St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
Encyclopedia
St. John's icon is the capital
and largest city in Newfoundland and Labrador
, and is the oldest English-founded city in North America
. It is located on the eastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula
on the island of Newfoundland. With a population of 192,326 as of July 1, 2010, the St. John's Metropolitan Area
is the second largest Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) in Atlantic Canada
after Halifax and the 20th largest metropolitan area in Canada. Its name has been attributed to the feast day of John the Baptist, when John Cabot was believed to have sailed into the harbour in 1497, and also to a Basque fishing town with the same name.
Newfoundland was claimed as an English colony
in the name of Elizabeth I
in 1583, temporarily captured by the Dutch in 1665, and attacked three times by the French who captured and destroyed its settlements in 1689 and 1707. St John's was retaken each time and re-fortified. British
forces used St. John's fortifications during the Seven Years' War
in North America, the American Revolutionary War
and the War of 1812
. St. John's served Allied needs in World War ll by providing an air base for the US Army Air Corps
and a harbour for antisubmarine warfare ships.
St. John's, and the province as a whole, was gravely affected in the 1990s by the collapse of the Northern cod fishery, which had been the driving force of the provincial economy for hundreds of years. After a decade of high unemployment rates and depopulation the city's proximity to the Hibernia, Terra Nova and White Rose oil fields has led to an economic boom that has spurred population growth and commercial development. As a result, the St. John's area now accounts for about half of the province's economic output.
colony at Cupids
(founded in 1610, and the Bristol's Hope
colony at Harbour Grace, founded in 1618. Tradition declares that the city earned its name when explorer John Cabot
became the first European to sail into the harbour, on June 24, 1497, the feast day of Saint John the Baptist
. However, the exact locations of Cabot's landfalls are disputed. A series of expeditions to St. John's by the Portuguese in the Azores followed in the early 16th century, and by 1540 French
, Spanish and Portuguese
ships crossed the Atlantic annually to fish the waters off the Avalon Peninsula. In the Basque Country
, it is a common belief that the name of St. John's was given by Basque fishermen because the bay of St. John's is very similar to the Bay of Pasaia
in the Basque Country, where one of the fishing towns is also called St. John (in Spanish
, San Juan).
The earliest record of the location appears as São João on a Portuguese map by Pedro Reinel
in 1519. When John Rut
visited St. John's in 1527 he found Norman
, Breton
and Portuguese
ships in the harbour. On August 3, 1527, Rut wrote a letter to King Henry on the findings of his voyage to North America; this was the first known letter sent from North America. St. Jehan is shown on Nicholas Desliens' world map of 1541 and San Joham is found in João Freire's Atlas of 1546. It was during this time that Water Street
was first developed, making it the oldest street in North America.
On August 5, 1583, Sir Humphrey Gilbert
claimed the area as England
's first overseas colony under Royal Charter
of Queen Elizabeth I
. There was no permanent population, however, and Gilbert was lost at sea during his return voyage, thereby ending any immediate plans for settlement. The Newfoundland National War Memorial is located on the waterfront in St. John's, at the purported site of Gilbert's landing and proclamation.
By 1620, the fishermen of England's West Country
controlled most of Newfoundland's east coast. In 1627, William Payne, called St. John's "the principal prime and chief lot in all the whole country". The population grew slowly in the 17th century and St. John's was the largest settlement in Newfoundland when English naval officers began to take censuses around 1675. The population would grow in the summers with the arrival of migratory fishermen. In 1680, fishing ships (mostly from South Devon
) set up fishing rooms at St. John's, bringing hundreds of Irish
men into the port to operate inshore fishing boats.
The town's first significant defences were likely erected due to commercial interests, following the temporary seizure of St. John's by the Dutch
admiral Michiel de Ruyter
in June 1665. The inhabitants were able to fend off a second Dutch attack in 1673, when this time it was defended by Christopher Martin, an English merchant captain. Martin landed six cannon from his vessel, the Elias Andrews, and constructed an earthen breastworkand battery near chain Rock commanding the Narrows leading into the harbour. With only twenty-three men, the valiant Martin beat off an attack by three Dutch warships. The British government planned to expand these fortifications (Fort William
) in around 1689, but actual construction didn't begin until after the French admiral Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville
captured and destroyed the town in the Avalon Peninsula Campaign
(1696). When 1500 English reinforcements arrived in late 1697 they found nothing but rubble where the town and fortifications had stood. The French attacked St. John's again in 1705 (Siege of St. John's
), and captured it in 1708 (Battle of St. John's
), devastating civilian structures with fire on each instance.
The harbour remained fortified through most of the 18th and 19th centuries. The final battle of the Seven Years' War
in North America (the French and Indian War
) was fought in 1762, in St. John's. Following a surprise capture of the town by the French early in the year, the British responded, and at the Battle of Signal Hill
, the French surrendered St. John's to British forces under the command of Colonel William Amherst.
The eighteenth century saw major changes in Newfoundland: population growth, beginnings of government, establishment of churches, reinforcement of commercial ties with North America and development of the seal, salmon and Grand Banks fisheries. St. John's population grew slowly, and although it was still primarily a fishing station, it was also a garrison
, a centre of government and a commercial hub. St. John's served as a naval base during both the American Revolutionary War
and the War of 1812
.
The core of the city was destroyed by fire several times, the most famous of which was the Great Fire of 1892
.
Guglielmo Marconi
received the first transatlantic wireless signal in St. John's on December 1901 from his wireless station in Poldhu
, Cornwall
.
St. John's was the starting point for the first non-stop transatlantic aircraft flight, by Alcock and Brown
in a modified Vickers Vimy
IV bomber, in June 1919, departing from Lester's Field in St. John's and ending in a bog near Clifden
, Connemara
, Ireland
. In July 2005, the flight was duplicated by American aviator and adventurer Steve Fossett
in a replica Vickers Vimy aircraft, with St. John's International Airport
substituting for Lester's Field (now an urban and residential part of the city).
During the Second World War, the harbour supported Royal Navy
and Royal Canadian Navy
ships that were engaged in anti-submarine warfare
. It was also the site of an American Army Air Force
base, Fort Pepperrell, that was established as part of the "Lend-Lease
" agreement between the United Kingdom and United States. The base was transferred to Canadian control in 1960 and is now known as CFS St. John's
. The Knights of Columbus Hostel fire
in December 1942, saw 99 military and civilian lives lost.
, on the northeast of the Avalon Peninsula in southeast Newfoundland. The city covers an area of 446.04 square kilometres (172.2 sq mi) and is the most easterly city in North America, excluding Greenland
. The city is the largest in the province and the second largest in the Atlantic Provinces after Halifax, Nova Scotia. Its downtown
area lies to the north of St. John's Harbour, and the rest of the city expands from the downtown to the north, south, east and west.
Coniferous trees such as black spruce
, white spruce
, and balsam fir
fir dominate the native vegetation. The largest deciduous tree is white birch
; species of lesser stature include alder
, cherry
and mountain ash. Of introduced tree species, sycamore maple
is most abundant and Norway maple
is common. Blue spruce
, common horsechestnut, European beech
and littleleaf linden
are among the other non-native species grown.
(Koppen
Dfb) with cool-to-warm summers, and relatively mild winters, which is due to Gulf Stream
moderation. Mean temperatures range from -5.4 C in February to 15.5 °C (59.9 °F) in August, showing somewhat of a seasonal lag in the climate. The city is also one of the areas of the country most prone to tropical cyclone activity, as it is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east, where tropical storms (and sometimes hurricanes) travel to this country.
Of major Canadian cities, St. John's is the foggiest (124 days), snowiest (359 cm (141.3 in)), wettest (1514 mm (59.6 in)), windiest (24.3 km/h (15.1 mph) average speed), and most cloudy (1,497 hours of sunshine). St. John's experiences a mild winter season in comparison to other Canadian cities and has the mildest winter for a city outside of British Columbia
.
The architecture of St. John's has a distinct style from that of the rest of Canada, and its major buildings are remnants of its history as one of the first British colonial capitals. Buildings took a variety of styles according to the means available to build the structures.
Starting as a fishing outpost for European fishermen, St. John's consisted mostly of the homes of fishermen, sheds, storage shacks, and wharves constructed out of wood. Like many other cities of the time, as the Industrial Revolution took hold and new methods and materials for construction were introduced, the landscape changed as the city grew in width and height. The Great Fire of 1892 destroyed most of the downtown
core, and most residential and other wood-frame buildings date from this period.
Often compared to San Francisco due to the hilly terrain and steep maze of residential streets, housing in St. John's is typically painted in bright colours. The city council
has implemented strict heritage regulations in the downtown area, including restrictions on the height of buildings. These regulations have caused much controversy over the years. With the city experiencing an economic boom a lack of hotel rooms and office space has seen proposals put forward that do not meet the current height regulations. Heritage advocates argue that the current regulations should be enforced while others believe the regulations should be relaxed to encourage economic development.
To meet the need for more office space downtown, without compromising the city's heritage, the city council amended heritage regulations, which restricted height beyond 15 metres, in the area of land on Water Street between Bishop's Cove and Steer's Cove to create the "Commercial Central Retail - West Zone". The new zone will allow for buildings of greater height. A 47 metre, 12 storey, office building which includes retail space and a parking garage was the first building to be approved in this area.
As of the 2006 Census
, there were 100,646 inhabitants in St. John's itself, 151,322 in the urban area and 181,113 in the St. John's Census Metropolitan Area
(CMA). Thus, St. John's is Newfoundland and Labrador's largest city and Canada's 20th largest CMA. Apart from St. John's the CMA includes 12 other communities: the city of Mount Pearl
and the towns of Conception Bay South, Paradise
, Portugal Cove-St. Philip's, Torbay
, Logy Bay-Middle Cove-Outer Cove, Pouch Cove, Flatrock
, Bay Bulls, Witless Bay, Petty Harbour-Maddox Cove and Bauline. The population of the CMA was 192,326 as of July 1, 2010.
Population trend
Mother tongue language (2006)
|}
.
Overwhelmingly Christian
, the population of St. John's was once divided along sectarian (Catholic
/Protestant) lines. In recent years, this sectarianism has declined significantly, and is no longer a commonly acknowledged facet of life in St. John's. St. John's is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archbishop of St. John's
, and the Anglican Bishop of Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador
.
, which serves as the primary policing body of the metropolitan area. The B Division headquarters of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
, which serves the rest of Newfoundland and Labrador
, is located in the Pleasantville
neighbourhood in the city's east end.
According to Statistics Canada's Juristat reports (1993–2007), the metropolitan area reports an average homicide rate of approximately 1.15 per 100,000 population; an average of two homicides per year. An all-time high rate of 2.27 was reported in 1993 (four homicides). This figure is far below the national average and ranks amongst the lowest rates for any metropolitan area in Canada. St. John's is ranked the 37th most dangerous city in Canada, with a crime rate of 3.87% above the national average.
The St. John's economy is connected to both its role as the provincial capital of Newfoundland and Labrador and to the ocean. The civil service which is supported by the federal, provincial and municipal governments has been the key to the expansion of the city's labour force and to the stability of its economy, which supports a sizable retail, service and business sector. The provincial government is the largest employer in the city, followed by Memorial University
.
With the collapse of the fishing industry in Newfoundland and Labrador in the 1990s the role of the ocean is now tied to what lies beneath it – oil and gas – as opposed to what swims in or travels across it. The city is the centre of the oil and gas industry in Eastern Canada
and is one of 16 World Energy Cities. ExxonMobil
Canada
is headquartered in St. John's and companies such as Chevron
, Husky Energy
, Suncor Energy
and Statoil
have major regional operations in the city. Three major offshore oil developments, Hibernia, Terra Nova and White Rose, are in production off the coast of the city and a fourth development, Hebron, is expected to be producing oil by 2017.
The economy has been growing quickly in recent years. In 2010 the city's gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 5.8 per cent, the highest rate of growth for any Canadian city. At $52,000 the city's per capita GDP is the second highest out of all major Canadian cities. Economic forecasts suggest that the city will continue its strong economic growth in the coming years not only in the "oceanic" industries mentioned above, but also in tourism and new home construction as the population continues to grow. In May 2011, the city's unemployment rate fell to 5.6 per cent, the second lowest unemployment rate for a major city in Canada.
