1.
Newfoundland (island)
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Newfoundland is a large Canadian island off the east coast of the North American mainland, and the most populous part of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It has 29 percent of the land area. The island is separated from the Labrador Peninsula by the Strait of Belle Isle and it blocks the mouth of the Saint Lawrence River, creating the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, the worlds largest estuary. Newfoundlands nearest neighbour is the French overseas community of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, with an area of 108,860 square kilometres, Newfoundland is the worlds 16th-largest island, Canadas fourth-largest island, and the largest Canadian island outside the North. The provincial capital, St. Johns, is located on the southeastern coast of the island, Cape Spear, just south of the capital, is the easternmost point of North America, excluding Greenland. It is common to consider all directly neighbouring islands such as New World, Twillingate, Fogo, by that classification, Newfoundland and its associated small islands have a total area of 111,390 square kilometres. Additionally 6. 1% claimed at least one parent of French ancestry, the islands total population as of the 2006 census was 479,105. Long settled by peoples of the Dorset culture, the island was visited by the Icelandic Viking Leif Eriksson in the 11th century. The next European visitors to Newfoundland were Portuguese, Basque, Spanish, French, the island was visited by the Genoese navigator John Cabot, working under contract to King Henry VII of England on his expedition from Bristol in 1497. In 1501, Portuguese explorers Gaspar Corte-Real and his brother Miguel Corte-Real charted part of the coast of Newfoundland in a attempt to find the Northwest Passage. Newfoundland is considered Britains oldest colony, at the time of English settlement, the Beothuk inhabited the island. While there is evidence of ancient indigenous peoples on the island. LAnse aux Meadows was a Norse settlement near the northernmost tip of Newfoundland, the site is considered the only undisputed evidence of Pre-Columbian contact between the Old and New Worlds, if the Norse-Inuit contact on Greenland is not counted. There is a second suspected Norse site in Point Rosee, the island is a likely location of Vinland, mentioned in the Viking Chronicles, although this has been disputed. The indigenous people on the island at the time of European settlement were the Beothuk, later immigrants developed a variety of dialects associated with settlement on the island, Newfoundland English, Newfoundland French. In the 19th century, it also had a dialect of Irish known as Newfoundland Irish, Scottish Gaelic was spoken on the island during the 19th and early 20th centuries, particularly in the Codroy Valley area, chiefly by settlers from Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. The Gaelic names reflected the association with fishing, in Scottish Gaelic, it was called Eilean a Trosg, or literally, similarly, the Irish Gaelic name Talamh an Éisc means Land of the Fish. The first inhabitants of Newfoundland were the Paleo-Eskimo, who have no link to other groups in Newfoundland history
2.
Canada
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Canada is a country in the northern half of North America. Canadas border with the United States is the worlds longest binational land border, the majority of the country has a cold or severely cold winter climate, but southerly areas are warm in summer. Canada is sparsely populated, the majority of its territory being dominated by forest and tundra. It is highly urbanized with 82 per cent of the 35.15 million people concentrated in large and medium-sized cities, One third of the population lives in the three largest cities, Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. Its capital is Ottawa, and other urban areas include Calgary, Edmonton, Quebec City, Winnipeg. Various aboriginal peoples had inhabited what is now Canada for thousands of years prior to European colonization. Pursuant to the British North America Act, on July 1,1867, the colonies of Canada, New Brunswick and this began an accretion of provinces and territories to the mostly self-governing Dominion to the present ten provinces and three territories forming modern Canada. With the Constitution Act 1982, Canada took over authority, removing the last remaining ties of legal dependence on the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Canada is a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy, with Queen Elizabeth II being the head of state. The country is officially bilingual at the federal level and it is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration from many other countries. Its advanced economy is the eleventh largest in the world, relying chiefly upon its abundant natural resources, Canadas long and complex relationship with the United States has had a significant impact on its economy and culture. Canada is a country and has the tenth highest nominal per capita income globally as well as the ninth highest ranking in the Human Development Index. It ranks among the highest in international measurements of government transparency, civil liberties, quality of life, economic freedom, Canada is an influential nation in the world, primarily due to its inclusive values, years of prosperity and stability, stable economy, and efficient military. While a variety of theories have been postulated for the origins of Canada. In 1535, indigenous inhabitants of the present-day Quebec City region used the word to direct French explorer Jacques Cartier to the village of Stadacona, from the 16th to the early 18th century Canada referred to the part of New France that lay along the St. Lawrence River. In 1791, the area became two British colonies called Upper Canada and Lower Canada collectively named The Canadas, until their union as the British Province of Canada in 1841. Upon Confederation in 1867, Canada was adopted as the name for the new country at the London Conference. The transition away from the use of Dominion was formally reflected in 1982 with the passage of the Canada Act, later that year, the name of national holiday was changed from Dominion Day to Canada Day
3.
