Newfoundland and Labrador Flashcards

In the 1948 referendums on Newfoundland's political future, how many options appeared on the FIRST ballot, and what was the outcome that forced a second vote?

Answer: Three options; none achieved a majority, so the lowest-vote option was dropped and a runoff held

The June 3, 1948 ballot offered three choices: responsible government, confederation with Canada, and continuation of the British-appointed Commission of Government. Since no option reached 50%, the Commission of Government option (which finished last) was dropped, and a second referendum was held on July 22, 1948. Confederation narrowly won that runoff with 52.3% of the vote.

The 1969 Churchill Falls hydroelectric agreement between Newfoundland and Quebec is considered one of the most disadvantageous contracts in Canadian history for Newfoundland. What is the primary legal reason Newfoundland has been unable to renegotiate or break the agreement?

Answer: The Supreme Court of Canada ruled in 1984 that the contract is a valid interprovincial commercial agreement and cannot be unilaterally altered

Newfoundland challenged the contract in the Supreme Court of Canada (the 1984 Newfoundland (Hydro-Electric Commission) v. Churchill Falls case), arguing for a duty to renegotiate based on changed circumstances. The Court ruled against Newfoundland, holding that the contract was legally binding. Quebec purchases the power at a fixed rate locked in from 1969 through 2041, reselling it at massive profit as electricity prices have soared.

Newfoundland and Labrador observes a time zone unlike any other province in Canada. Which of the following correctly describes Newfoundland Standard Time (NST)?

Answer: UTC−3:30, a half-hour offset that makes it unique among Canadian provinces

Newfoundland Standard Time is UTC−3:30, a 30-minute offset that makes it the only jurisdiction in North America (and one of very few in the world) to use a half-hour standard time zone. During daylight saving time, it becomes Newfoundland Daylight Time (NDT) at UTC−2:30. Most of Labrador actually observes Atlantic Time (UTC−4:00 / UTC−3:00 DST), meaning the province does have an internal split — but NST's unique half-hour offset is the defining feature.

Shanawdithit, who died in St. John's in 1829, holds a somber place in Canadian history. Who was she?

Answer: The last known member of the Beothuk people, an Indigenous nation of Newfoundland

Shanawdithit is recognized as the last known member of the Beothuk, the Indigenous people who originally inhabited the island of Newfoundland. Her death in 1829 marked the extinction of the Beothuk as a distinct nation — one of the few recorded cases of a complete cultural extinction in North American history. Before her death she provided drawings and vocabulary that preserved some record of Beothuk culture.

L'Anse aux Meadows, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in northern Newfoundland, is archaeologically significant because it is the only confirmed site of what?

Answer: A pre-Columbian Norse (Viking) settlement in North America, predating Columbus by roughly 500 years

L'Anse aux Meadows, excavated from the 1960s onward by archaeologists Helge and Anne Stine Ingstad, is the only archaeologically confirmed Norse settlement in North America. Dated to around 1000 CE, it predates Columbus's 1492 voyage by approximately 500 years. It is identified with 'Vinland' mentioned in the Norse sagas. The site was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1978.

On July 2, 1992, Canada's federal fisheries minister announced an indefinite moratorium on Northern cod fishing in the waters off Newfoundland and Labrador — at the time, the largest industrial layoff in Canadian history. Who was that minister, and what was his own political connection to Newfoundland?

Answer: John Crosbie, a prominent federal Tory politician who was himself born and raised in Newfoundland

John Crosbie, a St. John's-born Progressive Conservative and longtime federal cabinet minister (including stints as Justice Minister and Finance Minister), was serving as Minister of Fisheries and Oceans when he announced the cod moratorium on July 2, 1992. The irony that a prominent Newfoundlander had to deliver the devastating news to his own province added a painful political dimension. The moratorium threw approximately 35,000 people out of work and effectively ended a fishery that had sustained Newfoundland for 500 years.