This time the vote that took place on May 24, , went the other way and just a few weeks later, on June 17, , Iceland became its own country. Most Icelanders consider this to be a big win for the resource-rich country. It was a game changer for Iceland, which, like Newfoundland, has one of the richest fishing grounds on the planet.
When Newfoundland joined confederation, they essentially lost control of their own fishery. The reverse, however, happened in Iceland when they separated from Denmark. When Iceland became its own country, they became free to manage their fishery as they pleased. Some Newfoundlanders argue the decline in the Newfoundland fishery, particularly with cod and off-shore fishing, started as soon as Newfoundland joined Canada, when the power over the fishery shifted from the dominion of Newfoundland to the Canadian government and federal ministers in Ottawa.
The fishery stopped being managed by the locals who knew and understood it and decisions started to be made by people who knew little about the Newfoundland fishery.
The lack of local control was one of the driving factors behind Iceland separating from Denmark around the same time Newfoundland became part of Canada, and the contrast between these two Atlantic fishing nations is worth exploring.
Iceland has one of the largest fisheries in the world. Alternatively, in Iceland, a move was made to only export high-quality whole fish to international markets that demand the best of the best. While Canada kept the economic development strategies in Newfoundland focused on fishing and general resource extraction, Iceland switched gears, focusing on the diversification of their economy. In Iceland today, tourism along with alternative energy such as hydro and geothermal power share the stage.
Most residents of Newfoundland and Labrador are proud Canadians. The province is fully part of Canada with all the rights, privilege, and responsibilities of any Canadian province. That day on July 2, , when the Federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans Minister John Crosbie announced a moratorium on Newfoundland cod fishing due to the mismanagement of the resource, it changed everything. The North Atlantic Cod Moratorium is still etched in the minds of Newfoundlanders who lost their livelihood and those who make their living on the ocean now.
The decision, which arguably had to happen due to 50 years of poor fisheries management on the part of the Canadian federal government, shaped the lives of coastal communities throughout this special Atlantic Canadian province. Over , tourists visit Newfoundland and Labrador each year and the tourism industry is thriving. Fishing, forestry, mining, and hydroelectric development also play a major part. The air and water in Newfoundland is some of the cleanest on the planet, and the standard of living in the province is high.
We can resolutely decide to be poor and proud. Poor and proud is what Newfoundlanders had been for hundreds of years. During the Great Depression, the sovereign nation faced the shame of reverting back to colonial status with Britain after it suffered bankruptcy and government collapse. Although the Second World War eased Newfoundlands poverty, incomes were still a third of those in Canada.
After the war, Newfoundland had little choice but to tackle the question of its future. Britain was financially drained by the war and looking for every possible cost-cutting measure. Reducing its colonial obligations would provide much-needed savings.
In September , the official debate over Newfoundland's future began at convention in St. Delegates representing various regions discussed options to be recommended to the British government and eventually put to a public referendum.
Most of the delegates wanted Newfoundland regain independence, but Smallwood had another suggestion - confederation with Canada. For the first time in Newfoundlands history, Newfoundlands people would get a chance to live.
Smallwood's proposal was defeated but it launched his long battle to convince Newfoundlanders that Canada was their best choice. The convention debates continued for two years, all broadcast on the radio. Smallwood, a former journalist, union organizer and pig farmer, was a brilliant orator and he began to dominate the discussions and become the mouthpiece for confederation with Canada.
He was part of a delegation that visited Canadian Prime Minister Mackenzie King, who saw the opportunity to become a latter day Father of Confederation. But most men did, and at the National Convention on January 29, , the option of joining Canada wasn't even on the referendum; the only two options were independence or remaining under the rule of the British commission.
Smallwood drew up a petition, asking that Canada be added as a third option and got 50, signatures. Its total area is , km2, of which Labrador makes up almost three-quarters , km2.
Bjarni was likely the first European to visit North America, and his discovery led to a brief Norse colonization of Newfoundland. French explorer Jacques Cartier arrived on the coast of Labrador. Government and Politics. Disasters Government and Politics. He drowned in a storm on 9 September off Sable Island in Canada's first recorded marine disaster. John Guy and 39 settlers departed Bristol, arriving in Newfoundland in August. Though his settlement at Cupids Bay lasted only to , its founding was a signal event in the early history of Newfoundland.
The so-called Independence Hurricane hit off Newfoundland, and drowned several thousand seamen, most of them British. The first smallpox vaccinations in Canada and possibly in North America were given by Dr. John Clinch of Trinity, NL. By the end of , Clinch had vaccinated people in the area. The Royal Newfoundland Regiment of Fencible Infantry, a provincial unit formed in , was ordered into Upper Canada to form five companies for naval service in protection of the Great Lakes.
Sports and Culture. The first regatta in St. John's, Newfoundland, was reported in the local journal, though it is impossible to say exactly what year the race began. Despite stretches when the regatta was not held, it is considered the oldest continuing sports event in North America.
Though he supported Confederation, he was unsuccessful in bringing Newfoundland into the new nation, and gradually distanced himself from the idea. Indigenous Peoples. Shawnadithit was captured by English furriers in , and her drawings and descriptions of the Beothuk are valuable records of her people. Like so many Beothuk, she died of tuberculosis. Public meetings at St John's, Newfundland, adopted resolutions in favour of responsible government.
Communication and Transportation. In one of the greatest stories of heroism ever recorded, William Jackman threw himself into the icy water off Labrador and rescued 11 of the 27 crew of a foundered ship unassisted. With the help of others he swam out 16 more times. Renowned Arctic explorer Robert A.
Bartlett was born in Brigus, Newfoundland. Bartlett accompanied explorer Robert Peary on three journeys to find the North Pole. In he captained the doomed Karluk for the Canadian Arctic Expedition. The signatures, requesting the municipal franchise , had been collected across the island. The petitions were met with scorn. Though the House of Assembly held two debates, the measure was defeated each time. A fire broke out in a barn on Long's Hill and swept through St John's.
Some 12, people were left homeless after two-thirds of the city was destroyed. He served as prime minister of Newfoundland for several terms before being appointed to its Supreme Court. Government and Politics Resources and Environment.
By the Lansdowne-Cambon Convention France surrendered the right of French fishermen to land on certain coasts of Newfoundland to dry fish. Resources and Environment. An international tribunal ruled that Newfoundland may regulate fisheries used not only by Newfoundland fishermen, but also by Americans and Canadians.
The Titanic struck an iceberg km east of Newfoundland on the fifth day of its maiden voyage. It sank in 2 hrs, 40 mins with the loss of 1, lives, including the captain and Canadian railway tycoon Charles Melville Hays. The largest convoy ever to cross the Atlantic, it comprised over 31, troops aboard 31 ocean liners escorted by Royal Navy warships.
Also sailing in this convoy was a contingent from the British Dominion of Newfoundland, which was still separate from Canada at that time. The petition had 1, signatures, and a bill was introduced to move forward on its demand. Later in the year the Liberal government, under Sir Richard Squires , rejected the bill by way of a party vote. Women over 25 years of age gained the right to vote and to stand for political office in Newfoundland and Labrador.
The Labrador boundary was settled in its present location by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.
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