Provinces and territories of Canada
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Canadas geography is divided into administrative divisions known as provinces and territories that are responsible for delivery of sub-national governance. Over its history, Canadas international borders have changed several times, the ten provinces are Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, and Saskatchewan. Several of the provinces were former British colonies, Quebec was originally a French colony, the three territories are Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and Yukon, which govern the rest of the area of the former British North America. Together, the provinces and territories make up the worlds second-largest country by area, the powers flowing from the Constitution Act are divided between the federal government and the provincial governments to exercise exclusively. In modern Canadian constitutional theory, the provinces are considered to be co-sovereign divisions, the territories are not sovereign, but simply part of the federal realm, and have a commissioner who represents the federal government. Notes, There are three territories in Canada, unlike the provinces, the territories of Canada have no inherent sovereignty and have only those powers delegated to them by the federal government. They include all of mainland Canada north of latitude 60° north and west of Hudson Bay, the following table lists the territories in order of precedence. Prior to Confederation, Ontario and Quebec were united as the Province of Canada, over the following years, Manitoba, British Columbia, and Prince Edward Island were added as provinces. The Hudsons Bay Company controlled large swathes of western Canada referred to as Ruperts Land and the North-Western Territory until 1870, subsequently, the area was re-organized into the province of Manitoba and the Northwest Territories. The remaining Arctic islands were transferred by Britain to Canada in 1880,1898 saw the Yukon Territory, later renamed simply as Yukon, carved from the parts of the Northwest Territories surrounding the Klondike gold fields. On September 1,1905, a portion of the Northwest Territories south of the 60th parallel north became the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan. In 1912, the boundaries of Quebec, Ontario and Manitoba were expanded northward, Manitobas to the 60° parallel, Ontarios to Hudson Bay, in 1907, Newfoundland acquired dominion status. In the middle of the Great Depression in Canada with Newfoundland facing a period of economic crisis. In 2001, it was officially renamed Newfoundland and Labrador, in 1903, the Alaska Panhandle Dispute fixed British Columbias northwestern boundary. This was one of two provinces in Canadian history to have its size reduced. In 1999, Nunavut was created from the portion of the Northwest Territories. Yukon lies in the portion of The North, while Nunavut is in the east. All three territories combined are the most sparsely populated region in Canada, covering 3,921,739 km2 in land area and they are often referred to as a single region, The North, for organisational and economic purposes
4.
Newfoundland and Labrador
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Newfoundland and Labrador is the most easterly province of Canada. Situated in the countrys Atlantic region, it comprises the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador to the northwest, in 2013, the provinces population was estimated at 526,702. About 92% of the population lives on the island of Newfoundland. The province is Canadas most linguistically homogeneous, with 97. 6% of residents reporting English as their mother tongue in the 2006 census, historically, Newfoundland was also home to unique varieties of French and Irish, as well as the extinct Beothuk language. In Labrador, local dialects of Innu-aimun and Inuktitut are also spoken, Newfoundland and Labradors capital and largest city, St. Johns, is Canadas 20th-largest census metropolitan area and is home to almost 40 percent of the provinces population. St. Johns is the seat of government, home to the House of Assembly of Newfoundland and Labrador and to the highest court in the jurisdiction and it 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 official name to Newfoundland. The name Newfoundland is a translation of the Portuguese Terra Nova, the influence of early Portuguese exploration is also reflected in the name of Labrador, which derives from the surname of the Portuguese navigator João Fernandes Lavrador. Newfoundland and Labrador is the most easterly province in Canada, and is located at the corner of North America. The Strait of Belle Isle separates the province into two divisions, Labrador, which is a large area of mainland Canada, and Newfoundland. The province also includes over 7,000 tiny islands, each side is about 400 km long, and its area is 108,860 km2. Newfoundland and its small islands have a total area of 111,390 km2. Newfoundland extends between latitudes 46°36′N and 51°38′N, Labrador is an irregular shape, the western part 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, most of Labradors southern boundary with Quebec follows the 52nd parallel of latitude. Labradors extreme northern tip, at 60°22′N, shares a border with Nunavut. Together, Newfoundland and Labrador make up 4. 06% of Canadas area, 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 has a reputation as an outstanding example of tectonics at work, and as such has been designated a World Heritage Site. The Long Range Mountains on Newfoundlands west coast are the northeasternmost extension of the Appalachian Mountains, the north-south extent of the province, prevalent westerly winds, cold ocean currents and local factors such as mountains and coastline combine to create the various climates of the province
5.
