Home · Politics · Provincial/Territorial Politics · Has Confederation Been Good for Newfoundland?
Topic spans: 1948 - 2002
Has Confederation Been Good for Newfoundland?
Joey Smallwood said it was the narrowest of escapes. Newfoundland joined Confederation in 1949 by a referendum result of 52 to 48 per cent. Smallwood, a small but tough man with horn-rimmed glasses, fought stellar orator and anti-Confederate Peter Cashin. Many benefits came with joining Canada; a university, better highways. But average income still hovers near the poverty line. Today, a commission investigates whether Canada broke its 1949 funding promise.
Photo of Nfld. Confederation agreement signing, National Archives of Canada / PA-133280
4 television clips
8 radio clips
Giving up self-government
Broadcast Date: March 14, 1972
Reeling from poverty Newfoundland relinquishes its responsible government on Feb. 16, 1934. The Crown colony has enjoyed self-government for the past 79 years but the Great Depression is pitiless on Newfoundlanders. Inhabitants in the outports are malnourished and plagued by sickness. Newfoundland once again becomes a dependant colony of Great Britain much like in the 1800s, an era depicted in this television clip about the island's history.The mother country appoints a Commission of Government. As a result, there will be no legislature and no elections.
The Commission sees reform as a way to alleviate poverty: stimulate economic conditions and restructure government. Families will be relocated from destitute fishing villages to a makeshift farming community called Markland. An age-old tradition of church influencing state is challenged, but not without a fight from the local elite.
Giving up self-government
• Newfoundland reverted to colonial status under a Commission of Government comprised of a governor and six officials — three British and three Newfoundlanders. The Commission ruled until the colony joined Confederation in 1949.• Newfoundland was the first dominion to voluntarily give up responsible government.
• The Commission blamed the island's poverty on "unprofitable" traditional fishery methods: family businesses salting and drying cod for overseas markets.
• The Commission replaced salt cod businesses with fresh fish processing plants for American export, a practice continued by Premier Joey Smallwood's Liberals after Confederation.
• The term outport is often used to refer to Newfoundland and Labrador's small isolated fishing villages.
Giving up self-government
Medium: Television
Program: Tuesday Night
Broadcast Date: March 14, 1972
Guest(s):
Reporter: Rex Murphy
Duration: 1:50
Event date: Feb, 16, 1934
Last updated:
Feb. 7, 2003
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12 clips in this topic . page
Radio
2:36
March 31, 1949
Newfoundland Confederates and anti-Confederates are divided on union day.
Topic
On April 1, 1999, the new territory of Nunavut was born, finally making the controversial dream of the Northwest Territories' Inuit a reality. It meant the Inuit gained self-rule and control over their own...
Giving up self-government.
The CBC Digital Archives Website.
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
Last updated: Feb. 7, 2003.
[Page consulted on Nov. 22, 2009.]