St. John's is also becoming known as an entrepreneurial city. In a 2009 report by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business; Communities in Boom: Canada’s Top Entrepreneurial Cities, St. John's was ranked the best major city in Atlantic Canada, and 19th overall in Canada for providing a good environment for small business development.
The downtown
area is the cultural hub of St. John's and is a major tourist destination in Newfoundland and Labrador and Atlantic Canada. Both Water Street
and Duckworth Street are known for their brightly coloured low rise heritage buildings which house numerous tourist shops, clothing boutiques, and restaurants.
George Street
, a downtown side-street above the western end of Water Street, is the predominant home of the city's nightlife. The street holds numerous annual festivals including the George Street Festival in August and the Mardi Gras Festival held in October. The street can be credited with kick starting the careers of many musical acts and is busy nearly every night of the week.
The LSPU Hall
is home to the Resource Centre for the Arts. The "Hall" hosts a vibrant and diverse arts community and is regarded as the backbone of artistic infrastructure and development in the downtown. The St. John's Arts and Culture Centre
houses an art gallery, libraries and a 1000 seat theater, which is the city's major venue for entertainment productions.
The Nickel Film Festival
and the St. John's International Women's Film Festival
are two independent film
festivals held annually in St. John's.
. In 2005 the museum, along with the Art Gallery of Newfoundland and Labrador and the Provincial Archives of Newfoundland and Labrador, moved into The Rooms
. The Rooms is Newfoundland and Labrador's cultural facility, and is located in the downtown area.
The Railway Coastal Museum
is a transportation museum located in the 104 year old Newfoundland and Labrador train station building on Water Street.
The Johnson Geo Centre
is a geological interpretation centre located on Signal Hill. The centre is designed to teach the public about the history of the earth through the unique and complex geological history of Newfoundland and Labrador.
is an urban park located in the east end of the city; with over 3400 acres (13.8 km²) of land, it is one of Canada‘s largest urban parks. The park contains a range of recreational facilities including two golf courses, Newfoundland and Labrador's largest serviced campground, walking and skiing trails as well as protected habitat for many plants and animals. Pippy Park is also home to the Fluvarium, an environmental education centre which offers a cross section view of Nagle's Hill Brook.
Bowring Park, located in the Waterford Valley, is one of the most scenic parks in St. John's. Entrance to the park is via Waterford Bridge Road, passing a sculptured duck pond and a statue of Peter Pan
. The park land was donated to the city in 1911 by Sir Edgar Rennie Bowring on behalf of Bowring Brothers
Ltd. on their 100th anniversary of commerce in Newfoundland. The park was officially opened by His Royal Highness, the Duke of Connaught
on July 15, 1914.
Bannerman Park
is a Victorian-style park located near the downtown. The park was officially opened in 1891 by Sir Alexander Bannerman
, Governor of the Colony of Newfoundland who donated the land to create the park. Today the park contains a public swimming pool, playground, a baseball diamond and many large open grassy areas. Bannerman Park plays host to many festivals and sporting events, most notably the Newfoundland and Labrador Folk Festival and St. John's Peace-a-chord. The park is also the finishing location for the annual Tely 10 Mile Road Race.
is a hill which overlooks the city of St. John's. It is the location of Cabot Tower
which was built in 1897 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of John Cabot
's discovery of Newfoundland, and Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee. The first transatlantic wireless
transmission was received here by Guglielmo Marconi
on December 12, 1901. Today, Signal Hill is a Canadian National Historic Site and remains incredibly popular amongst tourists and locals alike; 97% of all tourists to St. John's visit Signal Hill. Amongst its popular attractions are the Signal Hill Tattoo, showcasing the Royal Newfoundland Regiment of foot, circa 1795, and the North Head Trail which grants an impressive view of the Atlantic Ocean and the surrounding coast.
St. John's has been home to several professional hockey
franchises. The St. John's Maple Leafs
, the city's former American Hockey League
(AHL) team, was lost during the 2004-2005 season to Toronto
, Ontario
due to the desire of its parent team, the Toronto Maple Leafs
, to reduce travel costs and to have a tenant for its Ricoh Coliseum
.
The Maple Leafs were replaced by the St. John's Fog Devils
of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
(QMJHL). The team left St. John's in 2008 after just three seasons due to a poor lease arrangement with the city over the use of Mile One Centre
and poor attendance. Mile One Centre has been left without a major tenant since 2008 but efforts are underway to have another hockey team relocated to the city.
On June 1, 2011, former Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Danny Williams
announced he had come to an agreement with True North Sports and Entertainment, the owners of the Manitoba Moose
, to relocate the Moose from Winnipeg
to St. John's starting in the 2011-2012 season. The St. John's IceCaps
will be the minor league affiliate of the Winnipeg Jets
which displaced the Moose.
The rugby union
team The Rock
is the Eastern Canadian entry in the Americas Rugby Championship
. The Rock play their home games at Swilers Rugby Park
, as did the Rugby Canada Super League champions for 2005 and 2006, the Newfoundland Rock
. The city hosted a Rugby World Cup
qualifying match between Canada and the USA on August 12, 2006, where the Canadians heavily defeated the USA 56-7 to qualify for the 2007 Rugby World Cup
finals in France. The 2007 age-grade Rugby Canada National Championship Festival was held in the city.
St. John's is home to North America
's oldest annual sporting event, the Royal St. John's Regatta
, which dates back to at least 1816. The event is important enough in the life of the city that the day of the Regatta (the first Wednesday in August, weather permitting) is a civic holiday — one of the few weather-dependent holidays in the world.
The Tely 10
is an annual 10 miles (16.1 km) road race that starts in Paradise and finishes at Bannerman Park. The race draws in excess of 2,500 runners. It began in 1922, which makes it one of the oldest road races in Canada.
St. John's played host to the Canada Men's Soccer team's first (and only) qualification for the FIFA World Cup on September 14, 1985, where they defeated Honduras 2-1, at King George V Park
. The park also played host to a FIFA World Cup Qualification game on August 20, 1972, where Canada beat USA 3-2. Canada, however, failed to qualify for the World Cup in 1974.
Curling
has gained prominence in St. John's over the years. The 2005 Scott Tournament of Hearts
, the Canadian women's curling championship, was held at Mile One Centre from February 19 to 27, 2005. The 2006 Olympic gold medalist men's curling team, skipped by Brad Gushue
, is based in St. John's.
St. John's is governed by a mayor-council system, and the structure of the municipal government is stipulated by the City of St. John's Act. The St. John's City Council
is a unicameral
legislative body composed of a mayor, deputy mayor and nine councillors. The mayor, deputy mayor and four of the councillors are elected at large while the five other councillors represent geographical wards throughout the city. The mayor and members of the city council serve four-year terms without term limits.
Elections in St. John’s are held every four years on the last Tuesday in September. The current city council was elected in the municipal election held on September 29, 2009. The Mayor of St. John's is Dennis O'Keefe
, who has served in the position since 2008. The St. John's City Hall, located on New Gower Street, has housed municipal offices and Council Chambers since being officially opened in 1970.
St. John's served as the capital city of the Colony of Newfoundland and the Dominion of Newfoundland
before Newfoundland became Canada's tenth province in 1949. The city now serves as the capital of Newfoundland and Labrador
, therefore the provincial legislature is located in the city. The Confederation Building
, located on Confederation Hill, is home to the House of Assembly
along with the offices for the Members of the House of Assembly
(MHAs) and Ministers. The city is represented by seven MHAs, six who are members of the governing Progressive Conservative Party
, and one that belongs to the New Democratic Party
(NDP). Lorraine Michael, leader of the NDP since 2006, represents the district of Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi
and is the only member of her party elected to the House of Assembly. The Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador
, Kathy Dunderdale
, represents the district of Virginia Waters
, in the northeast end of the city.
The Newfoundland and Labrador office for the regional federal minister is located in downtown St. John's
. Regional offices for federal government departments and agencies
are also located throughout the city.
, which serves as the primary policing body of the metropolitan area. The B Division headquarters of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
is located in the Pleasantville
neighbourhood but the RCMP primarily operate in the rest of Newfoundland and Labrador and not St. John's.
St. John's has traditionally been one of the safest cities in Canada to live, however in recent years crime in the city has steadily increased. While nationally crime decreased by 4% in 2009, the total crime rate in St. John's saw an increase of 4%. During this same time violent crime in the city decreased 6%, compared to a 1% decrease nationally. In 2010 the total crime severity index for the city was 101.9, an increase of 10% from 2009 and 19.2% above the national average. The violent crime severity index was 90.1, an increase of 29% from 2009 and 1.2% above the national average. St. John's had the seventh-highest metropolitan crime index and twelfth-highest metropolitan violent crime index in the country in 2010.
According to Statistics Canada's Juristat reports (1993–2007), the metropolitan area reports an average homicide rate of approximately 1.15 per 100,000 population; an average of two homicides per year. An all-time high rate of 2.27 was reported in 1993 (four homicides). This figure is far below the national average and ranks amongst the lowest rates for any metropolitan area in Canada.
(YYT), located 10 minutes northwest of the downtown core. It handles nearly 1,200,000 passengers a year making it the second busiest airport in Atlantic Canada in passenger volume. Regular destinations include Halifax, Montreal
, Ottawa
, Toronto
, as well as destinations throughout the province. International locations include London
, New York City
, Saint Pierre and Miquelon and Varadero
. Scheduled service providers include Air Canada
, Air Canada Jazz
, Air Saint-Pierre
, Air Transat
, CanJet
, Continental Airlines
, Porter Airlines
, Provincial Airlines
, Skyservice
, Sunwing Airlines
and Westjet
.
St. John's is the eastern terminus of the Trans-Canada Highway
, one of the longest national highways in the world. The divided highway, also known as "Outer Ring Road" in the city, runs just outside the main part of the city, with exits to Pitts Memorial Drive
, Topsail Road, Team Gushue Highway, Thorburn Road, Allandale Road, Portugal Cove Road and Torbay Road, providing relatively easy access to neighbourhoods served by those streets. Pitts Memorial Drive
runs from Conception Bay South, through the city of Mount Pearl and into downtown St. John's, with interchanges for the Goulds
, Water Street and Hamilton Avenue-New Gower Street. The Parkway
is another major thoroughfare in the city.
The St. John's Cycling Master Plan was officially launched in July 2009. Its first phase will consist of 43 kilometres of on-road painted bike lanes, signs on an additional 73 kilometres of roadway, the installation of 20 bicycle parking facilities and the addition of bike racks on the fleet of 53 Metrobuses.
Metrobus Transit is responsible for public transit in the region. Metrobus has a total of 19 routes, 53 buses and an annual ridership of 3,014,073. Destinations include the Avalon Mall
, The Village Shopping Centre, Memorial University, Academy Canada, the College of the North Atlantic, the Marine Institute, the Confederation Building, downtown, Stavanger Drive Business Park
, Kelsey Drive, the Goulds, Kilbride, Shea Heights, the four hospitals in the city as well as other important areas in St. John's and Mount Pearl.
St. John's was the eastern terminus of the Newfoundland Railway
from 1898 until the abandonment and closure of the railway in September 1988.
The city's major hospitals include the Health Sciences Centre, St. Clare's Mercy Hospital, Waterford Hospital and the Janeway Children's Health and Rehabilitation Centre
.
St. John's is served by the Eastern School District
, the largest school district in Newfoundland and Labrador by student population. There are currently 36 primary, elementary and secondary schools in the city of St. John's, including three private schools. St. John's also includes one school that is part of the province-wide Conseil Scolaire Francophone (CSF), the Francophone
public school district. It also contains two private schools, St. Bonaventure's College and Lakecrest Independent.
Atlantic Canada's
largest university, Memorial University of Newfoundland
(MUN), is located in St. John's.
