Newfoundland << NOO fuhnd `land` >> and Labrador is Canada’s newest province. It became a province in 1949. It includes the island of Newfoundland and the coast of Labrador, a part of the Canadian mainland. St. John’s, the capital and largest city of Newfoundland and Labrador, ranks among the oldest communities in North America.
For many years, the province’s official name was simply Newfoundland. Canada’s Parliament changed the official name to Newfoundland and Labrador in 2001.
Fewer people live in Newfoundland and Labrador than in any other province except Prince Edward Island. Most of the land is rugged, especially along the rocky coast. Thick forests grow along tumbling rivers and around sparkling blue lakes. Barren, rocky ridges rise above the green valleys and surround many brown peat bogs (swamps of decayed plants). Arctic winds and ocean currents chill the land and keep the climate cool. Storms occur frequently. Fog often covers the coast.
Almost all of the province’s people live near the sea. Hundreds of villages and fishing settlements nestle in small, sheltered bays along the coast. Some places, too small to appear on most maps, have such unusual names as Crow Head, Dragon’s Bay, and Juniper Stump.
Most people in Newfoundland and Labrador belong to families that originally came from the United Kingdom and Ireland. The people of the many small fishing settlements, known as outports, have kept much of the language and customs of their ancestors. But the decline of the fishing industry and the rapid extension of modern transportation and communication systems threaten this traditional way of life. At the same time, works by urban artists in the province celebrate outport life.
Newfoundland and Labrador’s coastal waters historically were one of the world’s richest fishing areas. For more than 300 years, fishing fleets from various nations have shared in the bounty of the shallow Grand Banks, southeast of Newfoundland. However, bigger trawlers and more efficient ways of finding and catching fish have led to a drop in the numbers of cod and other fishes. As a result, Canada’s government has established restrictions on fishing off Newfoundland.
Mining is an important industry in Newfoundland and Labrador. Offshore oil production became a valuable mining activity in the late 1990’s. Iron-ore mining on the Labrador Peninsula is also extremely important. Seafood products are the leading manufactured products in the province. Refined petroleum and wood pulp and paper are also important products of the manufacturing industry.
Newfoundland and Labrador is the oldest English-speaking region of North America. Norse (Scandinavian) adventurers established a settlement at L’Anse aux Meadows, on the island of Newfoundland, about A.D. 1000. Sailors from the English port of Bristol probably reached the island in the late 1400’s. In 1497, John Cabot, an Italian explorer in the service of England, sailed through the rich fishing waters near Newfoundland. He brought news of the fishing back to Europe. The fisheries attracted many fishing crews, and some of those people settled on the island. During the 1500’s, Basque people of southwestern France and northern Spain established semipermanent whaling and fishing settlements along the Labrador coast. Although its ships used Newfoundland as a fishing area for many years, the United Kingdom did not recognize Newfoundland as a colony until 1824.
For the relationship of Newfoundland and Labrador to the other provinces, see Canada; Canada, Government of; Canada, History of.
People
Population.
The 2021 Canadian census reported that Newfoundland and Labrador had 510,550 people. The province’s population had decreased by about 2 percent since the 2016 census, which reported a total of 519,716 people.
St. John’s, on the Avalon Peninsula, is Newfoundland and Labrador’s capital and largest city. It is the center of the province’s only Census Metropolitan Area as defined by Statistics Canada (see Metropolitan area). About two-fifths of the province’s people live in the metropolitan area.
Corner Brook and Mount Pearl are Newfoundland and Labrador’s only other cities. About four-fifths of the province’s people live in communities with populations of more than 1,000 people. Almost all these settlements lie near the coast.
Only approximately 5 of every 100 people in Newfoundland and Labrador live in communities on the coast of Labrador. For more information, see the separate articles on the Newfoundland and Labrador cities and towns found in this article’s list of Related articles.
Nearly all the people in Newfoundland and Labrador are of British, French, Irish, Scottish, or Indigenous (native) descent. The main Indigenous groups in the province include Innu and Mi’kmaq First Nations people, and Inuit. About 3 percent of the population was born outside Canada. About a fourth of these people came from the United Kingdom or the United States. For more information on the Indigenous groups, see First Nations; Innu; Inuit; Mi’kmaq.
