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Inuktitut

Inuktitut

Inuktitut (Inuktitut syllabics: ᐃᓄᒃᑎᑐᑦ, literally "like the Inuit") is the name of the varieties of Inuit language spoken in Canada. It is spoken in all areas north of the treeline, including parts of the provinces of Newfoundland and Labrador, Quebec and to some extent in northeastern Manitoba as well as the territories of Nunavut, the Northwest Territories and traditionally on the Arctic Ocean coast of Yukon. It is recognised as an official language in Nunavut and the Northwest Territories. It also has legal recognition in Nunavik - a part of Quebec - thanks in part to the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement, and is recognised in the Charter of the French Language as the official language of instruction for Inuit school districts there. It also has some recognition in Nunatsiavut - the Inuit area in Labrador - following the ratification of its agreement with the Canadian federal government and the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The Canadian census estimates that there are roughly 30,000 Inuktitut speakers in Canada, including roughly 200 who live regularly outside of traditionally Inuit lands. For more information on the relationship between Inuktitut and the Inuit languages spoken in Greenland and Alaska, see Inuit language.

Dialects and variants

Inuit language

Northwest Territories and Yukon

Inuit in Canada's Northwest Territories call themselves Inuvialuit and live primarily in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region, consisting of the northern part of the Mackenzie river delta, the arctic coast of the Northwest Territories and Yukon, Banks Island, a part of Victoria Island and some more remote and irregularly inhabited Arctic Ocean islands. The Inuit language variants of the NWT are often treated together as Inuvialuktun, but this categorisation is misleading. The Inuvialuit population encompasses three distinct dialects:
- Kangirjuarmiutun: spoken mainly in the community of Holman. This dialect is essentially identical to the Inuinnaqtun spoken in western Nunavut.
- Siglitun: spoken mainly in the communities of Paulatuk, Sachs Harbour and Tuktoyaktuk. Siglitun was once the principal dialect of the Mackenzie river delta and nearby parts of the coast and Arctic ocean islands, but the number of speakers fell dramatically following outbreaks of new diseases in the 19th century and for many years Siglitun was believed to be completely extinct. It was only in the 1980s that outsiders realised that it was still spoken. (Dorais, [http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0008/000861/086162e.pdf Arctic languages: an awakening], pg. 194)
- Uummarmiutun: spoken mainly in the communities of Inuvik and Aklavik. This dialect is essentially the same as Alaskan Inupiatun, and is present in Canada because of migration from Alaska in the 1910s, reoccupying traditionally Siglit lands abandonned during the devastating disease outbreaks of the previous century. [http://www.canadianarchaeology.com/canadianarchaeology/cmcc/pinuva.htm] The Inuvialuktun dialects are seriously endangered, as English has in recent years become the common language of the community. Surveys of Inuktitut usage in the NWT vary, but all agree that usage is not vigorous. According to the Inuvialuit Cultural Resource Centre, only some 10% of the roughly 4,000 Inuvialuit speak any form of Inuktitut, and only some 4% use it at home. [http://www.pch.gc.ca/progs/em-cr/eval/2003/2003_01/11_e.cfm] Statistics Canada's 2001 Census report is only slightly better, reporting 765 self-identified Inuktitut speakers out of a self-reported Inuvialuit population of 3,905. Considering the large number of non-Inuit living in Inuvialuit areas and the lack of a single common dialect among the already reduced number of speakers, the future of the Inuit language in the NWT appears bleak.

Nunavut

Nunavut encompasses the geographically largest part of the Inuit world (not counting the uninhabitable Greenland ice shield), and includes large mainland areas and numerous islands divided by rivers, straits, Hudson Bay, and areas of ocean that freeze only for a part of the year. Consequently, it is unsurprising that it has a great deal of internal dialect diversity. Nunavut's basic law lists four official languages: English, French, Inuktitut and Inuinnaqtun, but to what degree Inuktitut and Inuinnaqtun can be thought of as separate languages is ambiguous in state policy. The word Inuktitut is often used to describe both. The demographic situation of Inuktitut is quite strong in Nunavut. Nunavut is the home of some 24,000 Inuit, most of whom - over 80% according to the 2001 census - speak Inuktitut, including some 3,500 people reported as monolinguals. 2001 census data shows that the use of Inuktitut, while lower among the young than the elderly, has stopped declining in Canada as a whole and may even be increasing in Nunavut.
- Inuinnaqtun is an Inuit language variant spoken in the western part of the Kitikmeot Region of Nunavut, and at Holman in the Northwest Territories. Although it has a number of features distinguishing it as a specific variant of Inuktitut, the most immediately noticeable is the lack of a local tradition of Inuktitut syllabics use. The government of Nunavut considers Inuinnaqtun an official language of the territory, but many consider it simply a Roman alphabet writing scheme for standard Inuktitut. However, the Roman alphabet writing scheme used in Inuinnaqtun uses letters in a manner distinctive to western Nunavut dialects.
- Natsilingmiutut designates variants spoken in the part of eastern Kitikmeot called Natsilik. In the Natsilik dialect, it is called Nattilingmiutut. Some people view the Utkuhiksalingmiutut dialect, spoken today primarily in Gjoa Haven but traditionally spoken in the Franklin Lake and Chantrey Inlet area, as a separate dialect.
- Kivallirmiutut dialect is spoken in the Kivalliq Region down to the Manitoba border.
- Aivilimmiutut is spoken in the area traditionally known as Aivilik: Southampton Island and Repulse Bay in Kivalliq, and part of the Melville Peninsula in the Qikiqtaaluk Region. This area was settled by Inuit after the disappearance of the Sadlermiut in the late 19th and early 20th century. Some linguists consider it too close to North Baffin to merit separate treatment. (Dorais, [http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0008/000861/086162e.pdf Arctic languages: an awakening], pg. 194)
- North Baffin (Qikiqtaaluk uannangani) is spoken on the northern part of Baffin Island, at Iglulik and the adjacent part of the Melville Peninsula, and in Inuit communities in the far north of Nunavut, like Resolute and Grise Fiord. This dialect is the one heard in the film Atanarjuat: the Fast Runner.
- South Baffin (Qikiqtaaluk nigiani) is the dialect of the southern part of Baffin Island, including the territorial capital Iqaluit. This has in recent years made it a much more widely heard dialect, since a great deal of Inuktitut media originates in Iqaluit. Some linguists also distinguish an East Baffin dialect from either North or South Baffin.

Nunavik

Quebec is home to roughly 10,000 Inuit, nearly all of whom live in Nunavik. According to the 2001 census, 90% of Quebec Inuit speak Inuktitut. The Nunavik dialect (Nunavimmiutitut) is relatively close to the South Baffin dialect, but not identical. Because of the political and physical boundary between Nunavik and Nunavut, Nunavik has separate government and educational institutions from those in the rest of the Inuktitut-speaking world, resulting in a growing standardisation of the local dialect as something separate from other forms of Inuktitut. In the Nunavik dialect, Inuktitut is called Inuttitut. This dialect is also sometimes called Tarramiutut or Taqramiutut.