MUN provides comprehensive education and grants degrees
in several fields and its historical strengths in engineering
, business
, geology
, and medicine
, make MUN one of the top comprehensive universities in Canada
. The Fisheries and Marine Institute of Memorial University of Newfoundland (MI) or simply Marine Institute, is a post-secondary ocean and marine polytechnic located in St. John's and is affiliated with Memorial University of Newfoundland.
The College of the North Atlantic
(CNA) is the public college of the province and operates two main campuses within the city. CNA provides career, trade, and university-transfer programs for St. John's residents. The city also hosts a number of private colleges and post-secondary schools; Academy Canada, Eastern College, and Keyin College are the largest of these schools.
St. John's has one daily newspaper The Telegram
. Other local papers include The Muse, The Gazette
, Le Gaboteur, The Scope, The Business Post and The Current. St. John's also receives the nationally distributed newspaper The Globe and Mail
.
NTV
is an independent station
, headquartered in St. John’s. The station sublicenses entertainment programming from Global
and news programming from CTV
and Global, rather than purchasing primary broadcast rights. Rogers Cable
has its provincial headquarters in St. John’s, and their community channel Rogers TV airs local shows such as Out of the Fog and One Chef One Critic. CBC
has its Newfoundland and Labrador headquarters in the city and their television station CBNT
broadcasts from University Avenue. CBAFT
is Radio-Canada's television service in Atlantic Canada
which serves Franco-Newfoundlander
s.
The city is home to 15 AM and FM radio stations, two of which are French-language stations. St. John's is the only Canadian city served by radio station
s whose call letters do not all begin with the letter C. The ITU prefix
VO was assigned to the Dominion of Newfoundland
before the province joined Canadian Confederation
in 1949, and three AM stations kept their existing call letters. However, other commercial radio stations in St. John's which went to air after 1949 use the same range of prefixes (CF–CK) currently in use elsewhere in Canada, with the exception of VOCM-FM
, which was permitted to adopt the VOCM callsign because of its corporate association with the AM station that already bore that callsign. VO also remains in use in amateur radio
.
Capital City
Capital City was a television show produced by Euston Films which focused on the lives of investment bankers in London living and working on the corporate trading floor for the fictional international bank Shane-Longman....
and largest city in Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...
, and is the oldest English-founded city in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. It is located on the eastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula
Avalon Peninsula
The Avalon Peninsula is a large peninsula that makes up the southeast portion of the island of Newfoundland.The peninsula is home to 257,223 people, which is approximately 51% of Newfoundland's population in 2009, and is the location of the provincial capital, St. John's. It is connected to the...
on the island of Newfoundland. With a population of 192,326 as of July 1, 2010, the St. John's Metropolitan Area
St. John's Metropolitan Area
The St. John's Metropolitan Area is the most populous census metropolitan area in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. With a population of 181,113 in the 2006 Canadian Census, the CMA is the second largest in Atlantic Canada and the 20th largest CMA in Canada.The St. John’s CMA had...
is the second largest Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) in Atlantic Canada
Atlantic Canada
Atlantic Canada is the region of Canada comprising the four provinces located on the Atlantic coast, excluding Quebec: the three Maritime provinces – New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia – and Newfoundland and Labrador...
after Halifax and the 20th largest metropolitan area in Canada. Its name has been attributed to the feast day of John the Baptist, when John Cabot was believed to have sailed into the harbour in 1497, and also to a Basque fishing town with the same name.
Newfoundland was claimed as an English colony
English colonial empire
The English colonial empire consisted of a variety of overseas territories colonized, conquered, or otherwise acquired by the former Kingdom of England between the late 16th and early 18th centuries....
in the name of Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
in 1583, temporarily captured by the Dutch in 1665, and attacked three times by the French who captured and destroyed its settlements in 1689 and 1707. St John's was retaken each time and re-fortified. British
Kingdom of Great Britain
The former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...
forces used St. John's fortifications during the Seven Years' War
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...
in North America, the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
and the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
. St. John's served Allied needs in World War ll by providing an air base for the US Army Air Corps
United States Army Air Corps
The United States Army Air Corps was a forerunner of the United States Air Force. Renamed from the Air Service on 2 July 1926, it was part of the United States Army and the predecessor of the United States Army Air Forces , established in 1941...
and a harbour for antisubmarine warfare ships.
St. John's, and the province as a whole, was gravely affected in the 1990s by the collapse of the Northern cod fishery, which had been the driving force of the provincial economy for hundreds of years. After a decade of high unemployment rates and depopulation the city's proximity to the Hibernia, Terra Nova and White Rose oil fields has led to an economic boom that has spurred population growth and commercial development. As a result, the St. John's area now accounts for about half of the province's economic output.
History
Referred to as "North America's Oldest City", St. John's is the oldest settlement in North America to hold city status, with year-round settlement beginning sometime before 1620 and seasonal settlement long before that. It is not, however, the oldest surviving English settlement in North America or Canada, as is often believed, as it was preceded by the Cuper's CoveCuper's Cove, Newfoundland and Labrador
Cuper's Cove, on the southwest shore of Conception Bay on Newfoundland's Avalon Peninsula was an early English settlement in the New World, and the second one after the Jamestown Settlement to endure for longer than a year...
colony at Cupids
Cupids, Newfoundland and Labrador
Cupids is a town of 790 on Conception Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It has also been known as Coopers, Copers Cove, Cupers Cove, and Cuperts. It is the oldest continuously settled official British colony in Canada and possibly the oldest in North America...
(founded in 1610, and the Bristol's Hope
Bristol's Hope, Newfoundland and Labrador
Bristol's Hope is the modern name of a community in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It is located on Conception Bay between Carbonear and Harbour Grace....
colony at Harbour Grace, founded in 1618. Tradition declares that the city earned its name when explorer John Cabot
John Cabot
John Cabot was an Italian navigator and explorer whose 1497 discovery of parts of North America is commonly held to have been the first European encounter with the continent of North America since the Norse Vikings in the eleventh century...
became the first European to sail into the harbour, on June 24, 1497, the feast day of Saint John the Baptist
John the Baptist
John the Baptist was an itinerant preacher and a major religious figure mentioned in the Canonical gospels. He is described in the Gospel of Luke as a relative of Jesus, who led a movement of baptism at the Jordan River...
. However, the exact locations of Cabot's landfalls are disputed. A series of expeditions to St. John's by the Portuguese in the Azores followed in the early 16th century, and by 1540 French
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
, Spanish and Portuguese
Portuguese people
The Portuguese are a nation and ethnic group native to the country of Portugal, in the west of the Iberian peninsula of south-west Europe. Their language is Portuguese, and Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion....
ships crossed the Atlantic annually to fish the waters off the Avalon Peninsula. In the Basque Country
Basque Country (autonomous community)
The Basque Country is an autonomous community of northern Spain. It includes the Basque provinces of Álava, Biscay and Gipuzkoa, also called Historical Territories....
, it is a common belief that the name of St. John's was given by Basque fishermen because the bay of St. John's is very similar to the Bay of Pasaia
Pasaia
Pasaia is a town and municipality located in the province of Gipuzkoa in the Basque Autonomous Community of northern Spain. It is a fishing community, commercial port and the birth place of the fighting admiral Blas de Lezo. Pasaia lies approximately 5 km east of Donostia's centre, lying at the...
in the Basque Country, where one of the fishing towns is also called St. John (in Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
, San Juan).
Pedro Reinel
Pedro Reinel was a Portuguese cartographer of the 16th century, author of one of the oldest signed Portuguese nautical chart . That is a portolan type of chart, covering western Europe and part of Africa, and already reflecting the explorations made by Diogo Cão in 1482-1485. With his son Jorge...
in 1519. When John Rut
John Rut
John Rut was an English mariner, born in Essex, who was chosen by Henry VIII to command an expedition to North America in search of the Northwest Passage; on 10 June 1527 he set sail from Plymouth with two ships, the Samson and the Mary Guilford. The voyage was set up by Cardinal Wolsey at the...
visited St. John's in 1527 he found Norman
Normans
The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
, Breton
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
and Portuguese
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
ships in the harbour. On August 3, 1527, Rut wrote a letter to King Henry on the findings of his voyage to North America; this was the first known letter sent from North America. St. Jehan is shown on Nicholas Desliens' world map of 1541 and San Joham is found in João Freire's Atlas of 1546. It was during this time that Water Street
Water Street, St. John's
Water Street is located in downtown St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It was developed in the early 16th century, and is the oldest street in North America. It became a commercial trading outpost for the Basques, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and English...
was first developed, making it the oldest street in North America.
On August 5, 1583, Sir Humphrey Gilbert
Humphrey Gilbert
Sir Humphrey Gilbert of Devon in England was a half-brother of Sir Walter Raleigh. Adventurer, explorer, member of parliament, and soldier, he served during the reign of Queen Elizabeth and was a pioneer of English colonization in North America and the Plantations of Ireland.-Early life:Gilbert...
claimed the area as England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
's first overseas colony under Royal Charter
Royal Charter
A royal charter is a formal document issued by a monarch as letters patent, granting a right or power to an individual or a body corporate. They were, and are still, used to establish significant organizations such as cities or universities. Charters should be distinguished from warrants and...
of Queen Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
. There was no permanent population, however, and Gilbert was lost at sea during his return voyage, thereby ending any immediate plans for settlement. The Newfoundland National War Memorial is located on the waterfront in St. John's, at the purported site of Gilbert's landing and proclamation.
By 1620, the fishermen of England's West Country
West Country
The West Country is an informal term for the area of south western England roughly corresponding to the modern South West England government region. It is often defined to encompass the historic counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset and Somerset and the City of Bristol, while the counties of...
controlled most of Newfoundland's east coast. In 1627, William Payne, called St. John's "the principal prime and chief lot in all the whole country". The population grew slowly in the 17th century and St. John's was the largest settlement in Newfoundland when English naval officers began to take censuses around 1675. The population would grow in the summers with the arrival of migratory fishermen. In 1680, fishing ships (mostly from South Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
) set up fishing rooms at St. John's, bringing hundreds of Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
men into the port to operate inshore fishing boats.
The town's first significant defences were likely erected due to commercial interests, following the temporary seizure of St. John's by the Dutch
Dutch Republic
The Dutch Republic — officially known as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands , the Republic of the United Netherlands, or the Republic of the Seven United Provinces — was a republic in Europe existing from 1581 to 1795, preceding the Batavian Republic and ultimately...
admiral Michiel de Ruyter
Michiel de Ruyter
Michiel Adriaenszoon de Ruyter is the most famous and one of the most skilled admirals in Dutch history. De Ruyter is most famous for his role in the Anglo-Dutch Wars of the 17th century. He fought the English and French and scored several major victories against them, the best known probably...
in June 1665. The inhabitants were able to fend off a second Dutch attack in 1673, when this time it was defended by Christopher Martin, an English merchant captain. Martin landed six cannon from his vessel, the Elias Andrews, and constructed an earthen breastworkand battery near chain Rock commanding the Narrows leading into the harbour. With only twenty-three men, the valiant Martin beat off an attack by three Dutch warships. The British government planned to expand these fortifications (Fort William
Fort William, Newfoundland
Fort William was a fort in St. John's built in 1698 to protect English interests in Newfoundland, primarily against French opposition. It was the original headquarters of the British garrison in Newfoundland. A second fort, known as Fort George was situated at the east end of the harbour connected...
) in around 1689, but actual construction didn't begin until after the French admiral Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville
Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville
Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville pronounced as described in note] Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville pronounced as described in note] Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville pronounced as described in note] (16 July 1661 – 9 July 1702 (probable)was a soldier, ship captain, explorer, colonial administrator, knight of...
captured and destroyed the town in the Avalon Peninsula Campaign
Avalon Peninsula Campaign
The Avalon Peninsula Campaign occurred during King Williams War when forces of New France, led by Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville, destroyed 23 English settlements along the coast of the Avalon Peninsula, Newfoundland in the span of three months...
(1696). When 1500 English reinforcements arrived in late 1697 they found nothing but rubble where the town and fortifications had stood. The French attacked St. John's again in 1705 (Siege of St. John's
Siege of St. John's
The Siege of St. John's was a failed attempt by French forces led by Daniel d'Auger de Subercase to take the fort at St. John's, Newfoundland during the winter months of 1705. Leading a mixed force of regulars, militia, and Indians, Subercase burned much of the town and laid an ineffectual siege...