Schools
in Newfoundland and Labrador operate under the authority of the province’s Minister of Education. Two school boards manage the daily operations of the schools. One of the school boards manages the English-speaking school district and the other the francophone (French-speaking) school district. Provincial law requires children in Newfoundland and Labrador to attend school from age 6 to age 16.
The province’s one university—Memorial University of Newfoundland—was founded in 1925. Its main campus is in St. John’s.
In addition to the publicly funded education system, the province regulates a number of private elementary and secondary schools and vocational and technical training schools. These institutions operate either as businesses, as not-for-profit organizations, or as specially funded schools.
Libraries and museums.
In 1934, Newfoundland established its first public library, the Gosling Memorial Library in St. John’s. The Arts and Culture Centre in St. John’s houses the Newfoundland & Labrador Collection of the Provincial Resource Library.
The Rooms, in St. John’s, features art, cultural, and historical exhibits. The Rooms united the Provincial Museum, the Provincial Art Gallery, and the Provincial Archives at a single location. The Provincial Seamen’s Museum in Grand Bank is a branch of The Rooms. It has exhibits on the maritime history of Newfoundland’s southern coast. The North Atlantic Aviation Museum, in Gander, features vintage aircraft and exhibits on Gander’s aviation history. Community museums highlight local heritage collections throughout the province.
Visitor’s guide
Newfoundland and Labrador has capes and bays, wooded river valleys, and Arctic tundra. These features provide some of the most spectacular scenery in North America. The province also offers excellent hunting and fishing. Many vacationers participate in these activities.
The towns and villages of Newfoundland and Labrador are rich in folk traditions that were brought from other countries by early settlers and still survive. Many community events and provincewide folk festivals feature these traditions. Newfoundland and Labrador also has many community museums and historic sites that reflect the history and heritage of the people.
Land and climate
Land regions.
Newfoundland and Labrador includes parts of two land regions: (1) the Canadian Shield, and (2) the Appalachian Region.
The Canadian Shield
covers about half of Canada, including all of Labrador. It is a rough plateau made up of ancient rocks. In Labrador, the edge of this plateau is cut by valleys and by swift rivers that drain into the Atlantic Ocean. Forests cover more than half of Labrador. Southwestern Labrador has many lakes. It also has rich deposits of iron ore. See Canadian Shield.
The Appalachian Region
extends through the eastern part of North America from the island of Newfoundland to Alabama. Lowlands form the eastern edge of the island. To the west, the land gradually rises to a plateau with parts more than 2,000 feet (610 meters) above sea level. In the central part of the island, rocky ridges rise from forested valleys. Lakes, ponds, and bogs dot the area. Three peninsulas—the Great Northern, the Avalon, and the Burin—stick out from the island. The mountainous Great Northern Peninsula points northeast toward Labrador. Forests cover most of it. The Avalon Peninsula, in the southeast, is the most heavily populated part of the province. About 40 percent of the people live there. To the west, across Placentia Bay, lies the hilly Burin Peninsula.
The coastline
of Newfoundland and Labrador is broken by fiords (long inlets) and many bays. The island of Newfoundland has 7,176 miles (11,548 kilometers) of coastline. Labrador’s coastline is 5,078 miles (8,172 kilometers) long. Thousands of small islands with a total coastline of 5,739 miles (9,236 kilometers) dot the coastal waters.
Mountains.
The highest point in Newfoundland and Labrador is Mount Caubvick. This peak in the Torngat Mountains is part of the boundary between Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador. In Quebec, it is known as Mont d’Iberville. It rises 5,420 feet (1,652 meters) above sea level. The Mealy Mountains, in southern Labrador, are over 4,000 feet (1,200 meters) high. On the island of Newfoundland, the chief mountains are the Long Range Mountains. The Lewis Hills have the island’s highest elevation—2,672 feet (814 meters) above sea level.
Rivers and lakes.
The Churchill River in Labrador is Newfoundland and Labrador’s longest river. It rises near the Quebec border and flows 600 miles (966 kilometers) to the Atlantic Ocean. On the island of Newfoundland, the Exploits River flows 153 miles (246 kilometers) northeast from Beothuk Lake into Notre Dame Bay.
Labrador’s largest lake is Lake Melville. It covers 1,133 square miles (2,934 square kilometers). The next largest Labrador lakes are Michikamau, Lobstick, and Dyke lakes, and Lac Joseph. On the island of Newfoundland, Grand Lake is the largest, followed by Beothuk and Gander lakes. Grand Lake covers 205 square miles (531 square kilometers).