Nunatsiavut

The Nunatsiavut dialect (Nunatsiavummiutut, or often in government documents Labradorimiutut) was once spoken across northern Labrador. It has a distinct writing system, created by German missionaries from the Moravian Church in Greenland in the 1760s. This separate writing tradition, and the remoteness of Nunatsiavut from other Inuit communities, has made it into a distinct dialect with a separate literary tradition. The Nunatsiavummiut call their language Inuttut. Although Nunatsiavut claims over 4,000 inhabitants of Inuit descent, only 550 reported Inuktitut to be their mother tongue in the 2001 census, mostly in the town of Nain. Inuktitut is seriously endangered in Labrador. Nunatsiavut also had a separate dialect reputedly much closer to western Inuktitut dialects, spoken in the area around Rigolet. According to news reports, in 1999 it had only three very elderly speakers. [http://www.nunatsiaq.com/archives/nunavut990528/nvt90507_16.html]

Phonology and Phonetics

See main article Inuit language phonology and phonetics Eastern Canadian dialects of Inuktitut have fifteen consonants and three vowels (which can be long or short). Consonants are arranged with five places of articulation: bilabial, alveolar, palatal, velar and uvular; and three manners of articulation: voiceless stops, voiced continuants and nasals, as well as two additional sounds — voiceless fricatives. Natsalingmiutut has an additional consonant , a vestige of the retroflex consonants that were present in proto-Inuit. Inuinnaqtun has one fewer consonant, as and have merged into . All dialects of Inuktitut have only three basic vowels and make a phonological distinction between short and long forms of all vowels. In Inuujingajut - Nunavut standard Roman orthography - long vowels are written as a double vowel.
Inuktitut vowels
Inuktitut consonants in Inuujingajut and IPA notation

Morphology and syntax

See Inuit language morphology and syntax for a detailed description specific to Nunavut Inuktitut. Inuktitut, like other Eskimo-Aleut languages, has a very rich morphological system, in which a succession of different morphemes are added to root words to indicate things that, in languages like English, would require serveral words to express. (See also: Agglutinative language and Polysynthetic language) All words begin with a root morpheme to which other morphemes are suffixed. Inuktitut has hundreds of distinct suffixes, in some dialects as many as 700. Fortunately for the learners, the language has a highly regular morphology. Although the rules are sometimes very complicated, they do not have exceptions in the sense that English and other Indo-European languages do.

Writing

Inuktitut is written in several different ways, depending on the dialect and region, but also on historical and political factors. The first people to write Inuktitut were Moravian missionaires in Labrador, who developed a Roman alphabet writing scheme that they applied to Greenlandic and Labrador language which included the letter kra. The Greenlandic system has been substantially reformed in recent years, making Labrador writing unique to Nunatsiavummiutut at this time. Most Inuktitut in Nunavut and Nunavik is written using an scheme called Inuktitut syllabics, based on Canadian Aboriginal Syllabics. The western part of Nunavut and the Northwest Territories use a Roman alphabet scheme usually identified as Inuinnaqtun, reflecting the predispositions of the missionaries who reached this area in the late 19th century and early 20th.

The Canadian syllabary

See Inuktitut syllabics for more information. Inuktitut syllabicsThe Inuktitut syllabary used in Canada is based on the Cree syllabary devised by the missionary James Evans. The present form of the syllabary for Canadian Inuktitut was adopted by the Inuit Cultural Institute in Canada in the 1970s. The Inuit in Alaska, the Inuvialuit, Inuinnaqtun speakers, and Inuit in Greenland and Labrador use the Roman alphabet, although it has been adapted for their use in different ways. Though conventionally called a syllabary, the writing system has been classified by some observers as an abugida, since syllables starting with the same consonant have related glyphs rather than unrelated ones. All of the characters needed for the Inuktitut syllabary are available in the Unicode character repertoire. (See Unified Canadian Aboriginal Syllabics character table.)

References


- [http://www.inuktitutcomputing.ca/Technocrats/ILFT_1.html Inuktitut Linguistics for Technocrats], Mick Mallon.
- Introductory Inuktitut and Introductory Inuktitut Reference Grammar, Mick Mallon, 1991. ISBN 0771702302 and ISBN 0771702353
- Inuktitut: A multi-dialectal outline dictionary (with an Aivilingmiutaq base), Alex Spalding, 1998. ISBN 1896204295
- Inuktitut: a Grammar of North Baffin Dialects, Alex Spalding, 1992. ISBN 0920063438
- Arctic Languages: An Awakening, ed: Dirmid R. F. Collis. ISBN 92-3-102661-5 [http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0008/000861/086162e.pdf Available in PDF via the UNESCO website]. Although as many of the examples as possible are novel or extracted from Inuktitut texts, some of the examples in this article are drawn from Introductory Inuktitut and Inuktitut Linguistics for Technocrats.

External links

Dictionaries and lexica


- [http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definition/Inuktitut-english/ Inuktitut - English Dictionary]
- [http://www.livingdictionary.com/ Nunavut Living Dictionary]
- [http://web.uni-frankfurt.de/fb08/IHE/download/InukMorphList.pdf Inuktitut Morphology List] (PDF)

Webpages


- [http://www.aipainunavik.com/about/e_brief_history.html A Brief History of Inuktitut Writing Culture]
- [http://www.languagegeek.com/inu/inu_syllabarium.html Inuktitut Syllabarium]
- [http://www.nunavut.com/nunavut99/english/our.html Our Language, Our Selves] Inuktitut Category:Indigenous languages of the North American Arctic Category:Languages of Canada Category:Eskimo-Aleut languages ko:이누이트어

Inuktitut syllabics

The Inuktitut syllabary (Inuktitut: ᑎᑎᕋᐅᓯᕐᒃ ᓄᑖᕐᒃ titirausiq nutaaq) is a writing system used by Inuit people in Nunavut and in Nunavik, Quebec. It was originally adapted from the Cree syllabary by Edmund Peck, an Anglican missionary, in the 1870s. It is one variation on Canadian aboriginal syllabic writing, and can be digitally encoded using the Unicode standard. The Unicode block for Inuktitut characters is called Unified Canadian Aboriginal Syllabics. Unified Canadian Aboriginal Syllabics The initial sound in the syllable can be g, j, k, l, m, n, p, q, r, s, t, v, ng, ɫ, or nothing, and the vowel can be a, i, u or absent. The Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami has recently changed the official version of the syllabary to restore the "ai-pai-tai" row. The common diphthong AI has generally been represented by combining the "A" form with a standalone ᐃ character. This fourth vowel variant of the official syllabary was initially removed so that Inuktitut could be typed and printed using IBM Selectric balls in the 1970s. The reinstatement was justified on the grounds that modern printing and typesetting equipment no longer suffers the restrictions of earlier typewriting machinery. The Inuktitut language is written in different ways in different places. In Greenland, Alaska, Labrador, the Mackenzie River delta in the Northwest Territories and in part of Nunavut, it is written with the Latin alphabet (also known as Roman Orthography in some regions). In most of Nunavut and in Nunavik, Quebec, Inuktitut is written using the Inuktitut syllabary. At present, Inuktitut syllabics enjoy official status in Nunavut, alongside the Latin alphabet, and are used by the Kativik Regional Government of Nunavik, Quebec. In Greenland, the traditional Latin script is official and is widely used in public life. Because the Inuktitut language is a continuum of only partially intercomprehensible dialects, the language varies a great deal across the Arctic. Split up into different political divisions and different churches reflecting the arrival of various missionary groups, Inuktitut writing systems can vary a great deal. The first efforts to write Inuktitut came from Moravian missionaries in Greenland and Labrador in the mid-18th century. In the 1870's, Edmund Peck, an Anglican missionary adapted the Cree syllabary to Inuktitut. Other missionaries, and later linguists in the employ of the Canadian and American governments, adapted the Latin alphabet to the dialects of the Mackenzie River delta, the western Arctic islands and Alaska.

See also


- Canadian aboriginal syllabic writing
- Inuktitut

External links


- [http://www.omniglot.com/writing/inuktitut.htm Inuktitut syllabary at Omniglot] Category:Abugida writing systems Category:Inuit language

Canada

Canada is the second largest country in the world in terms of area, extending from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean with claims extending to the North Pole. The northern-most country on the mainland of North America, Canada has land borders only with the United States. Governed as a parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy, Canada is a federation of ten provinces with three territories. Initially constituted in 1867, the country's constitution was patriated in 1982 from the United Kingdom. Canada's head of state is its monarch, currently Queen Elizabeth II, who is represented in Canada by the Governor General, presently Michaëlle Jean. The head of government is the Prime Minister, currently Paul Martin; his minority government recently lost a vote of non-confidence in the Canadian House of Commons and asked for the dissolution of the Parliament by the Governor General, who then issued a Royal proclamation authorising the issue of election writs, and stating a federal election will take place on 2006 January 23. Canada's official languages are English and French. As of 2005, its official population estimate is approximately 32.4 million [http://www.statcan.ca/english/edu/clock/population.htm].

