland, or possibly Maine, if he landed at all, but the governments of Canada and the United Kingdom recognize Bonavista as being Cabot’s “official” landing place. In 1499 and 1500, Portuguese mariners Jo\u00e3o Fernandes Lavrador<\/a> and P\u00earo de Barcelos explored and mapped the coast, the former’s name appearing as “Labrador” on topographical maps of the period.<\/p>\n Based on the Treaty of Tordesillas<\/a>, the Portuguese Crown claimed it had territorial rights in the area John Cabot visited in 1497 and 1498. Subsequently, in 1501 and 1502 the Corte-Real brothers<\/a>, Miguel<\/a> and Gaspar<\/a>, explored Newfoundland and Labrador, claiming them as part of the Portuguese Empire<\/a>. In 1506, King Manuel I of Portugal<\/a> created taxes for the cod fisheries in Newfoundland waters. Jo\u00e3o \u00c1lvares Fagundes<\/a> and P\u00earo de Barcelos established seasonal fishing outposts in Newfoundland and Nova Scotia around 1521, and older Portuguese settlements may have existed. Sir Humphrey Gilbert<\/a>, provided with letters patent<\/a> from Queen Elizabeth I<\/a>, landed in St John’s in August 1583, and formally took possession of the island.<\/p>\n Sometime before 1563 Basque<\/a> fishermen, who had been fishing cod<\/a> shoals off Newfoundland’s coasts since the beginning of the sixteenth century, founded Plaisance<\/a> (today Placentia), a seasonal haven which French fishermen later used. In the Newfoundland will, now in an archive in Spain, of the Basque seaman Domingo de Luca dated 1563, he asks “that my body be buried in this port of Plazen\u00e7ia in the place where those who die here are usually buried”. This will is the oldest known civil document written in Canada.<\/p>\n Twenty years later, in 1583, Newfoundland became England’s first possession in North America and one of the earliest permanent English colonies in the New World 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, England, France, and Portugal. However, this changed during the initial stages of Anglo-Spanish War<\/a>, when Bernard Drake<\/a> led a devastating raid<\/a> on the Spanish and Portuguese fisheries in 1585. This provided an opportunity to secure the island and led to the appointment of Proprietary Governors<\/a> to establish colonial settlements on the island from 1610 to 1728. John Guy<\/a> became governor of the first settlement at Cuper’s Cove<\/a>. Other settlements included Bristol’s Hope<\/a>, Renews<\/a>, New Cambriol<\/a>, South Falkland<\/a> and Avalon<\/a> (which became a province in 1623). The first governor given jurisdiction over all of Newfoundland was Sir David Kirke<\/a> in 1638.<\/p>\n Explorers quickly realized the waters around Newfoundland had the best fishing in the North Atlantic. By 1620, 300 fishing boats worked the Grand Banks<\/a>, employing some 10,000 sailors; many continuing to come from the Basque Country, Normandy<\/a>, or Brittany<\/a>. They dried and salted cod on the coast and sold it to Spain and Portugal. Heavy investment by Sir George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore<\/a>, 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. After Calvert left, small-scale entrepreneurs such as Sir David Kirke made good use of the facilities. Kirke became the first governor of Newfoundland in 1638. A triangular trade with New England, the West Indies, and Europe gave Newfoundland an important economic role. By the 1670s there were 1,700 permanent residents and another 4,500 in the summer months.<\/p>\n In 1655 France appointed a governor in Plaisance (Placentia), the former Basque fishing settlement, thus starting a formal French colonization period in Newfoundland as well as a period of periodic war and unrest between England and France in the region. The Mi’kmaq, 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<\/a> explorer Pierre Le Moyne d’Iberville<\/a> who during King William’s War<\/a> 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<\/a> and those in the then remote Bonavista<\/a>.<\/p>\n After France lost political control of the area after the Siege of Port Royal<\/a> in 1710, the M\u00ed’kmaq engaged in warfare with the British throughout Dummer’s War<\/a> (1722\u20131725), King George’s War<\/a> (1744\u20131748), Father Le Loutre’s War<\/a> (1749\u20131755) and the French and Indian War<\/a> (1754\u20131763). The French colonization period lasted until the Treaty of Utrecht of 1713<\/a>, which ended the War of the Spanish Succession<\/a>: France ceded to the British its claims to Newfoundland (including its claims to the shores of Hudson Bay<\/a>) and to the French possessions in Acadia<\/a>. Afterward, under the supervision of the last French governor, the French population of Plaisance moved to \u00cele Royale (now Cape Breton Island<\/a>), part of Acadia which remained then under French control.<\/p>\n In the Treaty of Utrecht (1713), France had acknowledged British ownership of the island. However, in the Seven Years’ War<\/a> (1756\u20131763), 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<\/a> to insist nobody other than Britain should have access to Newfoundland. The Battle of Signal Hill<\/a> took place in Newfoundland in 1762 when a French force landed and tried to occupy the island, only to be repulsed by the British.