Plant and animal life.
Forests cover about 87,000 square miles (225,000 square kilometers) of the province. Balsam fir and spruce are the most common trees. They supply wood for Newfoundland and Labrador’s pulp and paper industry. Other trees include the aspen, birch, larch, pine, and white spruce. Shrubs, lichens, and mosses grow at high elevations. Wildflowers, such as butterworts, Canada mayflowers, goldthreads, Indian pipes, pink lady’s-slippers, starflowers, and twinflowers, also grow in the province. The purple pitcher plant, Newfoundland and Labrador’s provincial flower, grows in bog areas.
Many species of fish have flourished in the shallow waters surrounding the island of Newfoundland and extending along the Labrador coast. The main species there include capelin, crab, flounder, herring, lobster, plaice, redfish, and scallops.
About 30 kinds of animals live in the province. They include Arctic hares, bears, beavers, caribou, foxes, lynxes, moose, otters, rabbits, seals, and weasels. Two famous breeds of dogs, the Labrador retriever and the Newfoundland, were developed in the province (see Labrador retriever; Newfoundland dog).
Some birds live in Newfoundland and Labrador all year, but many kinds visit the province. Ptarmigans and ruffed grouse live there. Ducks, geese, and snipes visit every summer. Gulls, loons, murres, puffins, terns, and other sea birds feed in the coastal waters. 
Climate.
The cold Labrador Current and arctic winds keep the province cool (see Labrador Current). But the climate varies greatly between Labrador and Newfoundland. On the island, January temperatures in St. John’s average 23 °F (–5 °C). Along the Labrador coast, average January temperatures range from 4 to –2 °F (–16 to –19 °C). July temperatures average about 61 °F (16 °C) in St. John’s and about 50 °F (10 °C) in coastal Labrador. The province’s highest and lowest temperatures have generally occurred in central Labrador. 
Newfoundland and Labrador’s annual precipitation (rain, melted snow, and other forms of moisture) ranges from about 20 inches (51 centimeters) in northern Labrador to 60 inches (150 centimeters) at St. John’s. Average yearly snowfall ranges from 70 inches (178 centimeters) in southeastern Newfoundland to about 170 inches (430 centimeters) in Labrador.
Economy
Natural resources have provided the foundation of the Newfoundland and Labrador economy for centuries. These resources include iron ore from Labrador, pulpwood from the island of Newfoundland, fish from the Atlantic Ocean, and, since the 1990’s, oil extracted off the province’s coast. Service industries account for about half of the province’s gross domestic product (GDP)—the total value of goods and services produced in a year.
Natural resources.
Newfoundland and Labrador has some of the world’s largest known iron-ore deposits. It also has significant deposits of cobalt, copper, nickel, and oil. Natural gas deposits exist in the area but have not yet been developed. The large forests of Newfoundland and Labrador are valuable natural resources.
Because of a depletion of fish stocks in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador, a series of fishing restrictions went into effect beginning in the early 1990’s. In 2003, the Canadian government banned cod fishing in the Atlantic Ocean northeast of the province.
Service industries
account for most of the province’s employment. Many of these industries are in St. John’s, the provincial capital. St. John’s is the center of government activities and the province’s banking industry. Memorial University of Newfoundland in St. John’s is one of the world’s leading centers of ocean research.
Mining.
Oil production is Newfoundland and Labrador’s newest mining activity. Production started from the large offshore Hibernia field in late 1997. Within a few years, oil had become one of the province’s most valuable mined products.
Iron ore also ranks among the province’s leading mined products. All of the iron ore comes from mines in and around Labrador City. Voisey Bay in Labrador produces nickel, copper, and cobalt. Newfoundland and Labrador is one of the leading provinces in the production of copper, iron ore, and nickel.
Manufacturing
plays a lesser role in Newfoundland and Labrador’s economy than it does in any other province’s economy. Much of the province’s manufacturing is dedicated to processing its natural resources. Seafood products are the leading food product. Large sawmills operate in the province.
Fishing
has traditionally been important to the economy of Newfoundland and Labrador. Before fishing restrictions were imposed in the early 1990’s, cod was the leading fish catch. Today, such shellfish as crab and shrimp are the leading catches.
Forestry.
Fir and spruce provide much of the timber harvest. The province’s timber is used to make firewood, lumber, and newsprint.