Trans-Canada Highway
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The Trans-Canada Highway is a transcontinental federal-provincial highway system that travels through all ten provinces of Canada from the Pacific Ocean on the west to the Atlantic on the east. The main route spans 8,030 kilometres across the country, the system was approved by the Trans-Canada Highway Act of 1949, with construction commencing in 1950. The highway officially opened in 1962, and was completed in 1971, upon its original completion, the Trans-Canada Highway was the most lengthy uninterrupted highway in the world. The highway system is recognizable by its distinctive white-on-green maple leaf route markers, throughout much of Canada, there are at least two routes designated as part of the Trans-Canada Highway. For example, in the provinces, both the main Trans-Canada route and the Yellowhead Highway are part of the Trans-Canada system. As of 2012, this made it the longest electric vehicle ready highway in the world, the Trans-Canada is otherwise designated as east-west from Nanaimo to St. Johns, although there are significant north-south sections north of Hope, Sault Ste. From Departure Bay, a 57 km ferry route connects the highway to Horseshoe Bay in West Vancouver, at this point, the Trans-Canada Highway becomes a high mobility freeway and passes through the Vancouver metropolitan area, crossing the Fraser River with the Port Mann Bridge. The section around the Bridge has started being electronically tolled as of 8 December 2012, from Horseshoe Bay, the TCH then heads 170 km east through the Fraser Valley to Hope. Then it continues 496 km east through Salmon Arm, Revelstoke, Rogers Pass, Golden, the northwest and northeast segments of Stoney Trail were completed in 2009, serving as an east-west bypass of Calgary. East of Calgary,293 km the highway reaches Medicine Hat. It continues 79 km east to the city of Regina that is bypassed by a freeway segment. Beyond Regina it continues east into Manitoba to the cities of Brandon and Portage la Prairie, throughout the prairie provinces, the speed limit varies from 90 km/h to 110 km/h. The speed limit is restricted to 90 km/h through national parks in Canada, east of Banff, most of Highway 1 through Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba is 110 km/h, but is 100 km/h east of Winnipeg. Speed limits on the British Columbia mainland segment of the Trans-Canada range from 80 km/h to 110 km/h, east of Winnipeg, the highway continues for over 200 kilometres to Kenora, Ontario. At the provincial border, the designation of the highway changes from 1 to 17. In Kenora, the Trans-Canada designation includes both the route through the citys urban core and the 33.6 km Highway 17A bypass route. The existing branch from Kenora continues east for 136 km to Dryden, a second branch extends 157 km southward along Highway 71 from Kenora to Chapple, then 320 km eastward along Highway 11 to Shabaqua Corners, where it reunites with Highway 17. Highway 11/Highway 17 proceeds southeast for 65 km to Thunder Bay, an 83-kilometre segment of the Trans-Canada Highway between Thunder Bay and Nipigon is commemorated as the Terry Fox Courage Highway
6.
Port
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A port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land. Port locations are selected to optimize access to land and navigable water, for commercial demand, Ports with deeper water are rarer, but can handle larger ships. Since ports throughout history handled every kind of traffic, support and storage facilities vary widely, may extend for miles, some ports have an important military role. One of the worlds oldest known artificial harbors is at Wadi al-Jarf on the Red Sea, along with the finding of harbor structures, ancient anchors have also been found. Guangzhou was an important port during the ancient times as far back as the Qin Dynasty, canopus was the principal port in Egypt for Greek trade before the foundation of Alexandria. Athens port of Piraeus was the base for the Athenian fleet, lothal is one of the most prominent cities of the ancient Indus valley civilisation, located in the Bhāl region of the modern state of Gujarāt and dating from 3700 BCE. Ostia Antica was the port of ancient Rome with Portus established by Claudius, Ports often have cargo-handling equipment, such as cranes and forklifts for use in loading ships, which may be provided by private interests or public bodies. Often, canneries or other processing facilities will be located nearby, some ports feature canals, which allow ships further movement inland. Access to intermodal transportation, such as railroads and highways, is critical to a port, so that passengers, Ports with international traffic have customs facilities. Harbor pilots and tugboats may maneuver large ships in tight quarters when near docks, the terms port and seaport are used for different types of port facilities that handle ocean-going vessels, and river port is used for river traffic, such as barges and other shallow-draft vessels. An inland port is a port on a lake, river, or canal with access to a sea or ocean. An example of this is the St. Lawrence Seaway which allows ships to travel from the Atlantic Ocean several thousand kilometers inland to Great Lakes ports like Duluth-Superior, a fishing port is a port or harbor for landing and distributing fish. It may be a facility, but it is usually commercial. A fishing port is the port that depends on an ocean product. In recent decades, regulations to save fishing stock may limit the use of a fishing port, a dry port is an inland intermodal terminal directly connected by road or rail to a seaport and operating as a centre for the transshipment of sea cargo to inland destinations. A warm-water port is one where the water does not freeze in wintertime, because they are available year-round, warm-water ports can be of great geopolitical or economic interest. A seaport is further categorized as a port or a cargo port. Additionally, cruise ports are known as a home port or a port of call
7.