), and captured it in 1708 (Battle of St. John's
Battle of St. John's
The Battle of St. John's was the French capture of St. John's, the capital of the British Colony of Newfoundland, on , during Queen Anne's War. A mixed and motley force of 164 men led by Joseph de Monbeton de Brouillan de Saint-Ovide, king's lieutenant to Philippe Pastour de Costebelle, the French...
), devastating civilian structures with fire on each instance.
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War was a global military war between 1756 and 1763, involving most of the great powers of the time and affecting Europe, North America, Central America, the West African coast, India, and the Philippines...
in North America (the French and Indian War
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...
) was fought in 1762, in St. John's. Following a surprise capture of the town by the French early in the year, the British responded, and at the Battle of Signal Hill
Battle of Signal Hill
The Battle of Signal Hill was a small skirmish, the last of the North American theatre of the Seven Years' War. The British under Lieutenant Colonel William Amherst forced the French to surrender St...
, the French surrendered St. John's to British forces under the command of Colonel William Amherst.
The eighteenth century saw major changes in Newfoundland: population growth, beginnings of government, establishment of churches, reinforcement of commercial ties with North America and development of the seal, salmon and Grand Banks fisheries. St. John's population grew slowly, and although it was still primarily a fishing station, it was also a garrison
Garrison
Garrison is the collective term for a body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it, but now often simply using it as a home base....
, a centre of government and a commercial hub. St. John's served as a naval base during both the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
and the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
.
The core of the city was destroyed by fire several times, the most famous of which was the Great Fire of 1892
Great Fire of 1892
The Great Fire in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador on July 8, 1892, is remembered as the worst disaster ever to befall that city. Previous "Great Fire"s had occurred in St...
.
Guglielmo Marconi
Guglielmo Marconi
Guglielmo Marconi was an Italian inventor, known as the father of long distance radio transmission and for his development of Marconi's law and a radio telegraph system. Marconi is often credited as the inventor of radio, and indeed he shared the 1909 Nobel Prize in Physics with Karl Ferdinand...
received the first transatlantic wireless signal in St. John's on December 1901 from his wireless station in Poldhu
Poldhu
Poldhu is a small area in south Cornwall, England, UK, situated on the Lizard Peninsula; it comprises Poldhu Point and Poldhu Cove. It lies on the coast west of Goonhilly Downs, with Mullion to the south and Porthleven to the north...
, Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
.
Alcock and Brown
British aviators Alcock and Brown made the first non-stop transatlantic flight in June 1919. They flew a modified World War I Vickers Vimy bomber from St. John's, Newfoundland, to Clifden, Connemara, County Galway, Ireland...
in a modified Vickers Vimy
Vickers Vimy
The Vickers Vimy was a British heavy bomber aircraft of the First World War and post-First World War era. It achieved success as both a military and civil aircraft, setting several notable records in long-distance flights in the interwar period, the most celebrated of which was the first non-stop...
IV bomber, in June 1919, departing from Lester's Field in St. John's and ending in a bog near Clifden
Clifden
Clifden is a town on the coast of County Galway, Ireland and being Connemara's largest town, it is often referred to as "the Capital of Connemara". It is located on the Owenglen River where it flows into Clifden Bay...
, Connemara
Connemara
Connemara is a district in the west of Ireland consisting of a broad peninsula between Killary Harbour and Kilkieran Bay in the west of County Galway.-Overview:...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. In July 2005, the flight was duplicated by American aviator and adventurer Steve Fossett
Steve Fossett
James Stephen Fossett was an American commodities trader, businessman, and adventurer. Fossett is the first person to fly solo nonstop around the world in a balloon...
in a replica Vickers Vimy aircraft, with St. John's International Airport
St. John's International Airport
St. John's International Airport is an international airport located northwest of St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada that serves the St. John's Metro Area and the Avalon Peninsula. The airport is part of the National Airports System, and is operated by St...
substituting for Lester's Field (now an urban and residential part of the city).
During the Second World War, the harbour supported Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
and Royal Canadian Navy
Royal Canadian Navy
The history of the Royal Canadian Navy goes back to 1910, when the naval force was created as the Naval Service of Canada and renamed a year later by King George V. The Royal Canadian Navy is one of the three environmental commands of the Canadian Forces...
ships that were engaged in anti-submarine warfare
Anti-submarine warfare
Anti-submarine warfare is a branch of naval warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, or other submarines to find, track and deter, damage or destroy enemy submarines....
. It was also the site of an American Army Air Force
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....
base, Fort Pepperrell, that was established as part of the "Lend-Lease
Lend-Lease
Lend-Lease was the program under which the United States of America supplied the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, China, Free France, and other Allied nations with materiel between 1941 and 1945. It was signed into law on March 11, 1941, a year and a half after the outbreak of war in Europe in...
" agreement between the United Kingdom and United States. The base was transferred to Canadian control in 1960 and is now known as CFS St. John's
CFS St. John's
Canadian Forces Station St. John's is a Canadian Forces Station located in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador.CFS St. John’s is located on north shore of Quidi Vidi Lake on part of the former site of Pepperrell Air Force Base, as well as a small adjunct area on St. John's Harbour...
. The Knights of Columbus Hostel fire
Knights of Columbus Hostel fire
The Knights of Columbus Hostel fire was a structure fire that occurred during World War II on Saturday, December 12, 1942, in St. John's, Newfoundland in a hostel operated by the Knights of Columbus, a Roman Catholic fraternal organization....
in December 1942, saw 99 military and civilian lives lost.
Geography
St. John's is located along the coast of the Atlantic OceanAtlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
, on the northeast of the Avalon Peninsula in southeast Newfoundland. The city covers an area of 446.04 square kilometres (172.2 sq mi) and is the most easterly city in North America, excluding Greenland
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
. The city is the largest in the province and the second largest in the Atlantic Provinces after Halifax, Nova Scotia. Its downtown
Downtown St. John's
Downtown St. John's is the historic core and central business district of St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Located north of St. John's harbour, it is the business, entertainment, and tourism centre with office buildings, hotels, restaurants, and other services.The historic boundaries...
area lies to the north of St. John's Harbour, and the rest of the city expands from the downtown to the north, south, east and west.
Coniferous trees such as black spruce
Black Spruce
Picea mariana is a species of spruce native to northern North America, from Newfoundland west to Alaska, and south to northern New York, Minnesota and central British Columbia...
, white spruce
White Spruce
Picea glauca is a species of spruce native to boreal forests in the north of North America, from central Alaska east to Newfoundland, and south to northern Montana, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, upstate New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine; there is also an isolated population in the...
, and balsam fir
Balsam Fir
The balsam fir is a North American fir, native to most of eastern and central Canada and the northeastern United States .-Growth:It is a small to medium-size evergreen tree typically tall, rarely to tall, with a narrow conic crown...
fir dominate the native vegetation. The largest deciduous tree is white birch
White Birch
White Birch may refer to:* Betula papyrifera* Betula pendula* Shirakabaha, Japanese literary group* The White Birch , Norwegian recording artists...
; species of lesser stature include alder
Alder
Alder is the common name of a genus of flowering plants belonging to the birch family . The genus comprises about 30 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, few reaching large size, distributed throughout the North Temperate Zone and in the Americas along the Andes southwards to...
, cherry
Cherry
The cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus Prunus, and is a fleshy stone fruit. The cherry fruits of commerce are usually obtained from a limited number of species, including especially cultivars of the wild cherry, Prunus avium....
and mountain ash. Of introduced tree species, sycamore maple
Sycamore Maple
Acer pseudoplatanus, the sycamore maple, is a species of maple native to central Europe and southwestern Asia, from France east to Ukraine, and south in mountains to northern Spain, northern Turkey, and the Caucasus. It is not related to other trees called sycamore or plane tree in the Platanus...
is most abundant and Norway maple
Norway Maple
Acer platanoides is a species of maple native to eastern and central Europe and southwest Asia, from France east to Russia, north to southern Scandinavia and southeast to northern Iran....
is common. Blue spruce
Blue Spruce
Picea pungens is a species of spruce native to western North America, from southeast Idaho and southwest Wyoming, south through Utah and Colorado to Arizona and New Mexico. It grows at high altitudes from altitude, though unlike Engelmann Spruce in the same area, it does not reach the alpine...
, common horsechestnut, European beech
European Beech
Fagus sylvatica, the European Beech or Common Beech, is a deciduous tree belonging to the beech family Fagaceae.-Natural range:...
and littleleaf linden
Tilia cordata
Tilia cordata is a species of Tilia native to much of Europe and western Asia, north to southern Great Britain , central Scandinavia, east to central Russia, and south to central Spain, Italy, Bulgaria, Turkey, and the Caucasus; in the south of its range it is restricted to...
are among the other non-native species grown.
Climate
St. John's has a humid continental climateHumid continental climate
A humid continental climate is a climatic region typified by large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot summers and cold winters....
(Koppen
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by Crimea German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen himself, notably in 1918 and 1936...
Dfb) with cool-to-warm summers, and relatively mild winters, which is due to Gulf Stream
Gulf Stream
The Gulf Stream, together with its northern extension towards Europe, the North Atlantic Drift, is a powerful, warm, and swift Atlantic ocean current that originates at the tip of Florida, and follows the eastern coastlines of the United States and Newfoundland before crossing the Atlantic Ocean...
moderation. Mean temperatures range from -5.4 C in February to 15.5 °C (59.9 °F) in August, showing somewhat of a seasonal lag in the climate. The city is also one of the areas of the country most prone to tropical cyclone activity, as it is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east, where tropical storms (and sometimes hurricanes) travel to this country.
Of major Canadian cities, St. John's is the foggiest (124 days), snowiest (359 cm (141.3 in)), wettest (1514 mm (59.6 in)), windiest (24.3 km/h (15.1 mph) average speed), and most cloudy (1,497 hours of sunshine). St. John's experiences a mild winter season in comparison to other Canadian cities and has the mildest winter for a city outside of British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
.
Cityscape
Architecture
Starting as a fishing outpost for European fishermen, St. John's consisted mostly of the homes of fishermen, sheds, storage shacks, and wharves constructed out of wood. Like many other cities of the time, as the Industrial Revolution took hold and new methods and materials for construction were introduced, the landscape changed as the city grew in width and height. The Great Fire of 1892 destroyed most of the downtown
Downtown St. John's
Downtown St. John's is the historic core and central business district of St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Located north of St. John's harbour, it is the business, entertainment, and tourism centre with office buildings, hotels, restaurants, and other services.The historic boundaries...
core, and most residential and other wood-frame buildings date from this period.
Often compared to San Francisco due to the hilly terrain and steep maze of residential streets, housing in St. John's is typically painted in bright colours. The city council
St. John's City Council
St. John's City Council has been the governing body of the city of St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador Canada since 1888.The city council currently comprises 11 members: the Mayor, the Deputy Mayor and nine councillors, five which represent wards throughout the city and four that are elected at...
has implemented strict heritage regulations in the downtown area, including restrictions on the height of buildings. These regulations have caused much controversy over the years. With the city experiencing an economic boom a lack of hotel rooms and office space has seen proposals put forward that do not meet the current height regulations. Heritage advocates argue that the current regulations should be enforced while others believe the regulations should be relaxed to encourage economic development.