Agriculture.
Because of the lack of fertile soil, agriculture provides less income in Newfoundland and Labrador than in most provinces. The leading farm products include beef and dairy cattle, eggs, floriculture and nursery products, and potatoes.
Electric power and utilities.
Hydroelectric plants supply almost all of the electric power produced in the province. The largest hydroelectric plant lies on the Churchill River in Labrador.
Transportation.
Newfoundland and Labrador lies nearer Europe than any other part of North America except Greenland. This location made the province an important stopping point for airplanes and ships traveling across the Atlantic. But increases in the range of planes and ships have reduced the need for refueling stops.
Gander and St. John’s have international airports. Part of the Trans-Canada Highway runs on the island of Newfoundland from St. John’s to Channel-Port aux Basques (see Trans-Canada Highway). Ferry services also operate in the province.
Communication.
The Telegram of St. John’s is the province’s leading newspaper.
Government
The lieutenant governor
of Newfoundland and Labrador represents the British monarch, Canada’s official head of state, in the province. The governor general in council appoints the lieutenant governor. The governor general in council is the governor general of Canada acting with the advice and consent of the federal Cabinet. The lieutenant governor is considered the head of state, but the position is largely ceremonial.
The premier
of Newfoundland and Labrador is the actual head of the provincial government. Newfoundland and Labrador has a parliamentary form of government. The premier is an elected member of the House of Assembly. The person who serves as premier is usually the leader of the majority party in the Assembly. The premier must have the support of a majority of the Assembly.
The premier presides over the Executive Council (cabinet). The cabinet includes ministers appointed by the lieutenant governor on the advice of the premier. Most of the appointees are members of the premier’s party in the House of Assembly. Most ministers direct one or more branches of the government. The cabinet, like the premier, must have the support of the majority of the Assembly. Otherwise, the cabinet must resign, or its supporters must win a majority of Assembly seats in a new general election.
The House of Assembly
of Newfoundland and Labrador is a one-house legislature. It passes the provincial laws. The House of Assembly has 40 members, each elected from 1 of 40 Assembly districts. Elections occur every four years. 
Courts
of Newfoundland and Labrador include the Supreme Court and its regional judicial centers, and the Provincial Court, which has branches throughout the province. The federal government appoints Supreme Court justices. The provincial government appoints judges to the Provincial Court.
Local government.
St. John’s, Corner Brook, and Mount Pearl, Newfoundland and Labrador’s three cities, operate under city acts passed by the provincial legislature. An elected council governs each of the province’s incorporated towns and incorporated communities.
Revenue.
Taxes levied by the provincial government account for over half of Newfoundland and Labrador’s general revenue (income). Most of the tax revenue comes from personal income taxes, retail sales taxes, and royalties from offshore oil production. Much of the rest of the revenue comes from the federal government.
Politics.
The main provincial parties in Newfoundland and Labrador are the Liberal, New Democratic, and Progressive Conservative (PC) parties. Of these, the New Democratic Party is the least conservative. The PC Party is the most conservative.
Indigenous government.
Through an agreement with the governments of Newfoundland and Labrador and Canada, Inuit in Labrador established the regional Nunatsiavut Government in 2005. This government has several departments that are responsible for such matters as culture, recreation, and tourism; education and economic development; finance and human resources; health and social development; and land and natural resources. Several Inuit community governments exist under the Nunatsiavut Government. An Inuit angajukKâk (mayor and chief executive officer) heads each community government.
History
Early European exploration.
Norse explorers probably were the first white people to live in Newfoundland. In 1961, archaeologists discovered the ruins of a Norse settlement on the northern tip of the island. This settlement was established about A.D. 1000.
English fishing crews from Bristol probably reached Newfoundland in the late 1400’s. John Cabot, an Italian explorer in the service of England, may have landed on Newfoundland or Nova Scotia in 1497. Cabot thought he had reached Asia. He brought news of Newfoundland’s rich fishing to Europe.
Following Cabot’s voyage, hundreds of French, Portuguese, and Spanish fishing fleets visited Newfoundland. Among these fleets were Basque whalers of southwestern France and northern Spain. Some Basques established a base at Red Bay, on the southeast coast of Labrador. At that time, the Beothuk, a First Nations people, lived in Newfoundland. During the 1700’s, Mi’kmaq people settled chiefly along the southern coast of Newfoundland. The Beothuk society and economy depended on access to coastal and marine resources. The growing presence of European fishing enterprises and coastal settlements led the Beothuk to retreat inland. Inland resources were insufficient to support the Beothuk, who also were weakened by European diseases. By 1829, the Beothuk had disappeared. See Beothuk.