Memorial University of Newfoundland
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The Memorial University of Newfoundland, colloquially known as Memorial University or MUN, is a comprehensive university based in St. Johns, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. With historical strengths in education, engineering, business, geology, with over 18,000 students, it is also the largest university in Atlantic Canada. MUNs four main campuses are served by more than 1100 faculty and 2,300 staff members, Memorial University of Newfoundland is a member of the prestigious International Association of Universities. Memorial University of Newfoundland 107690273RR0001 was registered as a organization in Canada on 1967-01-01. MUN has four campuses and two satellite campuses across three regions of Newfoundland and Labrador, and in two countries. The largest campus is located in St. Johns, prince Philip Drive runs east–west through the main campus, with Westerland Road bordering it to the west, Elizabeth Avenue to the south and Allandale Road to the east. The University Centre is home to the court, bookstore, campus bar. The Memorial University Libraries contain collections of university Archives, Fine Arts 1880 s to present, Human History, the Queen Elizabeth II Library, contains 1,058,500 monographs,93,900 maps,13,600 audio-visual titles and over 9,000 journal titles. The Commons, located on the floor of the library, has computers available for use by students as well as a Digital Media Centre. The Marine Institute is a polytechnic institution located on Ridge Road in St. Johns within Pippy Park. It has unique facilities such as a ships bridge simulator. It offers degrees, diplomas, certifications and industry training for the maritime sector, see main article on Grenfell Campus for more information. The Grenfell Campus is a 185-acre site in Corner Brook and it has approximately 1400 students,156 faculty,235 staff and offers programs in the Arts, Fine Arts, Business, Science, Resource Management and Nursing. It had been referred to as Sir Wilfred Grenfell College until September 10,2010, the Harlow Campus, located in Old Harlow, Essex, England consists of the Maltings, which can accommodate 30 students and Cabot House which can accommodate 10 students. A former schoolhouse and a teachers cottage have been converted into a facility and an apartment. Memorials Harlow Campus is not a school unto itself, rather, professional schools and academic departments at Memorial use the Harlow Campus to deliver special programs. Harlow offers courses in Biology, Business, Drama & Performance, English Cultural Landscape, Fine Arts, Faith, Love & Lore, there are over 17,000 students currently enrolled in full and part-time studies at MUN. This number includes both undergraduate and graduate students, approximately 85% of students are from Newfoundland and Labrador
8.