To meet the need for more office space downtown, without compromising the city's heritage, the city council amended heritage regulations, which restricted height beyond 15 metres, in the area of land on Water Street between Bishop's Cove and Steer's Cove to create the "Commercial Central Retail - West Zone". The new zone will allow for buildings of greater height. A 47 metre, 12 storey, office building which includes retail space and a parking garage was the first building to be approved in this area.
| Rank | Name | Floors | Completed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Confederation Building Confederation Building (Newfoundland and Labrador) The Confederation Building is located on Confederation Hill overlooking the Newfoundland & Labrador's capital city St. John's, and serves as the home of the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly. The brick and concrete clad building has 11 storeys and is 64 metres tall, it was... |
1959 | |
| 2 | John Cabot Place | 1993 | |
| 3 | St. Patrick's Church St. Patrick's Church (St. John's) Saint Patrick's Church is a Roman Catholic church in St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada.-History:The cornerstone of St. Patrick's Church was laid on September 17, 1855, by Bishop John T. Mullock and other distinguished clergy from Canada and the United States. American financier, Cyrus Field,... |
1914 | |
| 4 | Cabot Place | 1987 | |
| 5 | Delta Hotel | 1988 | |
| 6 | Scotia Centre | 1987 | |
| 7 | Southcott Hall | 1964 | |
| 8 | Fortis Building Fortis Building The Fortis Building is the headquarters of Fortis Inc. located in downtown St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador Canada. It was completed in 1969.The building stands 12 storeys high and is located on Water Street next to the TD Building.... |
1969 | |
| 9 | TD Place | 1981 | |
| 10 | Atlantic Place | 1975 | |
| 10 | Tiffany Village | 2009 |
Demographics
| Ethnic Origins | ||
|---|---|---|
| Population | Percentage | |
| English English people The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens... |
44,935 | 45.19 |
| Canadian Demographics of Canada This article about the demographic features of the population of Canada, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population, the People of Canada.... |
38,465 | 38.68 |
| Irish Irish people The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha... |
34,325 | 34.52 |
| Scottish Scottish people The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,... |
9,580 | 9.63 |
| French French people The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups... |
5,425 | 5.45 |
| German Germans The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages.... |
2,740 | 2.75 |
| Visible minorities | ||
| Population | Percentage | |
| Total | 2,950 | 2.96 |
| South Asian | 875 | 0.88 |
| Chinese Chinese people The term Chinese people may refer to any of the following:*People with Han Chinese ethnicity .... |
800 | 0.80 |
| Black Black people The term black people is used in systems of racial classification for humans of a dark skinned phenotype, relative to other racial groups.Different societies apply different criteria regarding who is classified as "black", and often social variables such as class, socio-economic status also plays a... |
520 | 0.52 |
| Latin American Latin Americans Latin Americans are the citizens of the Latin American countries and dependencies. Latin American countries are multi-ethnic, home to people of different ethnic and national backgrounds. As a result, some Latin Americans don't take their nationality as an ethnicity, but identify themselves with... |
285 | 0.28 |
| Arab Arab Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing... |
180 | 0.18 |
| Filipino Filipino Canadian Filipino Canadians are Canadians of Filipino ancestry. Filipino-Canadians are the fourth-largest subgroup of the Overseas Filipinos.Canada only had a small population of Filipinos until the late 20th century. To date, there are currently around 400,000 Filipino Canadians in Canada, most of them... |
75 | 0.07 |
| West Asian Asian people Asian people or Asiatic people is a term with multiple meanings that refers to people who descend from a portion of Asia's population.- Central Asia :... |
65 | 0.06 |
| Japanese Japanese people The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries... |
55 | 0.05 |
| Other | 40 | 0.04 |
| Southeast Asian Asian people Asian people or Asiatic people is a term with multiple meanings that refers to people who descend from a portion of Asia's population.- Central Asia :... |
30 | 0.03 |
| Korean | 15 | 0.01 |
| Multiple | 15 | 0.01 |
As of the 2006 Census
Canada 2006 Census
The Canada 2006 Census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population. Census day was May 16, 2006. The next census following will be the 2011 Census. Canada's total population enumerated by the 2006 census was 31,612,897...
, there were 100,646 inhabitants in St. John's itself, 151,322 in the urban area and 181,113 in the St. John's Census Metropolitan Area
St. John's Metropolitan Area
The St. John's Metropolitan Area is the most populous census metropolitan area in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. With a population of 181,113 in the 2006 Canadian Census, the CMA is the second largest in Atlantic Canada and the 20th largest CMA in Canada.The St. John’s CMA had...
(CMA). Thus, St. John's is Newfoundland and Labrador's largest city and Canada's 20th largest CMA. Apart from St. John's the CMA includes 12 other communities: the city of Mount Pearl
Mount Pearl
Mount Pearl is the second largest city in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The city is located southwest of St. John's, on the eastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland. Mount Pearl is part of the St...
and the towns of Conception Bay South, Paradise
Paradise, Newfoundland and Labrador
Paradise is a town on the Avalon Peninsula in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The town is a part of the St. John's Metropolitan Area. The town borders the City of St. John's, the City of Mount Pearl, the Town of Portugal Cove-St. Philip's, and the town of Conception Bay South...
, Portugal Cove-St. Philip's, Torbay
Torbay, Newfoundland and Labrador
Torbay is a town located on the eastern side of the Avalon Peninsula in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.The town is located north of the capital city of St. John's and is part of the St. John's Metropolitan Area. Due to the Torbay's close proximity with St. John's, the town's population is...
, Logy Bay-Middle Cove-Outer Cove, Pouch Cove, Flatrock
Flatrock, Newfoundland and Labrador
Flatrock is a town in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The town had a population of 1,214 in the Canada 2006 Census.-Religion:...
, Bay Bulls, Witless Bay, Petty Harbour-Maddox Cove and Bauline. The population of the CMA was 192,326 as of July 1, 2010.
Population trend
| Census | Population | Change (%) |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 100,646 | 1.5% |
| 2001 | 99,182 | -2.7% |
| 1996 | 101,936 | -2.6% |
| 1991 | 104,659 | N/A |
Mother tongue language (2006)
| Language | Population | Pct (%) |
|---|---|---|
| English only | 95,555 | 96.10% |
| Other languages | 3,420 | 3.43% |
| French only | 355 | 0.35% |
| Both English and French | 95 | 0.09% |
|}
Religion
The information below is from the 2001 Canadian CensusCanada 2001 Census
The Canada 2001 Census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population. Census day was May 15, 2001. On that day, Statistics Canada attempted to count every person in Canada. The total population count of Canada was 30,007,094. This was a 4% increase over 1996 Census of 28,846,761. In...
.
Overwhelmingly Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
, the population of St. John's was once divided along sectarian (Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
/Protestant) lines. In recent years, this sectarianism has declined significantly, and is no longer a commonly acknowledged facet of life in St. John's. St. John's is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archbishop of St. John's
Basilica of St. John the Baptist
The Basilica-Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador is the metropolitan cathedral of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. John's, Newfoundland and the mother church and symbol of Roman Catholicism in Newfoundland....
, and the Anglican Bishop of Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador
Cathedral of St. John the Baptist (St. John's)
The Cathedral of St. John the Baptist is located in the city of St. John's, Newfoundland. This parish in the Diocese of Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador was founded in 1699 in response to a petition drafted by the Anglican townsfolk of St. John's and sent to the Bishop of London, the Rt. Rev....
.
| Religion | 2001 | % |
|---|---|---|
| Roman Catholic | 83,615 | 48.9% |
| Protestant | 77,880 | 45.5% |
| Anglican | 39,020 | 22.8% |
| United Church | 25,670 | 15.0% |
| Salvation Army Salvation Army The Salvation Army is a Protestant Christian church known for its thrift stores and charity work. It is an international movement that currently works in over a hundred countries.... |
5,645 | 3.3% |
| Pentecostal | 3,865 | 2.3% |
| No religion | 6,990 | 3.9% |
Crime
St. John's has continuously had one of the lowest crime rates in Canada. Policing services are provided by the Royal Newfoundland ConstabularyRoyal Newfoundland Constabulary
The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary is a police force in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It provides policing to the communities of St. John's and the Northeast Avalon Peninsula, Corner Brook, Churchill Falls, and Labrador City....
, which serves as the primary policing body of the metropolitan area. The B Division headquarters of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police , literally ‘Royal Gendarmerie of Canada’; colloquially known as The Mounties, and internally as ‘The Force’) is the national police force of Canada, and one of the most recognized of its kind in the world. It is unique in the world as a national, federal,...
, which serves the rest of Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...
, is located in the Pleasantville
Pleasantville, Newfoundland and Labrador
Pleasantville is a neighbourhood in the east end of the city of St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It extends from the north side of Quidi Vidi Lake northward to Newfoundland Drive, and is largely made up of apartment blocks...
neighbourhood in the city's east end.
According to Statistics Canada's Juristat reports (1993–2007), the metropolitan area reports an average homicide rate of approximately 1.15 per 100,000 population; an average of two homicides per year. An all-time high rate of 2.27 was reported in 1993 (four homicides). This figure is far below the national average and ranks amongst the lowest rates for any metropolitan area in Canada. St. John's is ranked the 37th most dangerous city in Canada, with a crime rate of 3.87% above the national average.
Economy
Memorial University of Newfoundland
Memorial University of Newfoundland, is a comprehensive university located primarily in St...
.
With the collapse of the fishing industry in Newfoundland and Labrador in the 1990s the role of the ocean is now tied to what lies beneath it – oil and gas – as opposed to what swims in or travels across it. The city is the centre of the oil and gas industry in Eastern Canada
Eastern Canada
Eastern Canada is generally considered to be the region of Canada east of Manitoba, consisting of the following provinces:* New Brunswick* Newfoundland and Labrador* Nova Scotia* Ontario* Prince Edward Island* Quebec...
and is one of 16 World Energy Cities. ExxonMobil
ExxonMobil
Exxon Mobil Corporation or ExxonMobil, is an American multinational oil and gas corporation. It is a direct descendant of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil company, and was formed on November 30, 1999, by the merger of Exxon and Mobil. Its headquarters are in Irving, Texas...
Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
is headquartered in St. John's and companies such as Chevron
Chevron Corporation
Chevron Corporation is an American multinational energy corporation headquartered in San Ramon, California, United States and active in more than 180 countries. It is engaged in every aspect of the oil, gas, and geothermal energy industries, including exploration and production; refining,...
, Husky Energy
Husky Energy
Husky Energy Inc. is a large integrated Canadian energy company based in Calgary, Alberta. Husky's foundation is in Western Canada, where it has extensive conventional oil and natural gas assets, significant heavy oil production and a range of midstream and downstream operations, including...
, Suncor Energy
Suncor Energy
Suncor Energy Inc. is a Canadian integrated energy company based in Calgary, Alberta. It specializes in production of synthetic crude from oil sands...
and Statoil
Statoil
Statoil ASA is a Norwegian petroleum company established in 1972. It merged with Norsk Hydro in 2007 and was known as StatoilHydro until 2009, when the name was changed back to Statoil ASA. The brand Statoil was retained as a chain of fuel stations owned by StatoilHydro...
have major regional operations in the city. Three major offshore oil developments, Hibernia, Terra Nova and White Rose, are in production off the coast of the city and a fourth development, Hebron, is expected to be producing oil by 2017.
The economy has been growing quickly in recent years. In 2010 the city's gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 5.8 per cent, the highest rate of growth for any Canadian city. At $52,000 the city's per capita GDP is the second highest out of all major Canadian cities. Economic forecasts suggest that the city will continue its strong economic growth in the coming years not only in the "oceanic" industries mentioned above, but also in tourism and new home construction as the population continues to grow. In May 2011, the city's unemployment rate fell to 5.6 per cent, the second lowest unemployment rate for a major city in Canada.
St. John's is also becoming known as an entrepreneurial city. In a 2009 report by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business; Communities in Boom: Canada’s Top Entrepreneurial Cities, St. John's was ranked the best major city in Atlantic Canada, and 19th overall in Canada for providing a good environment for small business development.
Arts and culture
Downtown St. John's
Downtown St. John's is the historic core and central business district of St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Located north of St. John's harbour, it is the business, entertainment, and tourism centre with office buildings, hotels, restaurants, and other services.The historic boundaries...
area is the cultural hub of St. John's and is a major tourist destination in Newfoundland and Labrador and Atlantic Canada. Both Water Street
Water Street, St. John's
Water Street is located in downtown St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It was developed in the early 16th century, and is the oldest street in North America. It became a commercial trading outpost for the Basques, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and English...
and Duckworth Street are known for their brightly coloured low rise heritage buildings which house numerous tourist shops, clothing boutiques, and restaurants.