The Innu have lived in southern and central Labrador for thousands of years. And Inuit have lived along the coast of northern Labrador for thousands of years.
Colonization.
By the late 1500’s, English fishing fleets worked and settled mainly along the southeast coast of Newfoundland. French fishing fleets controlled the north and south coasts. But English, French, Spanish, and Portuguese ships often anchored in the same harbor. A “fishing admiral” ruled each harbor. This official was the master of the first ship to arrive at the beginning of the fishing season. In 1634, King Charles I officially gave authority to the English fishing admirals.
In 1583, the English explorer Sir Humphrey Gilbert arrived in St. John’s. He claimed Newfoundland as part of his new colony. But Gilbert and his crew were lost at sea on their return voyage to England without having established a settlement in Newfoundland. John Guy, a merchant, arrived in 1610 with settlers sent by an English company. Guy formed a colony at Cupids, on Conception Bay. Although people continued to live in Cupids from then on, the colony failed as a commercial venture. In 1621, Sir George Calvert (later Lord Baltimore) established a major colony at Ferryland. In 1629, after an unusually cold winter, Calvert requested a royal grant of land farther south. He went on to establish the colony of Maryland in what is now the United States.
In 1637, Charles I granted Newfoundland to Sir David Kirke and other nobles. Kirke set up headquarters at Ferryland but had no authority over the English fishing fleets who visited the island. The Ferryland colony developed successfully under Kirke and, later, under his wife, Lady Sara Kirke. In 1651, the English government called Kirke back to England. The government discouraged further attempts at colonization in Newfoundland after 1651. However, the descendants of the early English colonists served as the core of a growing permanent population of European ancestry there.
War with France.
French settlers founded Placentia in 1662. Placentia quickly grew into a fortified colony that threatened the English in Newfoundland. William III became king of England in 1689. William declared war on France, and the French and English colonies in North America, including Newfoundland, became part of the battleground. In 1696 and 1697, the French destroyed all English settlements in Newfoundland. However, the war in Europe went against the French, and in 1713, the Treaty of Utrecht gave all of the island of Newfoundland to the British. France kept only the privilege of using part of the northeastern and western shore for drying fish. That area became known as the French Shore. The 1783 Treaty of Versailles signed by Britain (now the United Kingdom) and France shifted the boundaries of the French Shore to the north and west.
In 1729, the British government began to appoint naval officers as royal governors to rule Newfoundland during the fishing season each summer. Captain Henry Osborne became the first such “naval governor.”
Britain obtained nearly all the rest of France’s possessions in Canada by the Treaty of Paris, which ended the Seven Years’ War in 1763. France received St.-Pierre and Miquelon islands from Britain and regained its right to use the French Shore. France gave up this right in 1904. 
After the Treaty of Paris, the British government placed the Labrador coast under the authority of Newfoundland’s naval governor. The Labrador coast was placed under Quebec-British rule in 1774 and returned to Newfoundland’s control in 1809.
Representation and independence.
By 1815, about 40,000 people lived in Newfoundland. In 1817, Sir Francis Pickmore became the first governor to remain on the island after the close of the fishing season. Many people wanted a strong local government. Led by William Carson, a Scottish surgeon, the people repeatedly asked Parliament for authority to make their own laws. In 1832, the British government established a legislature for Newfoundland. It consisted of a governor, a council, and a general assembly elected by the people.
Newfoundland’s new government was a “representative government” because its legislature could make laws. But the British Parliament had to approve the laws, and a British governor enforced them. The general assembly soon asked for a “responsible government” in which the assembly rather than the governor controlled the cabinet. The British had granted their other Canadian colonies responsible government in the 1840’s. They allowed Newfoundland to set up such a government in 1855.
Economic developments.
Until the mid-1800’s, Newfoundland’s economy was based chiefly on the fishing and seal industries. Dried cod and seal products were major exports of Newfoundland. In the 1860’s, mineral exploration began, and by 1888, copper mining had become an important industry in Newfoundland. In the 1890’s, an iron ore mine opened on Bell Island. A railway was constructed across Newfoundland from 1882 to 1896. The colony’s first paper mill began operating in Grand Falls in 1909. However, Newfoundland’s new mining and forestry industries depended on external markets, and railway construction burdened the colony with a large public debt.
