Newfoundland and Labrador Flashcards

The 1948 referendum on Newfoundland's future was actually the SECOND referendum held that year. What was unusual about the FIRST referendum held in June 1948 that made a second vote necessary?

Answer: Three options were on the ballot and none received an outright majority

The June 1948 referendum offered three choices: Confederation with Canada, a return to Responsible Government, or continuation of Commission of Government. Because no option won a majority, the least popular option (Commission of Government) was dropped, and a second referendum was held in July 1948 between just Confederation and Responsible Government. Confederation won narrowly with 52.3% of the vote.

Newfoundland and Labrador receives drastically below-market rates for the electricity generated at Churchill Falls, with Quebec reselling that power at enormous profit. Approximately when does the controversial 1969 power contract that created this situation expire?

Answer: 2041

The 1969 Churchill Falls contract runs until 2041. Under its terms, Hydro-Québec purchases the vast majority of Churchill Falls' output at a fixed price of fractions of a cent per kilowatt-hour — a rate locked in before the energy crisis of the 1970s. Newfoundland and Labrador has repeatedly tried to renegotiate or void the contract, including a Supreme Court of Canada case in 1988 it lost, making it one of the province's greatest ongoing economic grievances.

In 1927, the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London issued a landmark ruling on the boundary between Labrador and Quebec. What was the key principle used to define Labrador's southern and western limits?

Answer: The height of land (watershed) draining into the Atlantic coast

The Privy Council ruled that Labrador's boundary extended to the height of land — the watershed divide — where rivers drain toward the Atlantic coast. This gave Newfoundland a significantly larger Labrador territory than Quebec had argued for. Quebec never formally accepted the ruling, and the boundary remains a point of historical tension, though it is the internationally recognized border between the two provinces today.

Newfoundland and Labrador observes a time zone found nowhere else in mainland North America. What makes Newfoundland Standard Time (NST) uniquely different from all other Canadian time zones?

Answer: It is offset by a half-hour (UTC−3:30) rather than a full hour

Newfoundland Standard Time is UTC−3:30, a half-hour offset that makes it unique in North America. This unusual offset dates to the province setting its clocks to split the difference between Atlantic Time and Greenwich Mean Time when standardized time zones were being adopted. In summer, Newfoundland Daylight Time advances to UTC−2:30, maintaining the distinctive half-hour difference from its neighbours.

Shanawdithit, who died in St. John's in 1829, holds a unique and tragic place in Canadian history. Why is she particularly significant?

Answer: She is considered the last known member of the Beothuk people

Shanawdithit is recognized as the last known member of the Beothuk, the Indigenous people who originally inhabited the island of Newfoundland. After her death from tuberculosis in 1829, the Beothuk became extinct — a result of displacement from their lands, disruption of their food sources, conflict, and disease brought by European settlers. Before her death, she provided invaluable ethnographic information through drawings and conversations, preserving much of what is known about Beothuk culture.

In July 1992, the Canadian federal government declared a moratorium on Northern cod fishing off Newfoundland and Labrador. Beyond the immediate economic crisis, this event is historically significant for an additional reason. Which statement best captures that broader significance?

Answer: It was among the largest sudden layoffs in Canadian history, affecting roughly 35,000 workers

The 1992 Northern cod moratorium put approximately 35,000 fish harvesters and plant workers out of work almost overnight, making it one of the largest single mass layoffs in Canadian history. The collapse of the cod stocks — once considered inexhaustible — was driven by decades of industrial over-fishing, including by large foreign fleets, combined with poor fisheries management. The moratorium devastated dozens of outport communities and triggered significant out-migration from the province that continues to shape its demographics today.