About Newfoundland

The name, Newfoundland, is derived from English as "New Found Land" (a translation from the Latin Terra Nova). Newfoundland and Labrador, the easternmost Canadian province, has two parts - the island of Newfoundland - and Labrador on the mainland to the northwest of the island. Labrador is the easternmost part of the Canadian Shield (a vast area of ancient metamorphic rock including much of northeastern North America).

A former colony and dominion of the United Kingdom, Newfoundland became the tenth province to enter the Canadian Confederation on March 31, 1949. The province was known as ‘Newfoundland’ at the time. Since 1964, the province's government has referred to itself as the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. On December 6, 2001, an amendment was made to the Constitution of Canada to change the province's official name to Newfoundland and Labrador. Most people, however, still refer to the island part of the province as “Newfoundland” and to the region on the mainland as “Labrador.”

 

Newfoundland

Newfoundland has a roughly triangular shape with each side being about 400 km (250 mi). Its area is 108,860 square kilometres (42,030 sq mi). Newfoundland, including all its small islands, has a total area of 111,390 square kilometres (43,010 sq mi). Newfoundland is considered a cool summer subtype of a humid continental climate greatly influenced by the sea. No part of the island is more than 100 kilometers (62 miles) from the ocean.

As of January 2010, the province's population was 510,900. Approximately 94% of the population resides on the Island of Newfoundland (including its associated 7000 smaller islands). Fifty percent of the population live on the Avalon Peninsula. The Island of Newfoundland has its own dialects of the English, French, and Irish languages. As well, Labrador also has its own dialects of Innu-aimun and Inuktitut.

Newfoundland is in a unique time zone. The Newfoundland Time Zone is 3.5 hours behind Greenwich Mean Time (GMT-3:30). Newfoundland Standard time is 30 minutes ahead of Atlantic Standard Time (in effect in the Maritime Provinces) and 1.5 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time (used in areas such as Toronto and New York).

Newfoundland time is four and a half hours later than Canada’s west coast. The province is the only Canadian region with a split in the set variations of one hour between time zones. Daylight Saving Time is observed from April-October. The province returns to Newfoundland Standard Time in November.

 

Labrador

The name, Labrador, comes from the Portuguese lavrador, a title meaning "landholder/ploughman." This position was held by the Portuguese explorer of the region João Fernandes Lavrador.

Labrador, the largest and northernmost geographical region in Atlantic Canada, is separated from the island of Newfoundland by the Strait of Belle Isle. Labrador has an irregular shape. The western section 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 but the rest belong to Quebec.

Labrador’s area (including associated small islands) is 294,330 square kilometers. With an area about the size of Colorado, Labrador takes up the eastern section of the Labrador Peninsula. In addition, Labrador shares a small land border with the Canadian territory of Nunavut on Killiniq Island. Northern Labrador is classified as a polar tundra climate. Southern Labrador is considered to have a subarctic climate.

Although Labrador has twice the area of the island of Newfoundland, only 6% of the province’s population live in the region. These people include the Inuit, Innu, and Métis aboriginal groups, as well as descendants of European settlers. Labrador (except for the area on the coast from L'Anse au Clair to Cartwright) uses Atlantic Standard Time (30 minutes behind Newfoundland).