George Street
George Street, St. John's
George Street is a street located in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, that is known for its many bars and pubs.The short street is populated mainly by bars and pubs and is open only to pedestrians in the evenings and during most of the business day, only being open to traffic from 8:00am...
, a downtown side-street above the western end of Water Street, is the predominant home of the city's nightlife. The street holds numerous annual festivals including the George Street Festival in August and the Mardi Gras Festival held in October. The street can be credited with kick starting the careers of many musical acts and is busy nearly every night of the week.
The LSPU Hall
LSPU Hall
The LSPU Hall is a large wooden structure in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. Located on 3 Victoria Street it is currently the home of the Resource Centre for the Arts '. The name comes from a previous owner, the Longshoremen's Protective Union.- History of the location :Like many other...
is home to the Resource Centre for the Arts. The "Hall" hosts a vibrant and diverse arts community and is regarded as the backbone of artistic infrastructure and development in the downtown. The St. John's Arts and Culture Centre
Arts and Culture Centre
The Arts and Culture Centres are a system of six arts centres in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, operated by the provincial government's Department of Tourism, Culture and Recreation...
houses an art gallery, libraries and a 1000 seat theater, which is the city's major venue for entertainment productions.
The Nickel Film Festival
Nickel Film Festival
The Nickel Independent Film Festival is an annual film festival held in St. John's, Canada. The Festival was conceived in 2001 by filmmaker Roger Maunder to allow local filmmakers to exhibit their works of filmography...
and the St. John's International Women's Film Festival
St. John's International Women's Film Festival
The St. John’s International Women’s Film Festival is a five-day film festival held in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador during the month of October....
are two independent film
Independent film
An independent film, or indie film, is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, independent films are also produced...
festivals held annually in St. John's.
Museums
The Provincial Museum of Newfoundland and Labrador (c. 1892-3) was located on Duckworth Street in a building listed on the Canadian Register of Historic PlacesCanadian Register of Historic Places
The Canadian Register of Historic Places is an online, searchable database that includes listings of historic places important to communities, cities, provinces, territories, and the nation...
. In 2005 the museum, along with the Art Gallery of Newfoundland and Labrador and the Provincial Archives of Newfoundland and Labrador, moved into The Rooms
The Rooms
The Rooms is a cultural facility in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The facility opened in 2005 and houses the Art Gallery of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Provincial Archives of Newfoundland and Labrador and the Provincial Museum of Newfoundland and Labrador.On a hill overlooking...
. The Rooms is Newfoundland and Labrador's cultural facility, and is located in the downtown area.
The Railway Coastal Museum
Railway Coastal Museum
The Railway Coastal Museum is a transportation museum located in St. John's, Newfoundland. It is located in the historic Newfoundland Railway Station on Water Street and contains exhibits detailing the history of the Newfoundland Railway and the history of coastal water transportation in the...
is a transportation museum located in the 104 year old Newfoundland and Labrador train station building on Water Street.
The Johnson Geo Centre
Johnson Geo Centre
The Johnson Geo Centre is a geological interpretation centre located on Signal Hill in St. John's, Newfoundland. Most of the centre is located underground, in an excavated glacial formation that shows the exposed bedrock of the hill...
is a geological interpretation centre located on Signal Hill. The centre is designed to teach the public about the history of the earth through the unique and complex geological history of Newfoundland and Labrador.
Urban parks
Pippy ParkPippy Park
Pippy Park is a urban park located in the city of St. John's, Newfoundland. The park is a popular camping, hiking and recreational park within the city, and incorporates numerous groomed and wilderness-style hiking/skiing trails, a miniature golf course, a 9-hole and an 18-hole golf course, a...
is an urban park located in the east end of the city; with over 3400 acres (13.8 km²) of land, it is one of Canada‘s largest urban parks. The park contains a range of recreational facilities including two golf courses, Newfoundland and Labrador's largest serviced campground, walking and skiing trails as well as protected habitat for many plants and animals. Pippy Park is also home to the Fluvarium, an environmental education centre which offers a cross section view of Nagle's Hill Brook.
Bowring Park, located in the Waterford Valley, is one of the most scenic parks in St. John's. Entrance to the park is via Waterford Bridge Road, passing a sculptured duck pond and a statue of Peter Pan
Peter Pan
Peter Pan is a character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie . A mischievous boy who can fly and magically refuses to grow up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood adventuring on the small island of Neverland as the leader of his gang the Lost Boys, interacting with...
. The park land was donated to the city in 1911 by Sir Edgar Rennie Bowring on behalf of Bowring Brothers
Bowring Brothers
Bowring Brothers Limited is currently an operator of retail stores, mostly focused on gifts and home decor, throughout Canada....
Ltd. on their 100th anniversary of commerce in Newfoundland. The park was officially opened by His Royal Highness, the Duke of Connaught
Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn
Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn was a member of the shared British and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha royal family who served as the Governor General of Canada, the 10th since Canadian Confederation.Born the seventh child and third son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and...
on July 15, 1914.
Bannerman Park
Bannerman Park
Bannerman Park is a Victorian-style urban park located in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. The park was officially opened in 1891. Sir Alexander Bannerman, Governor of the Colony of Newfoundland from 1857 to 1864 , donated the land to create the park. Today, the park is surrounded by...
is a Victorian-style park located near the downtown. The park was officially opened in 1891 by Sir Alexander Bannerman
Alexander Bannerman
Sir Alexander Bannerman was a British merchant, vintner, politician and colonial governor.-Background:...
, Governor of the Colony of Newfoundland who donated the land to create the park. Today the park contains a public swimming pool, playground, a baseball diamond and many large open grassy areas. Bannerman Park plays host to many festivals and sporting events, most notably the Newfoundland and Labrador Folk Festival and St. John's Peace-a-chord. The park is also the finishing location for the annual Tely 10 Mile Road Race.
Murray Premises
The Murray Premises is a National Historic Site located in downtown St. John's. The buildings once served as a fishery premises, with facilities for drying and packaging fish and warehouses for fish, barrels and other items. The oldest of the buildings is the one facing on Beck’s Cove. It was built after the 1846 fire and for a time served as both shop and house. The Murray Premises was renovated in 1979 and now contains office suites, restaurants, retail stores and a boutique hotel.Signal Hill
Signal HillSignal Hill, Newfoundland and Labrador
Signal Hill is a hill which overlooks the city of St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.Due to its strategic placement overlooking the harbour, fortifications have been placed on the hill since the mid 17th century.-History:...
is a hill which overlooks the city of St. John's. It is the location of Cabot Tower
Cabot Tower (Newfoundland)
Cabot Tower is a tower in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, situated on Signal Hill. Construction of tower begun in 1898 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of John Cabot's discovery of Newfoundland, and Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee....
which was built in 1897 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of John Cabot
John Cabot
John Cabot was an Italian navigator and explorer whose 1497 discovery of parts of North America is commonly held to have been the first European encounter with the continent of North America since the Norse Vikings in the eleventh century...
's discovery of Newfoundland, and Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee. The first transatlantic wireless
Wireless
Wireless telecommunications is the transfer of information between two or more points that are not physically connected. Distances can be short, such as a few meters for television remote control, or as far as thousands or even millions of kilometers for deep-space radio communications...
transmission was received here by Guglielmo Marconi
Guglielmo Marconi
Guglielmo Marconi was an Italian inventor, known as the father of long distance radio transmission and for his development of Marconi's law and a radio telegraph system. Marconi is often credited as the inventor of radio, and indeed he shared the 1909 Nobel Prize in Physics with Karl Ferdinand...
on December 12, 1901. Today, Signal Hill is a Canadian National Historic Site and remains incredibly popular amongst tourists and locals alike; 97% of all tourists to St. John's visit Signal Hill. Amongst its popular attractions are the Signal Hill Tattoo, showcasing the Royal Newfoundland Regiment of foot, circa 1795, and the North Head Trail which grants an impressive view of the Atlantic Ocean and the surrounding coast.
Sports
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
franchises. The St. John's Maple Leafs
St. John's Maple Leafs
The St. John's Maple Leafs were an ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They played in St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada at Memorial Stadium from 1991–2001, and at Mile One Stadium from 2001–2005.-History:...
, the city's former American Hockey League
American Hockey League
The American Hockey League is a 30-team professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental circuit for the National Hockey League...
(AHL) team, was lost during the 2004-2005 season to Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
due to the desire of its parent team, the Toronto Maple Leafs
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
, to reduce travel costs and to have a tenant for its Ricoh Coliseum
Ricoh Coliseum
Ricoh Coliseum is an ice hockey and agricultural arena at Exhibition Place in Toronto. It serves as the home arena of the Toronto Marlies, the American Hockey League farm team of the Toronto Maple Leafs, and the Toronto Triumph of the Lingerie Football League. It was formerly known as the CNE...
.
The Maple Leafs were replaced by the St. John's Fog Devils
St. John's Fog Devils
The St. John's Fog Devils were a junior ice hockey team in the Eastern Division of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. They were based in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, and played out of Mile One Centre. The QMJHL expanded to St. John's to fill the void created by the departure of the...
of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League...
(QMJHL). The team left St. John's in 2008 after just three seasons due to a poor lease arrangement with the city over the use of Mile One Centre
Mile One Centre
Mile One Centre is an indoor arena and entertainment venue located in downtown St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The centre's name comes from it being located at the beginning of the Trans-Canada Highway. At full capacity the arena can seat 7,000 people.The arena opened in May 2001, as...
and poor attendance. Mile One Centre has been left without a major tenant since 2008 but efforts are underway to have another hockey team relocated to the city.
On June 1, 2011, former Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Danny Williams
Danny Williams (politician)
Daniel E. "Danny" Williams, QC, MHA is a Canadian politician, businessman and lawyer who served as the ninth Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador between November 6, 2003, and December 3, 2010. Williams was born and raised in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador...
announced he had come to an agreement with True North Sports and Entertainment, the owners of the Manitoba Moose
Manitoba Moose
The Manitoba Moose were a Canadian professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba that played in the International Hockey League from 1996 to 2001 and American Hockey League from 2001 to 2011. The team moved to St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador in 2011 to become the St...
, to relocate the Moose from Winnipeg
Winnipeg
Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...
to St. John's starting in the 2011-2012 season. The St. John's IceCaps
St. John's IceCaps
The St. John's IceCaps are a professional ice hockey team based in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the American Hockey League and are the AHL affiliate of the Winnipeg Jets of the National Hockey League .From...
will be the minor league affiliate of the Winnipeg Jets
Winnipeg Jets
The Winnipeg Jets were a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. They began play in the World Hockey Association in 1972, moving to the National Hockey League in 1979 following the collapse of the WHA...
which displaced the Moose.
The rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
team The Rock
The Rock (rugby team)
The Rock, also known as the Atlantic Rock, are a Canadian rugby union team based in St. John's, Newfoundland & Labrador. The team plays in the Canadian Rugby Championship and is intended to draw most of its players from the rugby unions of Canada's five Eastern provinces: Quebec, New Brunswick,...
is the Eastern Canadian entry in the Americas Rugby Championship
Americas Rugby Championship
The Americas Rugby Championship is a rugby union competition contested by national and regional teams from North and South America. The league has replaced the IRB's previous North American competition, the North America 4....
. The Rock play their home games at Swilers Rugby Park
Swilers Rugby Park
Swilers Rugby Park is a Rugby union stadium in St. John's, Newfoundland....
, as did the Rugby Canada Super League champions for 2005 and 2006, the Newfoundland Rock
Newfoundland Rock
The Newfoundland Rock are a Canadian rugby union team based in St. John's, Newfoundland & Labrador. The team plays in the Rugby Canada National Junior Championship and draws most of its players from the Newfoundland Rugby Union, one of fourteen Rugby Unions that have representative teams in the...
. The city hosted a Rugby World Cup
Rugby World Cup
The Rugby World Cup is an international rugby union competition organised by the International Rugby Board and held every four years since 1987....
qualifying match between Canada and the USA on August 12, 2006, where the Canadians heavily defeated the USA 56-7 to qualify for the 2007 Rugby World Cup
2007 Rugby World Cup
The 2007 Rugby World Cup was the sixth Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. Twenty nations competed for the Webb Ellis Cup in the tournament, which was hosted by France from 7 September to 20 October. France won the hosting rights in 2003,...
finals in France. The 2007 age-grade Rugby Canada National Championship Festival was held in the city.