Newfoundland Railway
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The Newfoundland Railway was a railway which operated on the island of Newfoundland from 1898 to 1988. With a total length of 906 miles, it was the longest 3 ft 6 in narrow gauge railway system in North America. In 1880, a committee of the Newfoundland Legislature recommended that a gauge railway be built from the colonial capital in St. Johns to Halls Bay,547 km to the west. Construction was started on the Avalon Peninsula in August 1881 by the Blackman Syndicate, by 1884, the Newfoundland Railway Company had built 92 km west to Whitbourne before going into receivership. The bondholders of the bankrupt Newfoundland Railway Company continued to build a 43 km branch line from Whitbourne to Harbour Grace, the colonial government undertook to build a branch from the junction at Whitbourne to the port of Placentia between 1886 and 1888. The route itself was diverted inland up the Exploits valley and over the Gaff Topsails and this extension to the system was initially operated as the Newfoundland Northern and Western Railway and for it, Reid was granted land totaling 13 km²/km. The new line west to Port aux Basques was completed between 1894 and 1898, at the same time, Reid proposed a ferry service across the Cabot Strait from Port aux Basques to North Sydney, Nova Scotia, and contracted for a steamship to be built in England. The Bruce arrived in the fall of 1897, before the line was completed to Port aux Basques, on 29 June 1898 the first passenger train arrived at Port aux Basques and the Bruce set sail with passengers for North Sydney. The Reid company agreed to operate the lines for 50 years, in exchange for outright ownership and they also purchased the government drydock in St. Johns and the telegraph system. The Reid company purchased eight new steamships to operate as coastal ferries around the island, controversy followed the awarding of so many assets to Reid, and in 1901 the contracts were modified to place everything under a limited liability corporation, named the Reid Newfoundland Company. Reids railway development in the colony began to attract attention to the potential of the natural resources. In 1903, the Reids partnered with a St. Johns businessman, Harry J. Crowe, to purchase timber rights in Botwood, Norris Arm, Gambo, Gander Bay, Botwood was expanded through the construction of deepwater wharves and warehouses for shipping the finished pulp. To link the two, AND built the narrow gauge Botwood Railway beginning in 1908 and completing it in 1909 and it would later be renamed the Grand Falls Central Railway. Reid died in 1908 but his company set the pace for development in Newfoundlands interior mining and forestry industries, in 1909 and into the 1910s, the colonial government contracted for additional branch lines to be built. Some of the lands that had belonged to the Reid Newfoundland Company were used by the government as part of a deal to develop a pulp, the railway was initially called the Newfoundland Government Railway but was soon shortened to the Newfoundland Railway in 1926. It would remain the property of the government until Confederation on April 1,1949 when it was transferred to the federal governments Canadian National Railway. 137 passengers lost their lives and only 104 people survived the sinking, Newfoundland became the 10th province of Canada on March 31,1949, and the Newfoundland Railways assets were transferred to the control of the federal Crown corporation Canadian National Railway. CN became a presence in Newfoundlands early years as a province, controlling the railway, dry dock services, many ferries and coastal boats
9.
Gambo, Newfoundland and Labrador
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Gambo is a town in northeastern Newfoundland, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It is in Division No.7 on Freshwater Bay, according to the 2001 Statistics Canada Census, Population,2,084 % Change, approx. -10.9 Dwellings,859 Area,92.07 Density,22.6 It is the closest town to Mint Brook - the birthplace of Joey Smallwood, former Premier of Newfoundland and it is located 47 km from Gander Airport and 303 km from St. Johns. The first steam saw mill in Newfoundland was established here. The first way office was established in 1882 under Waymaster Simeon Osmond, in 1964 the three separate communities of Dark Cove, Middle Brook, and Gambo were incorporated as one town known as Dark Cove-Middle Brook-Gambo. In 1980 the town changed its name to Gambo. Gambo is known for its Smallwood Days and its Loggers Sports Festival, one of the most important sights is the Loggers Memorial Park. List of cities and towns in Newfoundland and Labrador
10.
Bonavista Peninsula
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The Bonavista Peninsula is a large peninsula on the east coast of the island of Newfoundland in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The peninsula runs 85 km northeast from a 19 km wide isthmus and it separates Bonavista Bay in the north from Trinity Bay to the south. Starting at the Trinity Bay side it commences at the part of the bay at Shoal Harbour. Continuing east the peninsulas south shore includes the communities of Trinity, the north shore of the peninsula includes the communities of Bonavista, Summerville and Musgravetown to Port Blandford. The highways servicing the Bonavista Peninsula are Route 230, Route 233, Route 235, Route 237, Route 238, the Newfoundland Railway also had a branch built from Clarenville to Bonavista, later called the Bonavista Subdivision by CN Rails Terra Transport division. It was abandoned in 1984, four years before the mainline was abandoned across the island. This peninsula contains some of the oldest settlements on the island of Newfoundland, particularly the towns of Bonavista, english explorer John Cabot is reported to have landed at Cape Bonavista in 1497 claiming this part of the New World for the King of England. The communities and towns on the Bonavista Peninsula are in a decline as the importance of the fishing industry decreases. The following is a list of the towns on the Bonavista Peninsula by population in the 2011 Canadian Census
11.