Overview

The capital city is Ottawa, Ontario, the seat of Canada's Parliament. The Governor General, the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Loyal Opposition, and the Speaker of the House of Commons have official residences in the National Capital Region.National Capital Region, Ontario.]] Originally a union of British colonies with significant French influence and entitled as a "dominion", Canada is a founding member of the United Nations, the Commonwealth of Nations, and La Francophonie. Canada defines itself as a bilingual and multicultural nation:
- English is the official (and majority) language in most provinces of Canada.
- French is the official language of Quebec, an official language of New Brunswick, and is spoken in various areas throughout the country.
- Several Aboriginal languages have official status in the Northwest Territories; Inuktitut is the majority language in Nunavut and has official status there. Canada is a technologically advanced and industrialized nation. It is a net exporter of energy because of its large fossil fuel deposits, nuclear energy generation, and hydroelectric power capacity. Its diversified economy relies heavily on an abundance of natural resources and trade, particularly with the United States, with which it has had a long and complex relationship. Canada has ten provinces and three territories: Canada's major cities that are not capital cities include Montreal, Quebec; Vancouver, British Columbia; and Calgary, Alberta.

Canada's name

The name Canada is believed to come from the Huron-Iroquois word kanata, which means "village" or "settlement". In 1535, locals used the word to tell Jacques Cartier the way to Stadacona, site of present-day Quebec City. Cartier used Canada to refer not only to Stadacona, but also to the entire area subject to Donnacona, Chief at Stadacona; by 1547, maps began referring to this and the surrounding area as Canada.

History

Aboriginal tradition holds that the First Peoples have inhabited parts of what is now called Canada since the dawn of time. Archaeological records show that these lands have been inhabited for at least 10,000 years. Several Viking expeditions occurred circa AD 1000, with evidence of settlement at L'Anse aux Meadows. British claims to North America date from 1497, when John Cabot reached what he called Newfoundland, though it is unclear whether Cabot landed in current Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, or Maine. French claims date from explorations by Jacques Cartier (from 1534) and Samuel de Champlain (from 1603). Neither Cabot's nor Cartier's explorations left any permanent settlers behind. On August 5, 1583, Sir Humphrey Gilbert claimed Newfoundland as England's first overseas colony under Royal Charter of Queen Elizabeth I. In 1604, French settlers were the first Europeans to settle permanently in what is now Canada. After an unsuccessful winter in St. Croix Island (today in Maine), they settled Port-Royal in what is now the Annapolis Valley in Nova Scotia, but moved to found Quebec City in 1608. The current Acadians are descendants of settlers who came later in the same century and re-founded Port-Royal. New France was generally the name given to the French colonies of Canada and Acadia (and later Louisiana).Louisiana, depicts British General Wolfe's final moments during the Battle of the Plains of Abraham in 1759.]] British settlements were established along the Atlantic seaboard and around Hudson Bay. As these colonies expanded, a struggle for control of North America took place between 1689 and 1763 (see French and Indian Wars), exacerbated by wars in Europe between France and Great Britain. France progressively lost territory to Great Britain, surrendering peninsular Nova Scotia in the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht and the remainder of New France including what was left of Acadia in the Treaty of Paris (1763). During and after the American Revolution approximately 70,000 [http://www.uelac.org/whatis.html] Loyalists fled the Thirteen Colonies. Of these, roughly 50,000 United Empire Loyalists [http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/history/A0850061.html] settled in the British North American colonies which then consisted of Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, the Province of Quebec, and Prince Edward Island (created 1769). To accommodate the Loyalists, Britain created the colony of New Brunswick in 1784 from part of Nova Scotia, and divided Quebec into Lower Canada and Upper Canada under the Constitutional Act of 1791. The War of 1812 began when the U.S. attacked British forces in Canada in an attempt to end British influence in North America (and particularly, the British seizures of American merchant ships in the Atlantic). In April 1813, U.S. forces burned York (now Toronto). The British/Canadians retaliated with the burning of Washington (DC) in a surprise attack in August 1814, but were subsequently turned back at Plattsburgh, Baltimore, and New Orleans. The Treaty of Ghent was signed in December 1814. It was only after the French and Napoleonic wars ended in Europe that large-scale immigration to Canada resumed. The Canadas were merged into a single colony, the United Province of Canada, with the Act of Union (1840) in an attempt to assimilate the French Canadians. Once the U.S. agreed to the 49th parallel north as its border with western British North America, the British government created the colonies of British Columbia in 1848 and Vancouver Island in 1849. By the late 1850s, politicians in the Province of Canada had launched a series of western exploratory expeditions with the intention of assuming control of Rupert's Land (administered by the Hudson's Bay Company) and the Arctic. In 1864 and 1866, British North American politicians, in what became known as the Great Coalition, held three conferences to create a federal union. Spearheaded by John A. Macdonald, on July 1, 1867, three colonies—Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick—were granted a constitution, the British North America Act, by the United Kingdom, creating the Dominion of Canada. The term "Canadian Confederation" refers to this 1867 unification of the provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec (formerly Canada East or Lower Canada), and Ontario (formerly Canada West or Upper Canada). The remaining British colonies and territories soon joined Confederation. By 1880 Canada included all of its present area except for Newfoundland and Labrador, which joined in 1949. (It should be noted that, although part of Canada, Alberta and Saskatchewan did not gain Provincial status until 1905.) Newfoundland and Labrador In 1919, Canada became a member of the League of Nations and, in the Imperial Conference of 1926, Canada assumed full control of its own through the Balfour Declaration. In 1927, Canada appointed its first ambassador to a foreign country, the United States. In 1931, the Statute of Westminster gave the Balfour Declaration constitutional force, confirming that no act of the UK's parliament would thereafter extend to Canada without its consent. Canadian citizenship was first distinguished from British in 1947; judicial appeals to the British Judicial Committee of the Privy Council ended in 1949. The power to amend Canada's constitution remained with the British parliament, although subject to the Statute of Westminster, until it was finally "patriated" to Canadian control by the Canada Act 1982. The Quebec sovereignty movement has led to two referendums held in 1980 and 1995, with votes of 59.6% and 50.6% respectively against its proposals for sovereignty-association. In 1997, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled unilateral secession by a province to be unconstitutional.

Geography

unconstitutionalCanada occupies the northern portion (precisely 41%) of North America. It is bordered to the south by the contiguous United States and to the northwest by Alaska. The length of these borders are 6,416 km (3,987 mi) and 2,477 km (1,539 mi), respectively. Off the southern coast of Newfoundland lies Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, an overseas community of France. The country stretches from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west (hence the country's motto). To the north lies the Arctic Ocean; Greenland is to the northeast. Since 1925, Canada has claimed the portion of the Arctic between 60° and 141° W longitude ([http://atlas.gc.ca/site/english/maps/historical/territorialevolution/1927/1]); this claim is not universally recognized. The northernmost settlement in Canada (and in the world) is Canadian Forces Station (CFS) Alert on the northern tip of Ellesmere Island – latitude 82.5° N – just 834 kilometres (518 mi) from the North Pole. Also, the magnetic North Pole lies within Canadian boundaries (although is moving towards Siberia). Canada is the world's second-largest country in total area, after Russia. Much of Canada lies in Arctic regions, however, and thus Canada has only the fourth-most arable land area behind Russia, China, and the U.S. The population density of 3.5 people per square kilometre (9.0/mi²) is among the lowest in the world: Canada has more land area than the U.S., but only one-ninth of its population. The most densely populated part of the country is the Quebec City-Windsor Axis in the east. To the north of this region is the broad Canadian Shield, an area of rock scoured clean by the last ice age, thinly soiled, rich in minerals, and dotted with lakes and rivers—over 60% of the world's lakes are in Canada. The Canadian Shield encircles the immense Hudson Bay, extending from Great Bear Lake in the Northwest Territories at its westernmost point, to the Atlantic coast in Labrador in the east. Newfoundland, North America's easternmost island if Greenland is excluded, is at the mouth of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, the world's largest estuary. The Canadian Maritimes protrude eastward from the southern coasts of Quebec. New Brunswick and Nova Scotia are divided by the Bay of Fundy, which experiences the world's largest tidal variations. Prince Edward Island is Canada's smallest province. Prince Edward Island; at 5 959 m (19,551 ft), Canada's highest point and second highest in North America.]]West of Ontario, the broad, flat Canadian Prairies spread toward the Rocky Mountains, which separate them from British Columbia. Northern Canadian vegetation tapers from coniferous forests to tundra and finally to Arctic barrens in the far north. The northern Canadian mainland is ringed with a vast archipelago containing some of the world's largest islands. Some specific geographical features of note include the world's largest freshwater island, Manitoulin Island, which divides Georgian Bay and Lake Huron and the world's longest freshwater beach, Wasaga Beach, on the Georgian Bay shoreline. Thanks to past glacial activity in the Canadian Shield, Canada boasts a considerable reserve of fresh water and more lakes than any other nation, roughly two million in all, the overwhelming majority of which are relatively small.