St. John's is home to North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
's oldest annual sporting event, the Royal St. John's Regatta
Royal St. John's Regatta
The Royal St. John's Regatta is North America's oldest annual sporting event with documented proof of 1816 boat races. There is credible contention that St. John's regattas were held even earlier than 1816, likely in the 18th century....
, which dates back to at least 1816. The event is important enough in the life of the city that the day of the Regatta (the first Wednesday in August, weather permitting) is a civic holiday — one of the few weather-dependent holidays in the world.
The Tely 10
Tely 10
The Tely 10 Mile Road Race is a 10 mile road race held in the communities of Paradise, Mount Pearl and St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada annually that draws in excess of 2500 runners both male and female. The race began in 1922 making it one of the oldest road races in all of Canada...
is an annual 10 miles (16.1 km) road race that starts in Paradise and finishes at Bannerman Park. The race draws in excess of 2,500 runners. It began in 1922, which makes it one of the oldest road races in Canada.
St. John's played host to the Canada Men's Soccer team's first (and only) qualification for the FIFA World Cup on September 14, 1985, where they defeated Honduras 2-1, at King George V Park
King George V Park
King George V Park is a soccer-specific stadium in St. John's, Newfoundland, located at the head of Quidi Vidi Lake in downtown St. John's. The stadium was built in 1925 as the National stadium of Newfoundland...
. The park also played host to a FIFA World Cup Qualification game on August 20, 1972, where Canada beat USA 3-2. Canada, however, failed to qualify for the World Cup in 1974.
Curling
Curling
Curling is a sport in which players slide stones across a sheet of ice towards a target area. It is related to bowls, boule and shuffleboard. Two teams, each of four players, take turns sliding heavy, polished granite stones, also called "rocks", across the ice curling sheet towards the house, a...
has gained prominence in St. John's over the years. The 2005 Scott Tournament of Hearts
2005 Scott Tournament of Hearts
The 2005 Scott Tournament of Hearts, the Canadian women's curling championship, was held at Mile One Stadium in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador from February 19 to 27 2005. The tournament consists of 12 teams, one from each of Canada's provinces, one from Canada's territories and the...
, the Canadian women's curling championship, was held at Mile One Centre from February 19 to 27, 2005. The 2006 Olympic gold medalist men's curling team, skipped by Brad Gushue
Brad Gushue
Bradley Raymond "Brad" Gushue, ONL is a Canadian curler from Mount Pearl, Newfoundland and Labrador. Gushue, along with teammates Russ Howard, Mark Nichols, Jamie Korab and Mike Adam, represented Canada in curling at the 2006 Winter Olympics, where they won the gold medal by defeating Finland...
, is based in St. John's.
Law and government
St. John's City Council
St. John's City Council has been the governing body of the city of St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador Canada since 1888.The city council currently comprises 11 members: the Mayor, the Deputy Mayor and nine councillors, five which represent wards throughout the city and four that are elected at...
is a unicameral
Unicameralism
In government, unicameralism is the practice of having one legislative or parliamentary chamber. Thus, a unicameral parliament or unicameral legislature is a legislature which consists of one chamber or house...
legislative body composed of a mayor, deputy mayor and nine councillors. The mayor, deputy mayor and four of the councillors are elected at large while the five other councillors represent geographical wards throughout the city. The mayor and members of the city council serve four-year terms without term limits.
Elections in St. John’s are held every four years on the last Tuesday in September. The current city council was elected in the municipal election held on September 29, 2009. The Mayor of St. John's is Dennis O'Keefe
Dennis O'Keefe (politician)
Dennis O'Keefe is the 14th and current mayor of St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.O'Keefe was elected to municipal politics in 1997 as a councillor at large and was subsequently re-elected to the position in 2001. In 2005 he was elected Deputy Mayor of the city and held that position...
, who has served in the position since 2008. The St. John's City Hall, located on New Gower Street, has housed municipal offices and Council Chambers since being officially opened in 1970.
St. John's served as the capital city of the Colony of Newfoundland and the Dominion of Newfoundland
Dominion of Newfoundland
The Dominion of Newfoundland was a British Dominion from 1907 to 1949 . The Dominion of Newfoundland was situated in northeastern North America along the Atlantic coast and comprised the island of Newfoundland and Labrador on the continental mainland...
before Newfoundland became Canada's tenth province in 1949. The city now serves as the capital of Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...
, therefore the provincial legislature is located in the city. The Confederation Building
Confederation Building (Newfoundland and Labrador)
The Confederation Building is located on Confederation Hill overlooking the Newfoundland & Labrador's capital city St. John's, and serves as the home of the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly. The brick and concrete clad building has 11 storeys and is 64 metres tall, it was...
, located on Confederation Hill, is home to the House of Assembly
Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly
The Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly is one of two components of the General Assembly of Newfoundland and Labrador, the other being the Lieutenant-Governor of Newfoundland and Labrador. The Newfoundland and Labrador General Assembly meets in the Confederation Building at St...
along with the offices for the Members of the House of Assembly
Member of the House of Assembly
A Member of the House of Assembly is a member of the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly in Canada.Other Provinces and TerritoriesMembers of other Canadian provincial and territorial assemblies employ the titles:...
(MHAs) and Ministers. The city is represented by seven MHAs, six who are members of the governing Progressive Conservative Party
Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador
For pre-1949 Conservative parties see Conservative parties in Newfoundland The Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador is a centre-right provincial political party in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Originally founded in 1949 the party has formed the Government of...
, and one that belongs to the New Democratic Party
New Democratic Party of Newfoundland and Labrador
The Newfoundland and Labrador New Democratic Party is a social-democratic provincial political party in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The party is the successor to the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation and the Newfoundland Democratic Party...
(NDP). Lorraine Michael, leader of the NDP since 2006, represents the district of Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi
Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi
Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi is a provincial electoral district for the House of Assembly of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. As of 2011 there were 8,137 eligible voters living within the district....
and is the only member of her party elected to the House of Assembly. The Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador
Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador
The Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador is the first minister, head of government and de facto chief executive for the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Before 1964, the position's official title was Premier of Newfoundland...
, Kathy Dunderdale
Kathy Dunderdale
Kathleen Mary Margaret "Kathy" Dunderdale MHA is a Canadian politician and the tenth and current Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, having served in this capacity since December 3, 2010...
, represents the district of Virginia Waters
Virginia Waters (electoral district)
Virginia Waters is a provincial electoral district for the House of Assembly of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The district is currently represented by Premier Kathy Dunderdale....
, in the northeast end of the city.
The Newfoundland and Labrador office for the regional federal minister is located in downtown St. John's
Downtown St. John's
Downtown St. John's is the historic core and central business district of St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Located north of St. John's harbour, it is the business, entertainment, and tourism centre with office buildings, hotels, restaurants, and other services.The historic boundaries...
. Regional offices for federal government departments and agencies
Government of Canada
The Government of Canada, formally Her Majesty's Government, is the system whereby the federation of Canada is administered by a common authority; in Canadian English, the term can mean either the collective set of institutions or specifically the Queen-in-Council...
are also located throughout the city.
Crime
Policing services for the city are provided by the Royal Newfoundland ConstabularyRoyal Newfoundland Constabulary
The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary is a police force in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It provides policing to the communities of St. John's and the Northeast Avalon Peninsula, Corner Brook, Churchill Falls, and Labrador City....
, which serves as the primary policing body of the metropolitan area. The B Division headquarters of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police , literally ‘Royal Gendarmerie of Canada’; colloquially known as The Mounties, and internally as ‘The Force’) is the national police force of Canada, and one of the most recognized of its kind in the world. It is unique in the world as a national, federal,...
is located in the Pleasantville
Pleasantville, Newfoundland and Labrador
Pleasantville is a neighbourhood in the east end of the city of St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It extends from the north side of Quidi Vidi Lake northward to Newfoundland Drive, and is largely made up of apartment blocks...
neighbourhood but the RCMP primarily operate in the rest of Newfoundland and Labrador and not St. John's.
St. John's has traditionally been one of the safest cities in Canada to live, however in recent years crime in the city has steadily increased. While nationally crime decreased by 4% in 2009, the total crime rate in St. John's saw an increase of 4%. During this same time violent crime in the city decreased 6%, compared to a 1% decrease nationally. In 2010 the total crime severity index for the city was 101.9, an increase of 10% from 2009 and 19.2% above the national average. The violent crime severity index was 90.1, an increase of 29% from 2009 and 1.2% above the national average. St. John's had the seventh-highest metropolitan crime index and twelfth-highest metropolitan violent crime index in the country in 2010.
According to Statistics Canada's Juristat reports (1993–2007), the metropolitan area reports an average homicide rate of approximately 1.15 per 100,000 population; an average of two homicides per year. An all-time high rate of 2.27 was reported in 1993 (four homicides). This figure is far below the national average and ranks amongst the lowest rates for any metropolitan area in Canada.
Transportation
St. John's is served by St. John's International AirportSt. John's International Airport
St. John's International Airport is an international airport located northwest of St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada that serves the St. John's Metro Area and the Avalon Peninsula. The airport is part of the National Airports System, and is operated by St...
(YYT), located 10 minutes northwest of the downtown core. It handles nearly 1,200,000 passengers a year making it the second busiest airport in Atlantic Canada in passenger volume. Regular destinations include Halifax, Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
, Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, as well as destinations throughout the province. International locations include London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, Saint Pierre and Miquelon and Varadero
Varadero
Varadero is a resort town in the province of Matanzas, Cuba, and one of the largest resort areas in the Caribbean. Varadero is also called Playa Azul, which means "blue beach" in Spanish.-Geography:...
. Scheduled service providers include Air Canada
Air Canada
Air Canada is the flag carrier and largest airline of Canada. The airline, founded in 1936, provides scheduled and charter air transport for passengers and cargo to 178 destinations worldwide. It is the world's tenth largest passenger airline by number of destinations, and the airline is a...
, Air Canada Jazz
Air Canada Jazz
Jazz Aviation LP is a Canadian regional airline based at Halifax Stanfield International Airport in Enfield and Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia, and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Chorus Aviation....
, Air Saint-Pierre
Air Saint-Pierre
Air Saint-Pierre is an airline based in Saint-Pierre, Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, a French overseas collectivity. The airline operates scheduled services between the islands of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon-Langlade and to Canada. Its main base is Saint-Pierre Airport.- History :Air Saint-Pierre was...
, Air Transat
Air Transat
Air Transat is an airline based in Saint-Laurent, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, operating scheduled and charter flights, serving 60 destinations in 25 countries. The airline is owned and operated by Transat A.T. Inc. During the summer season its main destinations are Europe and in the winter season the...
, CanJet
CanJet
CanJet Airlines is a low-cost chartered airline based in Enfield and in the Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia, Canada at the Halifax International Airport. It operates contract and ad hoc charters throughout Canada and the United States...
, Continental Airlines
Continental Airlines
Continental Airlines was a major American airline now merged with United Airlines. On May 3, 2010, Continental Airlines, Inc. and UAL, Inc. announced a merger via a stock swap, and on October 1, 2010, the merger closed and UAL changed its name to United Continental Holdings, Inc...
, Porter Airlines
Porter Airlines
Porter Airlines is a regional airline headquartered at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport on the Toronto Islands in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Porter operates regularly scheduled flights between Toronto and locations in Canada and the United States using Canadian-built Bombardier Dash-8 Q 400...
, Provincial Airlines
Provincial Airlines
Provincial Airlines is an airline based in St John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It operates passenger and cargo services, maritime surveillance and remote sensing and environmental monitoring operations. Its main base is St. John's International Airport. - History :The airline was...
, Skyservice
Skyservice
Skyservice Airlines Inc. was a charter airline based in the Etobicoke area of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It employed more than 2000 people. Skyservice Airlines Inc. flew within Canada and to the U.S., Caribbean, Mexico, Israel and Europe. During the summer Skyservice sold tickets to Europe from...
