Newfoundland and Labrador (/ˈnjuːfʊndlænd ænd ˈlæbrədɔr/, locally [nuːfəndˈlænd]; French: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador) is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador to the northwest, with a combined area of 405,212 square kilometres (156,500 sq mi). In 2013, the province's population was estimated at 526,702.[4] Approximately 92 percent of the province's population lives on the Island of Newfoundland (including its associated smaller islands), of which more than half live on the Avalon Peninsula. The province is Canada's most linguistically homogenous, with 97.6% of residents reporting English (Newfoundland English) as their mother tongue in the 2006 census.[5] Historically, Newfoundland was also home to unique varieties of French and Irish, as well as the now-extinct Beothuk language. In Labrador, local dialects of Innu-aimun and Inuktitut are also spoken. Newfoundland and Labrador's capital and largest city, St. John's, is Canada's 20th-largest census metropolitan area, and is home to almost 40 percent of the province's population. St. John's is the seat of government, home to the House of Assembly of Newfoundland and Labrador and the highest court in the jurisdiction, the Newfoundland and Labrador Court of Appeal. A former colony and dominion of the United Kingdom, Newfoundland and Labrador became the tenth province to enter the Canadian Confederation on March 31, 1949, as Newfoundland. On December 6, 2001, an amendment was made to the Constitution of Canada to change the province's official name to Newfoundland and Labrador.[6] In day-to-day conversation, however, Canadians generally still refer to the province itself as Newfoundland and to the region on the Canadian mainland as Labrador.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.[108] 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 travels from St. Barbe, Newfoundland on the Great Northern Peninsula to the port town of Blanc-Sablon, Quebec, located on the provincial border and beside the town of L'Anse-au-Clair, Labrador.[109] The MV Sir Robert Bond once provided seasonal ferry service between Lewisporte on the island and the towns of Cartwright and Happy Valley-Goose Bay in Labrador, but has not ran since the completion of the Trans Labrador highway in 2010, allowing access from Blanc-Sablon, Quebec to major parts of Labrador.[110] 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.[111] Inter-provincial ferry services are provided by Marine Atlantic, a federal Crown corporation which operates auto-passenger ferries from North Sydney, Nova Scotia to the towns of Port aux Basques and Argentia on the southern coast of Newfoundland island.[112] The St. John's International Airport YYT and the Gander International Airport YQX are the only airports in the province that are part of the National Airports System.[113] 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.[114] The airport is currently undergoing a major expansion of the terminal building which is scheduled to be complete in 2021.

• published: 08 Jun 2014
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