Climate

Canada has a reputation for cold temperatures in the winter months. Winters can be harsh in many regions of the country, particularly in the Prairie Provinces. Temperatures can reach lows of -50°C (-58°F) in the far North however, such low temperatures are not the norm; the record coldest temperature in North America was -63°C (-81°F), at Snag, Yukon, in 1947. Coastal British Columbia is an exception: it enjoys a temperate climate with much milder winters than the rest of the country however, rainy winters are common. Summers in Canada range from mild (low 20s Celsius [70°F]) on the east and west coasts, to hot (mid 20s to low 30s Celsius [75-90°F]) in Central Canada, the Prairies and the intermontane regions of British Columbia. The highest recorded temperature in Canada was 45°C (113°F) at both Midale and Yellow Grass in Saskatchewan on July 5, 1937. For a more complete description of weather norms around Canada, go to www.climate.weatheroffice.ec.gc.ca/climate_normals/index_e.html

Politics

1937] Canada's head of state is the monarch, currently Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and commonly referred to as the Queen of Canada. However, the day-to-day duties of head of state are exercised by the Governor General, who is generally a retired politician, military leader, or other notable Canadian; the current Governor General is Michaëlle Jean. All government authority is derived from the monarch, and executive power is wielded by the Prime Minister of Canada and the cabinet. The Governor General is formally appointed by the Queen on the advice of the Prime Minister and is a non-partisan figure who fulfils many ceremonial and symbolic roles including providing Royal Assent to bills, reading the Speech from the Throne, officially welcoming dignitaries of foreign countries, presenting honours such as the Order of Canada, signing state documents, formally opening and ending sessions of Parliament, and dissolving Parliament for an election. The Governor General is also the titular Commander-in-Chief of the Canadian Armed Forces. The position of Governor General also beholds considerable reserve powers, but these have been rarely used. The last to do so was Jeanne Sauvé, who ignored the National Capital Commission and closed the grounds of Rideau Hall in the late 1980s; the most famous use of the Governor General's extraordinary powers was during the King-Byng Affair in 1926. Canada's constitution governs the legal framework of the country and consists of [http://lois.justice.gc.ca/en/const/index.html written text] and unwritten traditions and conventions (see Westminster system). The federal government and the governments of nine provinces agreed to the patriation of the constitution, with procedures for amending it, at a meeting of First Ministers in November 1981. The Quebec government did not agree to the changes, and Quebec nationalists refer to that night as the Night of the Long Knives. The patriation of the Constitution included the adoption of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which guarantees basic rights and freedoms for Canadians that, generally, cannot be overridden by legislation of any level of government in Canada. It contains, however, a "notwithstanding clause", which allows the federal parliament and the provincial legislatures the power to override other sections of the Charter temporarily, for a period of five years. notwithstanding clause]]The position of Prime Minister, Canada's head of government, in practice belongs to the leader of the political party who can command a majority in the House of Commons. The Prime Minister and his or her cabinet are formally appointed by the Governor General; however, the Prime Minister effectively chooses the cabinet and the Governor General, by convention, has to appoint the Prime Minister's desired choices. The Cabinet is drawn, by convention, from members of the prime minister's party in both legislative houses, though mostly from the Commons. Executive power is exercised by the prime minister and cabinet, all of whom are sworn into the Privy Council of Canada and become ministers of the Crown. The Prime Minister exercises a great deal of individual political power, especially in terms of the appointment of other officials within the government and civil service. The legislative branch of government has two houses: the elected House of Commons and the appointed Senate. Each member in the Commons is elected by simple plurality in one electoral district or "riding"; general elections are called by the Governor General when the prime minister so advises, and must occur every five years or less. Members of the Senate, whose seats are apportioned on a regional basis, are chosen by the prime minister and formally appointed by the Governor General, and serve until age 75. electoral district]]Canada has four main political parties today. The traditionally centrist / left-of-centre Liberal Party of Canada formed the government in Canada for most of the 20th century, and is the party of the current Prime Minister Paul Martin. The only other party to have formed a government is the now-defunct, right-of-centre Progressive Conservative (PC) Party and its predecessor, the Conservative Party, which was the dominant political party in the 19th century. The PC Party merged with the Canadian Alliance to form a new rightist Conservative Party of Canada in December 2003. The New Democratic Party (NDP) is the major party furthest to the political left. The Bloc Québécois promotes Quebec independence from Canada and currently holds a majority of Quebec's seats in the Commons. There are many smaller parties and, while none have current representation in Parliament, the list of historical parties with elected representation is substantial. Canada's judiciary plays an important role in interpreting laws and has the power to strike down laws that violate the constitution. The Supreme Court of Canada is the highest court and final arbiter; its nine members are directly appointed by Cabinet. All judges at the superior and appellate levels are selected and appointed by the federal government, after consultation with non-governmental legal bodies. The federal cabinet also appoints justices to superior courts at the provincial and territorial levels. Judicial posts at the lower provincial and territorial levels are filled by their respective governments (see Court system of Canada for more detail). Common law prevails everywhere except in Quebec, where civil law predominates. Criminal law is solely a federal responsibility and is uniform throughout Canada. Law enforcement, including criminal courts, is a provincial responsibility, but in most provinces policing is contracted to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). The RCMP is one of few police forces in the world to perform three different levels of enforcement: municipal, provincial, and federal.

Foreign relations

Canada has a close relationship with the United States, sharing the world's longest undefended border, co-operating on some military campaigns and exercises, and being each other's largest trading partners. Canada also shares a history and long relationship with the United Kingdom as its "mother country". United Kingdom.]] In the last century, Canada has been an advocate for multilateralism, making efforts to reach out to the rest of the world and promoting itself as a "middle power" able to work with large and small nations alike. This was clearly demonstrated during the Suez Crisis when Lester B. Pearson mollified the tension by introducing the idea of peacekeeping and the inception of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force. In 1957, Pearson was the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. In that spirit, Canada developed and has tried to maintain a leading role in UN peacekeeping efforts. Canada has cumulatively contributed more troops to peacekeeping operations worldwide than all other nations combined and currently serves in over 40 different peacekeeping missions, most recently in Afghanistan. Canada has contributed in some way to all UN peacekeeping missions. Canada is a member of the United Nations, Commonwealth of Nations, La Francophonie, the Organization of American States (OAS), North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the World Trade Organization, the G8, and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC).

Military

Asia-Pacific Economic CooperationA founding member of the NATO alliance, Canada currently employs about 62,000 regular and 26,000 reserve military personnel.[http://www.forces.gc.ca/site/about/family_e.asp] The unified Canadian Forces (CF) are comprised of army, navy, and air force branches. Major CF equipment deployed includes 2,400 armoured fighting vehicles, 34 combat vessels, and 140 combat aircraft. Defence is an exclusive federal jurisdiction: defence spending in fiscal year 2004-5 was approximately $14 billion.[http://www.vcds.forces.gc.ca/dgsp/pubs/rep-pub/ddm/rpp/rpp05-06/sec3c_e.asp] However, in the 2005 federal budget, the Liberal government allocated an additional $12.8 billion over five years to the armed forces, and committed to increasing troop levels by an additional 8,000 regular and reserve personnel over the same period.[http://www.fin.gc.ca/budget05/speech/speeche.htm] Canadian forces have served in various wars including World War I, World War II, the Korean War and recently, in Afghanistan. Since Lester B. Pearson proposed the first UN peacekeeping force in 1956, the Canadian Forces have served in 42 peacekeeping missions — more than any other country. Canada was also the prime destination of American draft dodgers during the Vietnam War. These factors – along with its comparatively low level of military spending, other positions such as nuclear non-proliferation, and an international treaty banning personnel land mine usage – have led to Canada sometimes being referred to as a pacifist country. Battles significantly contributing to Canada's development and self-identity include the Battle of Vimy Ridge, the Second Battle of Ypres, the Third Battle of Ypres, and Juno Beach. Currently, CF personnel are involved in the NATO mission in Afghanistan. Smaller missions are also taking place in Haiti and Kosovo. Canada's Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) has participated in two relief operations in the last year. The two-hundred member relief crew helped in Southeast Asia after the December 2004 tsunami, and DART was also deployed in response to the devastating earthquake that struck the Kashmir region in South Asia in October 2005. Moreover, CF (and RCMP) personnel recently assisted in Hurricane Katrina relief efforts.