Avalon Peninsula
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The Avalon Peninsula is a large peninsula that makes up the southeast portion of the island of Newfoundland. The peninsula is home to 262,410 people, about 51% of Newfoundlands population, the peninsula is the location of St. Johns, the provincial capital and largest city. It is connected to the section of the island by the 5 km wide Isthmus of Avalon. The peninsula protrudes into the fishing zones near the Grand Banks. Its four major bays—Trinity Bay, Conception Bay, St. Marys Bay, the Avalon Peninsula is itself pinched into peninsulas by St. Marys Bay and Conception Bay. St. Johns is located in the northeast of the peninsula, the Avalon Peninsula is a noted region for Precambrian fossils, and many Lagerstätten of the diverse Ediacaran biota are found on the peninsula. Mistaken Point is the location of the first documented Ediacaran. The peninsula gives its name to the ancient micro-continent Avalonia of which it was part, explorer John Cabot led an unsuccessful expedition from England to try and reach the Banda Islands in The Orient, supposedly ended up off what is now Bonavista. The first permanent English settlement was established at Cupers Cove in 1610, sir George Calvert was later given a large land holding on the peninsula. The initial colony of Ferryland grew to a population of 100, Calvert wished to make the colony a refuge for Roman Catholics facing persecution in England. In 1625 Calvert was made the first Lord Baltimore, in 1696, during King Williams War, the French destroyed many English villages in the Avalon Peninsula Campaign. During Queen Annes War, Rear Admiral John Leake of the Royal Navy led an expedition aimed at capturing French ships around the Peninsula, during this same conflict, the French attacked the fortified English port of St. Johns, but were defeated. They later returned and captured the town, burning it to the ground, later, during King Georges War, a single British Man-of-war, HMS Kinsale, cruised along the coast, attacking and capturing French ships. On June 8th,1755, three British and three French Men-of- War met off Cape Race on the Peninsula and engaged each other in battle and this battle was one of a series that ignited the French and Indian War in North America. The Peninsula played a role in both the American Revolutionary War and the War of 1812, in which it served as a training ground for Royal Navy sailors. Avalon Explosion British colonization of the Americas New Cambriol Snows Pond Heritage of Newfoundland - Colony of Avalon
12.
Bonavista, Newfoundland and Labrador
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Bonavista is a town on the Bonavista Peninsula, Newfoundland in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Unlike many Newfoundland coastal settlements, Bonavista was built on a plain, not in a steep cove. Giovanni Caboto, a freelance Venetian explorer, was contracted by England’s Henry VII to find new lands, Cabot set sail from Bristol, England in his ship the Matthew in 1497. When Cabot first saw land he’s reputed to have said O Buon Vista giving rise to the name of the town, Cabot landed with a crucifix and raised banners with the arms of the Holy Father and those of the King of England. The land was inhabited, as the expedition found a trail leading inland, a site where a fire had been, the harbour was not ideal, eventually requiring the construction of several breakwaters. Despite this Bonavista became one of the most important towns in Newfoundland due to its proximity to the fishing and sealing grounds to the north of the peninsula. Tension between the French and English sometimes resulted in action, including an unsuccessful attempt in 1704 by the French to burn the town. The French Shore, which had Bonavista as its terminus, was established by the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. Fishing rights in the continued to be a source of tension between the French and English. Bonavista was a commercial centre and the evidence for this is preserved at the Ryan Premises. It is an example of a large fish merchants operation. Bonavista’s status was enhanced by the development of the Fishermans Protective Union in the early 20th century. During the peak years of 1891-1901, the Bonavista Peninsulas population of about 20,000 was centred in Bonavista, the Bonavista Cold Storage Co. fish plant, now a Fishery Products International operation, became the centre of fishery production after the decline of salt fish markets. In 1722 the first school in Newfoundland was built in Bonavista by Rev. Henry Jones, in 2006, the automobile company Nissan developed a new SUV named Nissan X-Trail Bonavista Edition, which was supposedly inspired by the beauty of Newfoundland and named after the historical town. However, the commercial itself backfired when Bonavista Mayor Betty Fitzgerald, to further expose the commercials lack of linguistic authenticity, CBC News reported the sales rep was played by an actor from Cape Breton Island. That commercial was parodied by a car dealer in St. Johns, Newfoundland in a radio ad that takes shots at Ontario marketing companies. Although winters are mild by Canadian standards, there is heavy snowfall. Bonavista is the windiest place in Canada with a wind speed of 32.6 km/h.1, p. 213-214
Canada
Newfoundland and Labrador
Clarenville>
Media related to Clarenville, Newfoundland and Labrador at Wikimedia Commons