In 1927, the British Privy Council established the present boundary between the coast of Labrador and Quebec. This decision gave Newfoundland the vast mineral resources of the Knob Lake and Wabush Lake regions.
Ruin and recovery.
After World War I ended in 1918, Newfoundland’s prosperity began to fade, chiefly because of a depression in international trade. The cost of the war also increased Newfoundland’s public debt. In the 1920’s, Newfoundland tried to revive its lagging industries and develop new ones. But by 1930, the Great Depression had struck most of the world. Newfoundland’s fish, iron ore, and newsprint markets collapsed. The colony’s finances began to fail.
Under Prime Minister Frederick C. Alderdice, Newfoundland appealed to the United Kingdom for financial assistance under a new form of government. In 1934, the United Kingdom suspended Newfoundland’s government and established a Commission of Government. It consisted of a British governor and six other men, three of them Newfoundlanders. Newfoundland became a dependency, and the United Kingdom took over its debts.
Economic recovery came slowly. The government reorganized the civil service, improved education and health facilities, and sponsored research to improve agriculture. Newfoundland’s fishing and logging industries got much-needed financial aid.
World War II (1939-1945) gave new life to Newfoundland’s economy. The factories, fisheries, and mines increased production to fill wartime demands. Canada and the United States built military bases in Newfoundland. People at these bases created new demand for local products.
Confederation with Canada.
In 1948, Newfoundland voters chose to unite with Canada rather than keep the Commission of Government or return to independent self-government. On March 31, 1949, Newfoundland became the 10th province of Canada. Joseph R. Smallwood, leader of the Liberal Party, was the first premier of the new province. Newfoundland was in sound financial condition at the time of confederation. But a wide gap existed between the standard of living in Newfoundland and many of the other nine provinces. Through confederation, Newfoundland began to share in federal social security benefits. The province also participated in such federal programs as the development of trade schools and the construction of more than 500 miles (800 kilometers) of the Trans-Canada Highway. 
The late 1900’s.
During the 1960’s, Newfoundland expanded its industrial and educational facilities and its production and distribution of electric power. After a boom in mineral production, mining began to rival fishing as a major industry. New mines opened, mostly in Labrador.
By the late 1960’s, Newfoundland’s rural electrification program had brought electric service to over 100 isolated communities in the province. The main project in the electrification program was a huge hydroelectric plant in Churchill Falls in Labrador. The plant began producing power in 1971, and all of its 11 generators were operating by 1974. The plant is one of the largest hydroelectric projects in the Western Hemisphere.
From the time it became a province to the mid-1970’s, Newfoundland’s population grew rapidly, and many people had to leave the province to find work. In 1979, a major oil field was discovered off the eastern coast. But low oil prices contributed to a delay in the development of the field, and oil production did not begin until 1997.
In the early 1990’s, the federal government restricted fishing for cod in waters in and around Newfoundland because of a sharp drop in their numbers. The government also placed restrictions on other species. In 1994, the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) agreed to observe the restrictions. The NAFO is an intergovernmental fisheries science and management organization.
The early 2000’s.
In 2001, Canada’s Parliament changed the official name of the province to Newfoundland and Labrador. The provincial government already had been using the new name for many years.
Newfoundland and Labrador experienced some economic difficulties during the first several years of the 2000’s. In 2003, the government banned cod fishing in the Atlantic Ocean northeast of Newfoundland and Labrador. Thousands of Newfoundlanders lost jobs in the fishing industry. Weakened international markets for newsprint also caused two of the province’s major pulp and paper mills, at Stephenville and Grand Falls-Windsor, to shut down in 2005 and 2009, respectively.
In 2008, oil-related revenue transformed Newfoundland and Labrador from a “have-not” into a “have” province under the system by which Canada’s government transfers money from wealthier to poorer provinces. By 2010, revenue from offshore oil production was largely responsible for the province’s relative prosperity during a global economic recession.
Kathy Dunderdale served as the first woman premier of Newfoundland and Labrador from 2010 to 2014.
The province experienced a significant economic downturn in the 2010’s, due partly to a drop in oil revenue. A worldwide outbreak of the disease COVID-19 that began in 2019 also strained the economy.
