Provincial Motto:

Quaerite prime regnum dei (Seek ye first the kingdom of God)

Land Area:

• Total: 405,720 sq. km
• Newfoundland (island section): 111,390 sq. km
• Labrador (mainland section): 294,330 sq. km

Geographical Information:

The province consists of two sections, the island of Newfoundland and the mainland portion of Labrador. The most easterly Canadian province, the island is situated at the mouth of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The province lies between the 46th and 61st parallels; most of the island lies below the 50th parallel.

To view maps of various areas of Newfoundland and Labrador see the Index of Maps Used on the Site.

Population (2007):

• Total: 506,275
• Labrador: 26,890
• Newfoundland: 479,385

Languages Spoken (2006):

• English 97.6%
• French 0.4%
• Other 2.0%

Date entered Confederation with Canada:

• March 31, 1949

Capital City: St. John's

• location: Avalon Peninsula
• city population (2006): 100,646
• metro-area population (2006): 181,113

Average Temperatures:

Government

Queen Elizabeth II during her 1997 visit to St. John's, Newfoundland. Reproduced by permission of Kimberley Churchill. Photo ©1997.

Queen Elizabeth II As the reigning monarch of Great Britain, the Queen is the head of state for Canada. She is represented federally by the Governor General and in each province by a lieutenant governor.

Frank F. Fagan and Mary Patricia Fagan Reproduced by permission of Government House. Photo ©2013.

Lieutenant Governor The present Lieutenant Governor is the Hon. Frank F. Fagan, who was appointed as the Queen's representative in Newfoundland and Labrador on March 19, 2013. The Lieutenant Governor has a web site at http://www.mun.ca/govhouse.

Premier The Hon. Kathy Dunderdale is the current premier of Newfoundland and Labrador. Leader of the Progressive Conservative Party which won the provincial election in October 2011, she is the tenth post-confederation premier of Newfoundland and Labrador.

This information was compiled from a variety of sources by Wendy Churchill, Alex Dalziel, Vanessa Rice and others, and is accurate to May, 2013.

Sidebar updated December, 2011.