Colonization Newfoundland was first inhabited by the
Beothuk and the
Maritime Archaic, while Labrador was first inhabited by the Dorset, Thule, and later Inuit and Innu. It has the first known European settlement in the
Americas at
L'Anse aux Meadows, built by the
Vikings circa 1020 A.D. The island of
Newfoundland and the coast of
Labrador has been colonized or settled by a number of European nations including
England and
France. The emergence of a
common law system and political institutions was slow. Law and order was initially the responsibility of fishing
captains and
admirals and
military governors in the 17th and 18th centuries. With permanent settlement however, this system was eventually replaced by civil officials and in 1832
representative government. This meant that a colonial assembly would share power with an appointed Legislative Council. In 1854, Newfoundland was granted
responsible government, and it attained
Dominion status in 1907.
Dominion status The
Dominion of Newfoundland was a highly
polarized society, marked by distinct cleavages between
Roman Catholics and
Protestants,
Liberals and
Conservatives, descendants of
Irish and
West Country English, rich merchants and poor fishermen and tradesmen, and rural Newfoundland versus
St. John's (or alternatively the
Avalon Peninsula against the rest of the Dominion's districts). This often manifested itself in hotly contested and even violent
elections. Various reforms in the 1860s and 1870s (during which Newfoundland rejected
confederation with Canada) quelled the often hostile nature of this polarization. With exceptions throughout its Dominion history, class, religion and political parties tended to align such that Irish Catholics tended to support the Liberal Party and English Protestants tended to support the Conservative Party. Newfoundland and Labrador's present-day boundaries were finalized as a result of the
British Privy Council's decision in the Labrador Boundary Dispute of 1927, to cede much of inland Labrador to the Dominion of Newfoundland rather than to the Canadian province of
Quebec.
Commission of Government As a result of the
Great Depression, Newfoundland's economy deteriorated. This resulted in a famous episode in 1932 when a
large riot erupted at the
Colonial Building and then Prime Minister
Richard Squires narrowly escaped. The Dominion assembly approved the recommendations of the
Amulree Commission the following year and voted itself out of existence in order to be replaced by an appointed
Commission of Government. This commission was effectively an appointed council with a British Governor and six commissioners from both Britain and Newfoundland. The Commission oversaw slow growth during the beginning of its reign, but Newfoundland began to thrive during
World War II.
1948 referendums signs the document bringing Newfoundland into Confederation It was shortly after the Second World War that a
Newfoundland National Convention was created in order to deliberate the constitutional future of Newfoundland. Two
referendums were initiated in the year 1948. In the first, Newfoundlanders were asked to vote on whether to join Canada as a province, return to an independent dominion with responsible government, or continue with an appointed Commission. In the second referendum, Newfoundlanders were asked to choose between responsible government and confederation with Canada. The movement for responsible government tended to be weaker, less organized in rural areas, and had some divisions stemming from many of its members supporting a special
economic union with the
United States. Newfoundland's voters narrowly voted in favour of confederation and in 1949 Newfoundland joined Canada as its tenth province. The second referendum was a very divisive one and still to this day is a source of contention among Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. During the referendum,
Joey Smallwood campaigned for the
Confederate Association and
Peter Cashin campaigned for the
Responsible Government League (RGL). The confederate cause drew most of its support from Protestants, poor fishermen and rural Newfoundlanders particularly those from outside the Avalon Peninsula. Likewise, the RGL depended on the support of Catholics and voters from the Avalon Peninsula. Religion served as a very important determinant in a voter's decision. The Roman Catholic establishment, centered in St. John's, feared a loss of power and the possible elimination of its role in denominational education after confederation. Confederation was seen as a plot to join loyalist, predominantly English Canada (conversely RGL supporters feared joining "French Canada"). This trend was not universal since, for example, Catholics from western Newfoundland tended to vote for confederation rather than against it. But it did bring about a crack in the Liberal/Catholic and Conservative/Protestant alignment of Newfoundland's voters. After confederation, the RGL elected to form the
Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador, while Smallwood, Newfoundland's first Premier after confederation was a
Liberal. Finally economic issues were quite salient in the referendum on confederation. The confederate cause received much of its support from rural Protestant communities, won over to the confederate side by promises of a
child allowance ("baby bonus"), better health care, full employment, higher incomes and other social reforms. These were measures to which Newfoundland migrants to Canada and the United States were already accustomed, but could not be as successfully promised by the Avalon Peninsula-based, affluent leaders of the RGL.
Post-Confederation history After confederation, Liberal Premier Joey Smallwood was in power for over 23 years. His reign was characterized by an
autocratic style of leadership and initiatives to
modernize the economy. For example, in the 1950s the Smallwood government began a controversial
resettlement program to relocate Newfoundlanders and Labradorians from hundreds of small, rural settlements and communities to larger urban areas. He also personally encouraged and subsidized foreign industrialists to invest in Newfoundland, often with little benefit. Smallwood for example is credited with bungling a deal on the
Churchill Falls hydro-electric development in Labrador and creating a situation where the province of Quebec reaps most of the benefits. Additionally, Smallwood maintained firm control over dissent both within and outside his party. He frequently accused a local newspaper,
The Telegram, of libel and threatened legal action. When
John Crosbie challenged him for the leadership of the provincial Liberal Party in 1969 Smallwood forced delegates to sign
affidavits opposing Crosbie's leadership bid. He famously told then student union leader
Rex Murphy not to return to Newfoundland when Murphy, who was in Quebec at the time, called Smallwood's announcement of a free tuition policy a "sham". As a result of Smallwood's tight control over the party and the government, a younger generation of Liberal Party activists such as John Crosbie who lost the 1969 leadership bid defected to the Progressive Conservative Party which wrested control from Smallwood in 1972 under the tutelage of
Frank Moores. The Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland remained in power from 1972 to 1989, first under the leadership of Frank Moores then from 1979 to 1989 under
Brian Peckford. Peckford's agenda was characterized by battles with the federal government under Prime Ministers
Pierre Trudeau and then
Brian Mulroney. The Peckford government stated, early in its term, its intention to make the fishery the prime generator of wealth and stability in the province's future. Peckford's later career became mired in a subsidized farming scandal, he retired from politics in 1989 and was succeeded by
Tom Rideout. A month after becoming Premier, Rideout's Progressive Conservative Party was defeated in the 1989 election by the Liberal Party under
Clyde Wells, though the Tories won a higher percentage of votes the Liberals won a majority of the seats in the House of Assembly. Wells' administration oversaw a tumultuous time in Newfoundland's recent history. Wells was involved in some confrontation with the federal government and the other provinces over the issue of the
Meech Lake Accord which provided for
distinct society status for the province of Quebec. He was also the premier when the federal government brought in a moratorium on year round
cod fishing, a pivotal moment in Newfoundland and Labrador's recent history, ever since which outmigration and
depopulation have been a perpetual problem. Furthermore, Liberal Party leader Wells ushered in a period of privatizing government services. ==Political culture and institutions==