Provinces and territories of Canada

Canada is composed of ten provinces and three territories. The provinces have a large degree of autonomy from the federal government, the territories somewhat less. Each has its own provincial or territorial symbols. The provinces are responsible for most of Canada's social programs (such as health care, education, and welfare) and together collect more revenue than the federal government, an almost unique structure among federations in the world. The federal government can initiate national policies that the provinces can opt out of, but this rarely happens in practice. Equalization payments are made by the federal government to ensure that reasonably uniform standards of services and taxation are kept between the richer and poorer provinces. All provinces have unicameral, elected legislatures headed by a Premier selected in the same way as the Prime Minister of Canada. Each province also has a Lieutenant-Governor representing the Queen, analogous to the Governor General of Canada, appointed on the recommendation of the Prime Minister of Canada, though with increasing levels of consultation with provincial governments in recent years. Lieutenant-Governor.]] Most provinces have provincial counterparts to the three national federal parties. However, some provincial parties are not formally linked to the federal parties that share the same name. Some provinces have regional political parties, such as the Saskatchewan Party. The provincial political climate of Quebec is quite different: the main split is between separatism, represented by the Parti Québécois, and federalism, represented by the Parti Libéral du Québec. The three territories have fewer political powers than provinces, having been created by acts of the national Parliament rather than having their status enshrined in the Constitution. There is no lieutenant-governor to represent and fulfil the functions of the Queen, but each has a politically neutral Commissioner appointed by the federal government to act as its senior representative. Only Yukon's legislature follows the same political system as the provincial legislatures. The other two territories use a consensus government system in which each member runs as an independent and the premier is elected by and from the members. There is also interest within Canada and the Turks and Caicos Islands, an overseas UK territory in the Caribbean, for the latter to enter into Confederation.

Economy

Caribbean, depicting (from top to bottom) Wilfred Laurier, John A. Macdonald, Queen Elizabeth II, William Lyon Mackenzie King, and Robert Borden.]]As an affluent, high-tech industrial society, Canada today closely resembles the U.S. in its market-oriented economic system, pattern of production, and high living standards. In the last century, the impressive growth of the manufacturing, mining, and service sectors has transformed the nation from a largely rural economy into one primarily industrial and urban. Canada has vast deposits of natural gas on the east coast and in the west, and a plethora of other natural resources contributing to self-sufficiency in energy. The 1989 Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) (which included Mexico) touched off a dramatic increase in trade and economic integration with the U.S. Since 2001, Canada has successfully avoided economic recession and has maintained the best overall economic performance in the G8. Two long-term concerns loom. One is the continuing political differences over the Constitution between Quebec and the rest of Canada, periodically raising the possibility of Quebec independence. As the economy becomes stronger, notably in Quebec, fears of separation have generally waned. Another concern is the "Brain Drain", the emigration of professionals to the U.S. in search of higher pay, lower taxes, and high-tech opportunities. (However, a [http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_PrintFriendly&c=Article&cid=1124920225033&call_pageid=971358637177&DPL=IvsNDS%2f7ChAX&tacodalogin=yes recent Toronto Star article] claims that the "Brain Drain" of doctors has abated, as more are returning to Canada due to high insurance rates in the U.S. and a more efficient medicare system in Canada.) Simultaneously, a larger, under-recognised "Brain Gain" is occurring, as educated immigrants (particularly from developing countries, a controversy in and of itself) continue to enter Canada [http://www.statcan.ca/english/indepth/81-003/feature/eqhi2000006003s1a01.htm].

Demographics

The 2001 national census recorded 30,007,094 people, and as of October 2005 the population has been estimated by Statistics Canada as 32.3 million people[http://www.statcan.ca/english/edu/clock/population.htm], an increase of some 2.3 million people by both immigration and natural growth. About three-quarters of Canada's population live within 150 km of the U.S. border, and a similar proportion live in urban areas. In the 2001 census, 39.42% of respondents reported their ethnic origins as "Canadian", most of whom are believed to be of British, Irish, and French heritage of earlier immigrants. In addition, 20.17% identified their origin as English, 15.75% as French, 14.03% as Scottish, and 12.90% as Irish. Numerous other groups were also reported. Ethnic origins reported by more than 1 million people included: German (9.25%), Italian (4.29%), Chinese (3.69%), Ukrainian (3.61%) and North American Indian (3.38%). Close to four million people reported they were members of a visible minority, amounting to 13.44% of the total population. (Note that Aboriginal peoples are not considered visible minorities). Also, the 2001 census reported that Canada had 5,448,480 immigrants. [http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census01/products/highlight/Immigration/Page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo=PR&Code=0&View=1&Table=1&StartRec=1&Sort=2&B1=Counts] According to the last census[http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census01/products/analytic/companion/rel/contents.cfm], 72% of Canadians identified as being Christians; of this, Catholics make up the largest group – 43% of Canadians. One-sixth of Canadians declared no religious affiliation, and the remaining 12% were affiliated with religions other than Christianity.

Language

Catholics]] Canada's two official languages are English and French. On July 7, 1969, under the Official Languages Act, French was made commensurate to English throughout the federal government. This started a process that led to Canada redefining itself as a bilingual and multicultural nation:
- English and French have equal status in federal courts, Parliament, and in all federal institutions.
- Any defendant in a criminal case has the right to a trial in either English or French.
- The public has the right, where there is sufficient demand, to receive federal government services in either English or French.
- Official language minority groups in most provinces and territories have the right to be educated in their language, in their own schools, with their own elected school boards, where they exist in sufficient numbers.
- While multiculturalism is official policy, to become a citizen one must be able to speak either English or French.
- More than 98% of Canadians speak English or French or both. While the nation remains officially bilingual, the majority of Canadians are fluent only in English. The official language of Quebec is French, as defined by the province's Charter of the French Language, which was introduced by the Parti Quebecois in 1976. However, the charter also provides certain rights for speakers of English and aboriginal languages. Quebec provides most government services in both French and English. French is mostly spoken in Quebec with pockets in New Brunswick, eastern and northern Ontario, Saskatchewan, and southern Manitoba. In the 2001 census, 6,864,615 people listed French as a first language, of whom 85% lived in Quebec. 17,694,835 people listed English as a first language. New Brunswick is the only officially bilingual province, a status specifically guaranteed by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Some provincial governments, notably Manitoba and Ontario, offer many services to their French minority populations. Aboriginal languages are co-official in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. Non-official languages are also important in Canada, with 5,470,820 people listing a non-official language as a first language. (The above three statistics include those who listed more than one first language.) Among the most important non-official first language groups are Chinese (853,745 first-language speakers), Italian (469,485), German (438,080), and Punjabi (271,220).

Aboriginal peoples

The Constitution Act of 1982 recognizes three groups of aboriginal peoples in Canada: the Indians (now often called First Nations), Inuit, and Métis. The aboriginal population is growing almost twice as fast as the rest of the population in Canada. According to the Canada 2001 Census, people identified themselves as aboriginal numbered 976,305 people (or 3.3% of Canada's population) of whom about 62% are First Nations, 30% are Métis, and 5% are Inuit. Also, ethnic origin figures from the Census show that 1.3 million Canadians stated that they were partially of fully of aboriginal ancestry, including about one million people claiming full or partial First Nation ancestry, 307,000 Métis ancestry and 56,000 Inuit ancestry.