, Sunwing Airlines
Sunwing Airlines
Sunwing Airlines Inc. is an airline headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, offering scheduled and chartered services to Canada, the United States, Mexico, the Caribbean, Europe, Central America, South America as well as domestic services during the summer season.It is a subsidiary of Sunwing...
and Westjet
WestJet
WestJet Airlines Ltd. is a Canadian low-cost carrier that provides scheduled and charter air service to 71 destinations in Canada, the United States, Mexico and the Caribbean. Founded in 1996, WestJet is currently the second largest Canadian air carrier, behind Air Canada, operating an average of...
.
St. John's is the eastern terminus of the Trans-Canada Highway
Trans-Canada Highway
The Trans-Canada Highway is a federal-provincial highway system that joins the ten provinces of Canada. It is, along with the Trans-Siberian Highway and Australia's Highway 1, one of the world's longest national highways, with the main route spanning 8,030 km...
, one of the longest national highways in the world. The divided highway, also known as "Outer Ring Road" in the city, runs just outside the main part of the city, with exits to Pitts Memorial Drive
Newfoundland and Labrador Route 2
Newfoundland and Labrador Route 2, also known as Pitts Memorial Drive or the Harbour Arterial and CBS Bypass, is a four-lane divided expressway in St. John's. The road provides a direct link from the Trans-Canada Highway to the downtown core, which was previously accessible only via city streets...
, Topsail Road, Team Gushue Highway, Thorburn Road, Allandale Road, Portugal Cove Road and Torbay Road, providing relatively easy access to neighbourhoods served by those streets. Pitts Memorial Drive
Newfoundland and Labrador Route 2
Newfoundland and Labrador Route 2, also known as Pitts Memorial Drive or the Harbour Arterial and CBS Bypass, is a four-lane divided expressway in St. John's. The road provides a direct link from the Trans-Canada Highway to the downtown core, which was previously accessible only via city streets...
runs from Conception Bay South, through the city of Mount Pearl and into downtown St. John's, with interchanges for the Goulds
Goulds, Newfoundland and Labrador
Goulds is a rural neighbourhood in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.Goulds, a former town, was amalgamted with Wedgewood Park into the city of St. John's in 1991. With an estimated population of 12,000, the community is located south west of the city centre...
, Water Street and Hamilton Avenue-New Gower Street. The Parkway
Parkway (St. John's)
The Parkway is a major arterial road in the city of St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. It consists of three distinct roads that form a single through route: Columbus Drive, Prince Philip Drive, and Macdonald Drive...
is another major thoroughfare in the city.
The St. John's Cycling Master Plan was officially launched in July 2009. Its first phase will consist of 43 kilometres of on-road painted bike lanes, signs on an additional 73 kilometres of roadway, the installation of 20 bicycle parking facilities and the addition of bike racks on the fleet of 53 Metrobuses.
Metrobus Transit is responsible for public transit in the region. Metrobus has a total of 19 routes, 53 buses and an annual ridership of 3,014,073. Destinations include the Avalon Mall
Avalon Mall
The Avalon Mall is a Canadian shopping mall located in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. With over , two floors, there are over 140 stores, making it the largest shopping mall in Newfoundland and Labrador. The mall opened in 1967 and is owned by Crombie REIT.-History:The mall was built in...
, The Village Shopping Centre, Memorial University, Academy Canada, the College of the North Atlantic, the Marine Institute, the Confederation Building, downtown, Stavanger Drive Business Park
Stavanger Drive
Clovelly Trails is a neighbourhood located in the northeast end of St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador.Clovelly Trails is a multi subdivision residential development; the area includes single-family homes, high-end homes and adult living complexes...
, Kelsey Drive, the Goulds, Kilbride, Shea Heights, the four hospitals in the city as well as other important areas in St. John's and Mount Pearl.
St. John's was the eastern terminus of the Newfoundland Railway
Newfoundland Railway
The Newfoundland Railway was a railway which operated on the island of Newfoundland from 1898 to 1988. With a total track length of , it was the longest narrow gauge railway system in North America.-Early construction:...
from 1898 until the abandonment and closure of the railway in September 1988.
Medical centres and hospitals
St. John's is served by Eastern Health, Newfoundland and Labrador's largest health authority.The city's major hospitals include the Health Sciences Centre, St. Clare's Mercy Hospital, Waterford Hospital and the Janeway Children's Health and Rehabilitation Centre
Janeway Children's Health and Rehabilitation Centre
The Janeway Children's Health and Rehabilitation Centre is a children's hospital located in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.-Overview:The Janeway is the only children's hospital in the province and functions, in partnership with St...
.
Education
Eastern School District of Newfoundland and Labrador
Eastern School District of Newfoundland and Labrador is the de facto school board for the eastern portion of the island of Newfoundland. It covers the following regions:* Avalon East* Avalon West* Burin Peninsula...
, the largest school district in Newfoundland and Labrador by student population. There are currently 36 primary, elementary and secondary schools in the city of St. John's, including three private schools. St. John's also includes one school that is part of the province-wide Conseil Scolaire Francophone (CSF), the Francophone
Francophone
The adjective francophone means French-speaking, typically as primary language, whether referring to individuals, groups, or places. Often, the word is used as a noun to describe a natively French-speaking person....
public school district. It also contains two private schools, St. Bonaventure's College and Lakecrest Independent.
Atlantic Canada's
Atlantic Canada
Atlantic Canada is the region of Canada comprising the four provinces located on the Atlantic coast, excluding Quebec: the three Maritime provinces – New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia – and Newfoundland and Labrador...
largest university, Memorial University of Newfoundland
Memorial University of Newfoundland
Memorial University of Newfoundland, is a comprehensive university located primarily in St...
(MUN), is located in St. John's.
MUN provides comprehensive education and grants degrees
Academic degree
An academic degree is a position and title within a college or university that is usually awarded in recognition of the recipient having either satisfactorily completed a prescribed course of study or having conducted a scholarly endeavour deemed worthy of his or her admission to the degree...
in several fields and its historical strengths in engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
, business
Business
A business is an organization engaged in the trade of goods, services, or both to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, where most of them are privately owned and administered to earn profit to increase the wealth of their owners. Businesses may also be not-for-profit...
, geology
Geology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
, and medicine
Medicine
Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
, make MUN one of the top comprehensive universities in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. The Fisheries and Marine Institute of Memorial University of Newfoundland (MI) or simply Marine Institute, is a post-secondary ocean and marine polytechnic located in St. John's and is affiliated with Memorial University of Newfoundland.
The College of the North Atlantic
College of the North Atlantic
College of the North Atlantic is the public college of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The enabling legislation is theCollege Act....
(CNA) is the public college of the province and operates two main campuses within the city. CNA provides career, trade, and university-transfer programs for St. John's residents. The city also hosts a number of private colleges and post-secondary schools; Academy Canada, Eastern College, and Keyin College are the largest of these schools.
Local media
The Telegram
The Telegram is a daily newspaper published in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador.-History:The Evening Telegram was first published on April 3, 1879 by William James Herder. It adopted its current name in 1998, although it was also briefly published under this name in 1881...
. Other local papers include The Muse, The Gazette
The Gazette (Newfoundland)
The Gazette is the official newspaper of Memorial University of Newfoundland, located in St. John's, Newfoundland....
, Le Gaboteur, The Scope, The Business Post and The Current. St. John's also receives the nationally distributed newspaper The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail is a nationally distributed Canadian newspaper, based in Toronto and printed in six cities across the country. With a weekly readership of approximately 1 million, it is Canada's largest-circulation national newspaper and second-largest daily newspaper after the Toronto Star...
.
NTV
CJON-TV
CJON-DT is a Canadian English language television station broadcasting on channel 21 in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, with additional transmitters and cable coverage throughout the province. It is known on-air as NTV, for Newfoundland Television...
is an independent station
Independent station
An independent station is in the category of television terminology used to describe a television station broadcasting in the United States or Canada that is not affiliated with any television network....
, headquartered in St. John’s. The station sublicenses entertainment programming from Global
Global Television Network
Global Television Network is an English language privately owned television network in Canada, owned by Calgary-based Shaw Communications, as part of its Shaw Media division...
and news programming from CTV
CTV television network
CTV Television Network is a Canadian English language television network and is owned by Bell Media. It is Canada's largest privately-owned network, and has consistently placed as Canada's top-rated network in total viewers and in key demographics since 2002, after several years trailing the rival...
and Global, rather than purchasing primary broadcast rights. Rogers Cable
Rogers Cable
Rogers Cable Inc., a subsidiary of Rogers Communications Inc., is Canada's largest cable television service provider with about 2.25 million television customers, and over 930,000 Internet subscribers, in Manitoba, Southern & Eastern Ontario, New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador.The...
has its provincial headquarters in St. John’s, and their community channel Rogers TV airs local shows such as Out of the Fog and One Chef One Critic. CBC
CBC Television
CBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster.Although the CBC is supported by public funding, the television network supplements this funding with commercial advertising revenue, in contrast to CBC Radio which are...
has its Newfoundland and Labrador headquarters in the city and their television station CBNT
CBNT
CBNT-DT, channel 8, is a television station in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It serves as the CBC Television station for the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The station went on the air on October 1, 1964, as previous CBC...
broadcasts from University Avenue. CBAFT
CBAFT
CBAFT-DT, branded as Télévision de Radio-Canada Acadie, is Radio-Canada's television service in Atlantic Canada, serving Acadians in the Maritimes and Franco-Newfoundlanders in Newfoundland and Labrador....
is Radio-Canada's television service in Atlantic Canada
Atlantic Canada
Atlantic Canada is the region of Canada comprising the four provinces located on the Atlantic coast, excluding Quebec: the three Maritime provinces – New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia – and Newfoundland and Labrador...
which serves Franco-Newfoundlander
Franco-Newfoundlander
Franco-Newfoundlanders, also known as Franco-Terreneuvians in English or Franco-Terreneuviens in French, are francophone and/or French Canadian residents of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador...
s.
The city is home to 15 AM and FM radio stations, two of which are French-language stations. St. John's is the only Canadian city served by radio station
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
s whose call letters do not all begin with the letter C. The ITU prefix
ITU prefix
The International Telecommunication Union allocates call sign prefixes for radio and television stations of all types. They also form the basis for, but do not exactly match, aircraft registration identifiers. These prefixes are agreed upon internationally, and are a form of country code...
VO was assigned to the Dominion of Newfoundland
Dominion of Newfoundland
The Dominion of Newfoundland was a British Dominion from 1907 to 1949 . The Dominion of Newfoundland was situated in northeastern North America along the Atlantic coast and comprised the island of Newfoundland and Labrador on the continental mainland...
before the province joined Canadian Confederation
Canadian Confederation
Canadian Confederation was the process by which the federal Dominion of Canada was formed on July 1, 1867. On that day, three British colonies were formed into four Canadian provinces...
in 1949, and three AM stations kept their existing call letters. However, other commercial radio stations in St. John's which went to air after 1949 use the same range of prefixes (CF–CK) currently in use elsewhere in Canada, with the exception of VOCM-FM
VOCM-FM
VOCM-FM is a Canadian radio station broadcasting at 97.5 MHz from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. It is part of the Newcap Radio group. Presently the station is branded as 97-5 K-Rock and broadcasts a classic rock format, although some recent rock songs have lately become part of the...
, which was permitted to adopt the VOCM callsign because of its corporate association with the AM station that already bore that callsign. VO also remains in use in amateur radio
Amateur radio
Amateur radio is the use of designated radio frequency spectrum for purposes of private recreation, non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training, and emergency communication...
.
Sister cities
- Waterford
WaterfordWaterford is a city in the South-East Region of Ireland. It is the oldest city in the country and fifth largest by population. Waterford City Council is the local government authority for the city and its immediate hinterland...
, IrelandRepublic of IrelandIreland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
See also
- List of cities and towns in Newfoundland and Labrador
- Newfoundland and LabradorNewfoundland and LabradorNewfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...