<\/p>\n From 1763 to 1767 James Cook<\/a> made a detailed survey of the coasts of Newfoundland and southern Labrador while commander of HMS Grenville<\/a>. (The following year, 1768, Cook began his first circumnavigation of the world.) In 1796 a Franco-Spanish expedition<\/a> again succeeded in raiding the coasts of Newfoundland and Labrador, destroying many of the settlements.<\/p>\n 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 nearby St. Pierre and Miquelon<\/a> islands; the French gave up their French Shore rights in 1904.) In 1783 the British signed the Treaty of Paris<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n In 1854 the British government established Newfoundland’s responsible government. In 1855, Philip Francis Little<\/a>, a native of Prince Edward Island<\/a>, won a parliamentary majority over Hugh Hoyles<\/a> and the Conservatives. Little formed the first Newfoundland administration (1855-1858). Newfoundland rejected confederation with Canada in the 1869 general election<\/a>. Prime Minister of Canada Sir John Thompson<\/a> came very close to negotiating Newfoundland’s entry into Confederation in 1892.<\/p>\n Newfoundland remained a colony until acquiring Dominion status in 1907. A dominion constituted a self-governing state of the British Empir<\/a>e or British Commonwealth<\/a> and the Dominion of Newfoundland was relatively autonomous from British rule.<\/p>\n Newfoundland’s own regiment, the 1st Newfoundland Regiment<\/a>, fought in the First World War<\/a>. On July 1, 1916, nearly the entire regiment was wiped out at Beaumont-Hamel<\/a> on the first day on the Somme<\/a>. The regiment went on to serve with distinction in several subsequent battles, earning the prefix “Royal”. Despite people’s pride in the accomplishments of the regiment, the Dominion’s war debt due to the regiment and the cost of maintaining a trans-island railway led to increased and ultimately unsustainable government debt in the post-war era.<\/p>\n Since the early 1800s, Newfoundland and Quebec (or Lower Canada) had been in a border dispute over the Labrador region<\/a>. In 1927, however, the British government ruled the area known as modern-day Labrador was to be considered part of the Dominion of Newfoundland.<\/p>\n Due to Newfoundland’s high debt load arising from World War I and construction of the Newfoundland Railway<\/a>, and decreasing revenue due to the collapse of fish prices, the dominion legislature voted itself out of existence in 1933 in exchange for loan guarantees by the Crown and a promise it would be re-established. On February 16, 1934, the Commission of Government<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n When prosperity returned with World War II, agitation began to end the Commission and reinstate responsible government. Instead, the British government created the National Convention<\/a> in 1946, reflecting the efforts toward self-determination that arose in Europe following the war. The Convention, chaired by Judge Cyril J. Fox<\/a>, consisted of 45 elected members from across the dominion and was formally tasked with advising on the future of Newfoundland.<\/p>\n Several motions were made by Joey Smallwood<\/a> (a convention member who later served as the first provincial premier of Newfoundland) 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. In January 1948, the National Convention voted against putting Confederation onto the referendum 29 to 16, but the British, which controlled the National Convention and the subsequent referendum, overruled this vote. 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 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 it would be.<\/p>\n Three main factions actively campaigned during the lead-up to the referenda. Smallwood led the Confederate Association (CA)<\/a>, advocating entry into the Canadian Confederation. They campaigned through a newspaper known as The Confederate. The Responsible Government League (RGL)<\/a>, led by Peter Cashin<\/a>, advocated an independent Newfoundland with a return to responsible government. Their newspaper was The Independent. A third, the smaller Economic Union Party (EUP)<\/a>, led by Chesley Crosbie<\/a>, advocated closer economic ties with the United States. Though a 1947 poll found 80% of Newfoundland residents wanting to become Americans, the EUP failed to gain much attention and merged with the RGL after the first referendum.<\/p>\n The first referendum took place on June 3, 1948; 44.6% of people voted for responsible government, 41.1% voted for confederation with Canada, while 14.3% voted for the Commission of Government. Since none of the choices had gained over 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% for confederation with Canada and 47.7% for responsible (independent) government. 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<\/a> through Parliament. Newfoundland officially joined Canada at midnight on March 31, 1949.<\/p>\n As documents in British and Canadian archives became available in the 1980s, it became clear Canada and the United Kingdom 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. Yet, most historians who have examined the government 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.