Culture

Canada 2001 Census originated from Canada when residents began playing hurley on ice.]] Due to its colonial past, Canadian culture has historically been heavily influenced by British and French cultures and traditions. In more modern times, Canadian culture is now greatly influenced by American culture, due to the proximity and the migration of people, ideas, and capital. Amidst this, Canadian culture has developed unique characteristics. In many respects, a more robust and distinct Canadian culture has developed in recent years, partially because of the civic nationalism that pervaded Canada in the years prior to and following the Canadian Centennial in 1967, and also due to a focus by the federal government on programs to support culture and the arts. There were and are many distinct First Nations across Canada, each with its own culture, language and history. Their culture was transmitted largely through oral means and stories were passed down through the elders to the younger generations. Various tribes created unique styles of artifacts such as woven baskets, painted pictures, and carved sculptures of animals. Much of this artistic legacy remains celebrated in Canada to this day. The emblem of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics is the inukshuk, a stack of rocks in human form that is a part of Inuit culture. [http://www.vancouver2010.com/Emblem/home.htm] From as early the 1500s, European explorers, traders, and fishermen from England, Ireland and France helped form the basis of Canadian culture. During their colonization of Canada, settlers created a folklore about the land around them. The tales of Paul Bunyan are a product of French-Canadian folklore and the style of jigs from Newfoundland found their origins in Ireland. Canada and the United Kingdom share a common history and continue to work together through many organizations such as the Commonwealth, G-8, and NATO. The two countries share the same head of state, and have among the oldest parliamentary democracies in the world. They still share many of the same customs, values, and traditions, which have been reinforced by working side by side in two world wars and over half a century of expanding peace and prosperity. The United Kingdom is Canada’s third largest trading partner and is the second largest source of tourists visiting Canada. The Canadian and U.S. governments share a variety of close working partnerships in trade, economic, legal, security, and military matters. These are occasionally strained by domestic politics; for instance, the ongoing softwood lumber dispute and the war in Iraq. This has led to successive drives by Canadian leaders to diversify trade with other countries; examples include Diefenbaker's efforts to increase trade with the U.K., Trudeau's efforts with Europe, and current efforts with China and India. As well, the decision to switch to the metric system in 1970 (though, like the U.K., both the metric and Imperial systems are in common usage) has similar roots. As Canada and the U.S. grew closer after World War 2 (the U.S. became Canada's largest trading partner in the late-1940s), many Canadians started to develop complex feelings and concerns regarding what makes Canada "distinct" within North America. The large American cultural presence in Canada has prompted some fears of a "cultural takeover" that have led to the establishment of laws and institutions to protect Canadian culture, including the CBC, the National Film Board of Canada, and the CRTC. Many American movies, authors, TV shows, and musicians are equally popular in Canada (and vice versa), many have been successful worldwide. Most cultural products of these types are now increasingly marketed toward a unified "North American" market, and not specifically a Canadian or American one. Though debatable, Canada has increasingly distinguished itself politically in recent years by being more fiscally conservative on issues such as balanced budgets, tax cuts, and reductions in government, while also being more socially liberal: the Canadian government currently supports universal health care, same-sex marriage, and decriminalization of marijuana. All of these issues are of varying contention amongst Canadians. Many Canadian citizens see Canadian culture as based on the policy of multiculturalism.

Sports

multiculturalism.]] Notable sports which are enjoyed throughout Canada include ice hockey, curling, lacrosse, basketball and the home-grown Canadian Football League. Although CFL teams compete in a variant of American football, traditional football (soccer) is hardly an unknown in Canada, and in 1986 the Canucks qualified for their only appearance at the World Cup in Mexico. In addition, as the vast majority of Canadians live in very close proximity to the United States, Canadians can also watch sporting events from the professional leagues in that country, such as NASCAR and the National Football League. The National Hockey League, the National Basketball Association, the National Lacrosse League and Major League Baseball are comprised of teams from both Canada and the United States. Major League Baseball As of the 1994 National Sports of Canada Act, Canada officially has two national sports. Ice hockey is the national winter sport and lacrosse is the national summer sport.

National symbols

Major League Baseball The use of the maple leaf as a Canadian symbol dates back to the early 18th century, and is depicted on its current and previous flags, the penny, an

Newfoundland and Labrador

This is about the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. For information on the Island, see Newfoundland and for information on the mainland portion of the province, see Labrador. For other meanings of Newfoundland, see Newfoundland (disambiguation). Newfoundland and Labrador (French, Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador, Irish: Talamh an Éisc agus Labradóir, Latin: Terra Nova) is the tenth province to join the Canadian confederation. Geographically, the province consists of the island of Newfoundland and the mainland Labrador, on Canada's Atlantic coast. On entry into Canada in 1949, the entire province was known as Newfoundland. But since 1964, the province's government has referred to itself as the "Government of Newfoundland and Labrador", and on December 6, 2001, an amendment was made to the Constitution of Canada to change the province's official name to "Newfoundland and Labrador". In general day-to-day conversation, however, Canadians still refer to the province as a whole by the shorter name Newfoundland, while the Labrador region of the province is usually referred to as simply Labrador. The province's population is 533,800. People from Newfoundland are called "Newfoundlanders" (and at times "Newfies", though this is usually seen as a derogatory or even racist term) while people from Labrador are called "Labradorians". Newfoundland has its own dialect of English, its own dialect of French and its own dialect of the Irish language.

History

The Colony of Newfoundland

Newfoundland has a number of historical firsts. The oldest known settlement anywhere in The Americas built by Europeans is located at L'Anse aux Meadows, Newfoundland. It was founded circa 1000 A.D. by Leif Ericson's Vikings. Remnants and artifacts of the occupation can still be seen at L'Anse aux Meadows, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The island was later inhabited by the Mi'kmaq and the Beothuks. In 1497, John Cabot became the first European since the Vikings to discover Newfoundland, landing at Bonavista on June 24. On August 5, 1583, Sir Humphrey Gilbert formally claimed Newfoundland as England's first overseas colony under Royal Prerogative of Queen Elizabeth I. From 1610 to 1728, Proprietary Governors were appointed to establish colonial settlements on the island. John Guy was governor of the first settlement at Cuper's Cove. Other settlements were Bristol's Hope, Renews, South Falkland and Avalon which became a province in 1623. The first governor given jurisdiction over all of Newfoundland was Sir David Kirke in 1638. The island of Newfoundland was nearly conquered by New France explorer Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville in the 1690s. Newfoundland received a colonial assembly in 1832, which was and still is referred to as the House of Assembly, after a fight led by reformers William Carson, Patrick Morris and John Kent. The new government was unstable and divided along sectarian lines between the Catholic and Protestant populations of the colony. In 1842, the elected House of Assembly was amalgamated with the appointed Legislative Council. This was changed back in 1848 to two separate chambers. After this, a movement for responsible government began.

