Newfoundland and Labrador (/njuːfʊndˈlænd ænd læbrəˈdɔr/, locally ) is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador (located Northwest of the island) with a combined area of 405,212 square kilometres (156,500 sq mi). As of 2011, the province's population is 514,536. Approximately 94 percent of the province's population resides on the Island of Newfoundland (including its associated smaller islands), of which over half live on the Avalon Peninsula. The province is Canada's most linguistically homogenous, and 97.6% of residents reported English (Newfoundland 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 now-extinct Beothuk language. In Labrador, local dialects of Innu-aimun and Inuktitut are also spoken.
Newfoundland and Labrador's capital and largest city, St. John's, is Canada's 20th-largest Census Metropolitan Area, and is home to nearly 40 percent of the province's population. St. John's is the seat of government, home to the House of Assembly of Newfoundland and Labrador and the highest court in the jurisdiction, the Newfoundland and Labrador Court of Appeal.
A former colony and dominion of the United Kingdom, Newfoundland and Labrador became the tenth province to enter the Canadian Confederation on March 31, 1949, as Newfoundland. On December 6, 2001, an amendment was made to the Constitution of Canada to change the province's official name to Newfoundland and Labrador. In day-to-day conversation, however, Canadians generally still refer to the province itself as Newfoundland and to the region on the Canadian mainland as Labrador.
Read more about Newfoundland And Labrador: Etymology, Geography, Demography, Economy, Government and Politics, Transportation, Provincial Symbols
Famous quotes containing the word labrador:
“Coal is a portable climate. It carries the heat of the tropics to Labrador and the polar circle; and it is the means of transporting itself whithersoever it is wanted. Watt and Stephenson whispered in the ear of mankind their secret, that a half-ounce of coal will draw two tons a mile, and coal carries coal, by rail and by boat, to make Canada as warm as Calcutta, and with its comfort brings its industrial power.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (18031882)