<\/p>\n Following the referendum, there was a rumor the referendum had been narrowly won by the “responsible government” side, but the result had been fixed by the British governor. Shortly after the referendum, several boxes of ballots from St. John’s were burned by order of Herman William Quinton<\/a>, one of only two commissioners who supported confederation. Some have argued 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.<\/p>\n The above is primarily a history of the island of Newfoundland. Detailed information about Labrador is available elsewhere in this blog.<\/p>\n For many years, Newfoundland and Labrador had experienced a depressed economy. Following the collapse of the cod fishery<\/a> during the early 1990s, the province suffered record unemployment rates and the population decreased by roughly 60,000. Due to a major energy and resources boom, the provincial economy has had a major turnaround since the turn of the 21st century. Unemployment rates decreased, the population stabilized and had moderate growth. The province has gained record surpluses, which has rid it of its status as a “have not” province.<\/p>\n Service industries accounted for the largest share of GDP, especially financial services, health care and public administration. Other significant industries are mining, oil production and manufacturing. The total workforce in 2010 was 263,800 people. Per capita GDP in 2008 was $61,763, higher than the national average and third only to Alberta and Saskatchewan out of Canadian provinces.<\/p>\n Mines in Labrador, the iron ore mine at Wabush\/Labrador City<\/a>, and the nickel mine in Voisey’s Bay<\/a> produced a total of $3.3 billion worth of ore in 2010. A mine at Duck Pond (30 km (18 mi) south of the now-closed mine at Buchans<\/a>), started producing copper, zinc, silver and gold in 2007, and prospecting for new ore bodies continues. Mining accounted for 3.5% of the provincial GDP in 2006. The province produces 55% of Canada’s total iron ore. Quarries producing dimension stone<\/a> such as slate<\/a> and granite, account for less than $10 million worth of material per year.<\/p>\n Oil production from offshore oil platforms on the Hibernia<\/a>, White Rose<\/a> and Terra Nova<\/a> oil fields on the Grand Banks<\/a> was of 110,000,000 barrels, which contributed to more than 15 per cent of the province’s GDP in 2006. Total production from the Hibernia field from 1997 to 2006 was 733,000,000 barrels with an estimated value of $36 billion.<\/p>\n Newsprint is produced by one paper mill in Corner Brook<\/a> with a capacity of 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.<\/p>\n The fishing industry remains an important part of the provincial economy, employing roughly 20,000 and contributing over $440 million to the GDP. The combined harvest of fish such as cod, haddock<\/a>, halibut<\/a>, herring and mackerel<\/a> was 92,961 tonnes in 2017, with a combined value of $141 million. Shellfish, such as crab, shrimp<\/a> and clams<\/a>, accounted for 101,922 tonnes in the same year, yielding $634 million. The value of products from the seal hunt<\/a> was $1.9 million. Aquaculture<\/a> is a new industry for the province, which in 2015 produced over 22,000 tonnes of Atlantic salmon,<\/a> mussels<\/a> and steelhead trout<\/a> worth over $161 million. Oyster<\/a>\u00a0production is also expected to start in the province.<\/p>\n Agriculture in Newfoundland is limited to areas south of St. John’s, Cormack<\/a>, Wooddale<\/a>, areas near Musgravetown<\/a> and in the Codroy Valley<\/a>. Potatoes, rutabagas<\/a>, turnips<\/a>, carrots and cabbage<\/a> are grown for local consumption. Poultry and eggs are also produced. Wild blueberries<\/a>, partridgeberries (lingonberries)<\/a> and bakeapples (cloudberries)<\/a> are harvested commercially and used in jams and wine making. Dairy production is another huge part of the Newfoundland Agriculture Industry.<\/p>\n Tourism is also a significant contributor to the province’s economy. In 2006 nearly 500,000 non-resident tourists visited Newfoundland and Labrador, spending an estimated $366 million.[106] Tourism is most popular throughout the months of June\u2013September, the warmest months of the year with the longest hours of daylight.<\/p>\n Within the province, the Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Transportation and Works operates or sponsors 15 automobile, passenger and freight ferry routes which connect various communities along the province’s significant coastline.<\/p>\n A regular passenger and car ferry service, lasting about 90 minutes, crosses the Strait of Belle Isle, connecting the province’s island of Newfoundland with the region of Labrador on the mainland. The ferry MV Apollo<\/a> travels from St. Barbe, Newfoundland<\/a> on the Great Northern Peninsula<\/a> to the port town of Blanc-Sablon, Quebec<\/a>, located on the provincial border and beside the town of L’Anse-au-Clair, Labrador<\/a>.<\/p>\n The MV Sir Robert Bond once provided seasonal ferry service between Lewisporte<\/a> on the island and the towns of Cartwright<\/a> and Happy Valley\u2013Goose Bay<\/a> in Labrador, but has not run since the completion of the Trans-Labrador Highway<\/a> in 2010, allowing access from Blanc-Sablon, Quebec, to major parts of Labrador. Several smaller ferries connect numerous other coastal towns and offshore island communities around the island of Newfoundland and up the Labrador coast as far north as Nain<\/a>.