The Dominion of Newfoundland

responsible government In 1854, Newfoundland was granted responsible government by the British government. In 1855, Philip Francis Little, a native of Prince Edward Island, won a majority over Sir Hugh Hoyles and the Conservatives. Little formed the first administration from 1855 to 1858. Newfoundland rejected confederation with Canada in the 1869 general election.
It remained as a colony until acquiring dominion status on September 26, 1907 along with New Zealand. It successfully negotiated a trade agreement with the United States but the British government blocked it after objections from Canada. The Dominion of Newfoundland reached its golden age under Prime Minister Sir Robert Bond of the Liberal Party. Newfoundland produced its own regiment to fight in the First World War. On July 1, 1916, most of that regiment was wiped out at Beaumont Hamel on the first day of the Battle of the Somme. The war debt sustained because of the regiment led to increased borrowing in the post-war era. In the 1920s, political scandals wracked the dominion. In 1923, Prime Minister Sir Richard Squires was arrested on charges of corruption. He was released soon after on bail, but the scandal was reviewed by the British-led Hollis Walker commission. Soon after, the Squires government fell. Squires returned to power in 1928 due to the unpopularity of his predecessors, the pro-business Walter Stanley Monroe and (briefly) Frederick C. Alderdice (Monroe's cousin), but found himself governing a country suffering from the Great Depression. Newfoundland's long-standing Labrador boundary dispute with Canada was resolved to the satisfaction of Newfoundland and Canada (but not Quebec, the province that bordered Labrador) with the ruling, on April 1, 1927 by the Imperial Privy Council. Prior to 1867, the Quebec North Shore portion of the "Labrador coast" had been shuttled back and forth between the colonies of Lower Canada and Newfoundland. Maps up to 1927 showed the coastal region as part of Newfoundland, with an undefined boundary. The Privy Council ruling established a boundary along the drainage divide separating waters that flowed through the territory to the Labrador coast, although following two straight lines from the Romaine River along the 52nd Parallel, then south near 57 degrees west longitude to the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Quebec has long rejected the settlement on the grounds it was not a party to the agreement, and provincially-issued maps do not mark the boundary the same way as boundaries with Ontario and New Brunswick. On April 5, 1932, a mob of 10,000 people marched on the Colonial building (seat of the House of Assembly) and forced Squires to flee. Squires lost the election that was held subsequently. The next government, led once more by Alderdice, called upon the British government to take direct control until Newfoundland could be self-sustaining. The United Kingdom, concerned over Newfoundland's likelihood of defaulting on its debt payments, established the Newfoundland Royal Commission, headed by a Scottish peer, Baron Amulree. Its report, released in 1933, assessed Newfoundland's political culture as intrinsically corrupt and its economic prospects bleak, and advocated the abolition of responsible government on the island, to be replaced by a Commission of the British Government. Acting on the report's recommendations, Alderdice's government voted itself out of existence in December 1933. In 1934, the Dominion gave up its self-governing status as the Commission of Government took its place. In all but name, it was a colony again. Following World War II, the Commission held elections for the Newfoundland National Convention which debated the colony's future in 1946 and 1947. Two referenda resulted in which Newfoundlanders, decided end the [http://www.geocities.com/Yosemite/Rapids/3330/constitution/1934lp.htm commission], and joined the Canadian Confederation in 1949.
Canadian Confederation

The Province of Newfoundland (and Labrador)

In 1946, an election was held for the Newfoundland National Convention to decide the future of Newfoundland. The Convention voted to hold a referendum to decide between continuing the Commission of Government or restoring responsible government. Joseph R. Smallwood, the leader of the confederates, moved that a third option of confederation with Canada should be included. His motion was defeated by the convention. But he did not give up, instead gathered more than 5000 petitions from the people within a fortnight which he sent to London through the Governor. The United Kingdom, insisting that it would not give Newfoundland any further financial assistance, added a third option of having Newfoundland join Canada to the ballot. After much debate, an initial referendum was held on June 3, 1948 to decide between continuing with the Commission of Government, reverting to dominion status, or joining Canadian Confederation. The result was inconclusive, with 44.6% supporting the restoration of dominion status, 41.1% for confederation with Canada, and 14.3% for continuing the Commission of Government. Between the first and second referendums, rumours had it that Catholic bishops were using their religious influence to alter the outcome of the votes. The Orange Order was incensed and called on all its members to vote for confederation, as the Catholics voted for responsible government. The Protestants of Newfoundland outnumbered the Catholics at a ratio of 2:1. This was believed to have greatly influenced the outcome of the second referendum. A second referendum on July 22, 1948, which asked Newfoundlanders to choose between confederation and dominion status, was decided by a vote of 52% to 48% for confederation with Canada. Newfoundland joined Canada on March 31, 1949. Not everyone was satisfied with the results, however. Peter Cashin, an outspoken anti-Confederate, questioned the validity of the votes. He claimed that it was the 'unholy union between London and Ottawa' that brought about confederation. In 1959, a local controversy arose when the provincial government pressured the Moravian Church to abandon its mission station at Hebron, Labrador, resulting in the relocation southward of the area's Inuit population, who had lived there since the mission was established in 1831. 1831 1831 In the 1960s, Newfoundland developed the Churchill Falls hydro-electric facility in order to sell electricity to the United States. An agreement with Quebec was required to secure permission to transport the electricity across Quebec territory. Quebec drove a hard bargain with Newfoundland, resulting in a 75-year deal that Newfoundlanders now believe to be unfair to the province because of the low and unchangeable rate that Newfoundland and Labrador receives for the electricity. Politics of the province were dominated by the Liberal Party, led by Joseph R. Smallwood, from confederation until 1972. In 1972, the Smallwood government was finally replaced by the Progressive Conservative administration of Frank Moores. In 1979, Brian Peckford, another Progressive Conservative, became Premier. During this time, Newfoundland was involved in a dispute with the federal government for control of offshore oil resources. In the end, the dispute was decided by compromise. In 1989, Clyde Wells and the Liberal Party came to power ending seventeen years of Conservative government. In 1992, the federal government declared a moratorium on the Atlantic cod fishery, because of severely declining catches in the late 1980s. The consequences of this decision reverberated throughout the provincial economy of Newfoundland in the 1990s, particularly as once-vibrant rural communities faced a sudden exodus. The economic impact of the closure of the Atlantic cod fishery on Newfoundland has been compared to the effect of closing every manufacturing plant in Ontario. The cod fishery which had provided Newfoundlanders on the south and east coasts with a livelihood for over 200 years was gone, although the federal government helped fishermen and fish plant workers make the adjustment with a multi-billion dollar program named "The Atlantic Groundfish Strategy" (TAGS). In the late 1980s, the federal government, along with its Crown corporation Petro Canada and other private sector petroleum exploration companies, committed to developing the oil and gas resources of the Hibernia oil field on the northeast portion of the Grand Banks. Throughout the mid-1990s, thousands of Newfoundlanders were employed on offshore exploration platforms, as well as in the construction of the Hibernia Gravity Base Structure (GBS) and Hibernia topsides. 1990s In 1996, the former federal minister of fisheries, Brian Tobin, was successful in winning the leadership of the provincial Liberal Party following the retirement of premier Clyde Wells. Tobin rode the waves of economic good fortune as the downtrodden provincial economy was undergoing a fundamental shift, largely as a result of the oil and gas industry's financial stimulus, although the effects of this were mainly felt only in communities on the Avalon Peninsula. Good fortune also fell on Tobin following the discovery of a world class nickel deposit at Voisey's Bay, Labrador. Tobin committed to negotiating a better royalty deal for the province with private sector mining interests than previous governments had done with the Churchill Falls hydroelectric development deal in the 1970s. Following Tobin's return to federal politics in 2000, the provincial Liberal Party devolved into internal battling for the leadership, leaving its new leader, Roger Grimes, in a weakened position as premier. The pressure of the oil and gas industry to explore offshore in Atlantic Canada saw Newfoundland and Nova Scotia submit to a federal arbitration to decide on a disputed offshore boundary between the two provinces in the Laurentian Basin. The 2003 settlement rewrote an existing boundary in Newfoundland's favour, opening this area up to energy exploration. In 2003, the federal government declared a moratorium on the last remaining cod fishery in Atlantic Canada - in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. While Newfoundland was again the most directly affected province by this decision, communities on Quebec's North Shore and in other parts of Atlantic Canada also faced difficulties. Atlantic Canada Premier Grimes, facing a pending election that fall, used the Gulf cod decision and perceived federal bias against the province as a catalyst to try to rally citizens around his administration. Grimes called for a review of the Act of Union by which the province had become a part of Canada and on July 2, 2003, the findings of the Royal Commission on Renewing and Strengthening Our Place in Canada (which Grimes had created in 2002) were released. It noted the following stressors in the relationship between the province and Canada:
- The huge impact of the destruction of the cod stocks.
- Hydroelectricity resources in Labrador have primarily benefitted Quebec.
- Chronically high unemployment.
- Lowest per-capita income in Canada.
- The highest tax rates.
- The worst emigration. The report called for:
- more collaborative federalism;
- an action team to deal with the fishery;
- collaboration between Canada, Quebec, and Newfoundland and Labrador on the development of the Gull Island hydro site;
- revision of the Atlantic Accord so that offshore oil and gas reserves primarily benefit the province;
- immediate and realistic negotiations on joint management of the fishery. In October 2003, the Liberals lost the provincial election to the Progressive Conservative Party, led by Danny Williams. From late October 2004 to the present, Premier Williams has argued that Prime Minister Paul Martin has not held up his promises for a new deal on the "Atlantic Accord". The issue is the royalties from oil: currently, 70 cents on each royalty dollar are sent back to the federal government through reductions in payments by the federal government with respect to its "equalization program". The province wants 100% of the royalties to allow the province to pull itself out of poverty on a long-term basis. Toward the end of 2004, Williams ordered the Canadian flag to be removed from all provincial buildings as a protest against federal policies, and asked for municipal councils to consider doing the same. The issue, dubbed the "Flag Flap" in the media, sparked debate across the province and the rest of Canada. The flags went back up in January 2005 after much controversy nationwide and Paul Martin stating that he would not negotiate with the province if the flags were not flying. At the end of January, the federal government signed a deal to allow 100% of oil revenues to go to the province, resulting in an extra $2 billion over eight years for the province. However, this agreement has led other provinces such as Ontario and Quebec to try to negotiate their own special deals as they too claim that the federal government is taking advantage of them financially. As of 2005, 4 of the 10 amendments to the Constitution of Canada have been concerned with Canada's tenth province.

Cities

The 10 largest municipalities in the province by population are:

See also


- Newfoundland
- Labrador
- Canada
- List of cities in Canada
- List of communities in Newfoundland and Labrador
- List of Canadian provincial and territorial symbols
- List of Newfoundland and Labrador premiers (1855 - current)
- Governors and lieutenant-governors of Newfoundland and Labrador
- List of people of Newfoundland and Labrador
- List of Newfoundland and Labrador Census Divisions
- Music of Newfoundland and Labrador
- Order of Newfoundland and Labrador

References


- "This Marvelous Terrible Place: Images of Newfoundland and Labrador" by Momatiuk et al., Firefly Books; ISBN 1552092259; (September 1998)
- "Newfoundland & Labrador" by Lawrence Jackson, Fitzhenry & Whiteside Ltd; ISBN 1550412612; (August 1999)
- "Atlas of Newfoundland and Labrador" by Department of Geography Memorial University of Newfoundland, Breakwater Books Ltd; ISBN 1550810006; (1991)
- "Suspended State: Newfoundland Before Canada" by Gene Long, Breakwater Books Ltd; ISBN 1550811444; (April 1, 1999)
- "True Newfoundlanders: Early Homes and Families of Newfoundland and Labrador" by Margaret McBurney et al., Boston Mills Pr; ISBN 1550461990; (June 1997)
- "Biogeography and Ecology of the Island of Newfoundland: Monographiae Biologicae" by G. Robin South (Editor) Dr W Junk Pub Co; ISBN 9061931010; (April 1983)

External links


-
- [http://www.gov.nf.ca Government of Newfoundland and Labrador]
- [http://www.stats.gov.nl.ca/Statistics/Census2001/PDF/2001Origin.PDF Statistics Canada 2001 Census Information]

Newspapers


- [http://www.gfwadvertiser.ca/ The Advertiser]
- [http://www.theaurora.ca/ The Aurora]
- [http://www.ganderbeacon.ca/ The Beacon]
- [http://www.thecharter.ca/ The Charter]
- [http://www.thecoaster.ca/ The Coaster]
- [http://www.cbncompass.ca/ The Compass]
- [http://www.theexpress.ca/ The Express]
- [http://www.thegeorgian.ca/ The Georgian]
- [http://www.gulfnews.ca/ The Gulf News]
- [http://www.humberlog.ca/ The Humber Log]
- [http://www.theindependent.ca/ The Independent]
- [http://www.thelabradorian.ca/ The Labradorian]
- [http://www.northernpen.ca/ The Northern Pen]
- [http://www.thenorwester.ca/ The Norwester]
- [http://www.thepacket.ca/ The Packet]
- [http://www.lportepilot.ca/ The Pilot]
- [http://www.southerngazette.ca/ The Southern Gazette]
- [http://www.thetelegram.com/ The Telegram]
- [http://www.thewesternstar.com/ The Western Star]

Historic Sites


- [http://parkscanada.gc.ca/lhn-nhs/nl/spear/index_e.asp Cape Spear]
- [http://parkscanada.gc.ca/lhn-nhs/nl/signalhill/index_e.asp Signal Hill]
- [http://www.parkscanada.gc.ca/lhn-nhs/nl/meadows/index_e.asp L'Anse Aux Meadows]
- [http://parkscanada.gc.ca/lhn-nhs/nl/castlehill/index_e.asp Castle Hill, Placentia]
- [http://www.parkscanada.gc.ca/lhn-nhs/nl/ryan/index_e.asp Ryan Premises, Bonavista]
- [http://www.parkscanada.gc.ca/lhn-nhs/nl/portauchoix/index_e.asp Port Aux Choix]
- [http://www.parkscanada.gc.ca/lhn-nhs/nl/redbay/index_e.asp Red Bay, Labrador]
- [http://www.historictrust.com/newman.shtml Newman Wine Vaults]
- [http://www.battleharbour.com/ Battle Harbour]
- ["http://www.heritage.nf.ca/avalon/default.html Colony of Avalon]
- [http://www.parkscanada.gc.ca/lhn-nhs/nl/hawthorne/index_e.asp Hawthorne Cottage, Brigus]

History and Heritage


- [http://www.ucs.mun.ca/~melbaker/confederation1949.htm "The Tenth Province: Newfoundland joins Canada, 1949", by Melvin Baker]
- [http://www.crossroadsforcultures.ca Crossroads For Cultures]
- [http://www.heritage.nf.ca/ NF & Lab Heritage]
- [http://www.heritage.nf.ca/society/rhs/home.html Heritage Structures]
- [http://www.heritagefoundation.ca/ Heritage Foundation]
- [http://www.k12.nf.ca/lakeacademy/gbheritage/grand/grand.htm Grand Bank Heritage Society]
- [http://collections.ic.gc.ca/legion/intro.htm Beaumont Hamel]
- [http://www.historictrust.com/index.shtml Nfld Historic Trust]
- [http://www.gov.nf.ca/panl/ Provincial Archives]
- [http://ngb.chebucto.org/ Nfld Genealogy]
- [http://www.ucs.mun.ca/~hrollman/ Religion, Society & Culture]
- [http://www.placentia.20m.com/ Placentia Historical Society]
- [http://www.mgl.ca/~cpike/NOFU.html Nfld Overseas Forestry Unit]
- [http://www.renewsheritage.freeservers.com/ Renews Heritage Committee]
- [http://home.ca.inter.net/~elinorr/ranger-main.html Newfoundland Rangers]
- [http://collections.ic.gc.ca/fisheries/ Newfoundland Salt Fisheries]
- [http://www.wordplay.com/tourism/communities/ten_historic_towns/ten_towns_main.html Ten Historic Towns]
- [http://www.library.mun.ca/qeii/cns/photos/ Historic photos of Nfld & Lab]

Communities


- [http://www.bayroberts.com/ Bay Roberts]
- [http://www.bellisland.net/ Bell Island]
- [http://www.bishopsfalls.com/ Bishop's Falls]
- [http://www.bonavista.net/ Bonavista]
- [http://www.brigus.net/ Brigus]
- [http://www.angelfire.com/nf/BrigusSouth/ Brigus South]
- [http://www.townofbuchans.nf.ca/ Buchans]
- [http://www.burincanada.com Burin]
- [http://www.clarenville.net/ Clarenville]
- [http://www.conceptionbaysouth.ca/ Conception Bay South]
- [http://home.thezone.net/~jdower/conche.html Conche]
- [http://www.cornerbrook.com/ Corner Brook]
- [http://www.kittiwake.nf.ca/cottlesville/index.htm Cottlesville]
- [http://www.heritage.nf.ca/exploration/cupids.html Cupids]
- [http://www.town.deerlake.nf.ca/ Deer Lake]
- [http://www.rootcellars.com/ Elliston]
- [http://www.nfcap.nf.ca/central/Fogo/ Fogo Island]
- [http://www.k12.nf.ca/lakeacademy/fortune.html Fortune]
- [http://www.gandercanada.com/ Gander]
- [http://www.glovertown.net/ Glovertown]
- [http://www.nfcap.nf.ca/east/GrandB