<\/p>\n Inter-provincial ferry services are provided by Marine Atlantic<\/a>, a federal Crown corporation<\/a> which operates auto-passenger ferries from North Sydney, Nova Scotia<\/a>, to the towns of Port aux Basques<\/a> and Argentia<\/a> on the southern coast of Newfoundland island.<\/p>\n The St. John’s International Airport YYT<\/a> and the Gander International Airport YQX<\/a> are the only airports in the province that are part of the National Airports System<\/a>. The St. John’s International Airport handles nearly 1,200,000 passengers a year making it the busiest airport in the province and the eleventh busiest airport in Canada. The airport is currently undergoing a major expansion of the terminal building which is scheduled to be complete in 2021. The Deer Lake Airport YDF<\/a> handles over 300,000 passengers a year.<\/p>\n The Flag of Newfoundland and Labrador was introduced in 1980 and was designed by Newfoundland artist Christopher Pratt<\/a>. The flag design was approved by the House of Assembly<\/a> of the province of Newfoundland, Canada, on May 28, 1980. It was flown for the first time on Discovery Day<\/a>, June 24, 1980. The name of the province was changed to Newfoundland and Labrador by an amendment to the constitution in 2001. This was at the request of the provincial legislature.<\/p>\n The design was chosen due to its broad symbolism. The blue represents the waters of the sea, lakes and rivers; the white represents snow and ice; the red represents human effort, and the gold) symbolizes the confidence the people of Newfoundland and Labrador have in themselves and for the future.<\/p>\n The flag design is that of Beothuk and Innu decorative pendants worn hung from a cord around the neck. Pratt viewed these at the Provincial Museum. With the blue, red and white colours applied the design has an intentional overall resemblance to the Union Jack, as a reminder of British Isles heritage and historic connections. The two red triangles represent the two areas of the province, the continental region (Labrador) and the island region (Newfoundland). The gold arrow, according to Pratt, points towards a “brighter future”; the arrow becomes a sword, honouring the sacrifices of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians in military service when the flag is displayed as a vertical banner. The red triangles and the gold arrow form a trident, symbolizing the province’s association with the fisheries and other resources of and under the sea.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/11\/Newfoundland-and-Labrador-in-Canada-300x255.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Etymology:<\/h2>\n
Geography:<\/h2>\n
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<\/a>History:<\/h2>\n
Early History:<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/11\/Maritime-Archaic-Artist-Interpretation-at-Port-au-Choix-300x200.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/11\/Beothuk-Camp-18th-Century-300x207.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Descendants of the Beothuks:<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/11\/Inuit-of-Labrador-1812-279x300.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>European Contact:<\/h3>\n
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<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/11\/John-Cabot-at-Cape-Bonavista-300x199.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Colony of Newfoundland:<\/h3>\n
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<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/11\/Battle-of-Signal-Hill-1762-300x224.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Dominion of Newfoundland:<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/11\/Newfoundland-Soldiers-in-World-War-I-300x182.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Commission of Government and Canadian Confederation:<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/11\/Signing-Newfoundland-into-the-Canadian-Confederation-300x231.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Economy:<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/11\/Voiseys-Bay-Mine-300x200.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/11\/Offshore-Oil-Platform-300x225.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/11\/Fishing-Boats-and-Lobster-Traps-300x200.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Transportation:<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/11\/Trans-Labrador-Highway-300x169.jpg\" "\\"\\""){kind=spacer}
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/11\/Newfoundland-Interprovincial-Ferry-Services-300x225.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Flag of Newfoundland and Labrador:<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/11\/Flag-of-Newfoundland-and-Labrador-300x150.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Newfoundland Tricolour:<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/11\/Unofficial-Flag-of-Newfoundland-Island-300x150.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>