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St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador

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St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador

St. John's (IPA: /seɪnt 'dʒɔnz/) is the provincial capital of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada; at a 2006 census population 100,646 (metropolitan population 181,113), it is the largest city in that province, and the oldest English-founded city in North America.[1] St. John's is a sister city with Waterford, Ireland.


 History

St. John's is the oldest English-founded settlement in North America.[1] 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 Jorge 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. At the time, he found 16 English ships with 20 French and Portuguese vessels using the harbour. There was no permanent population, however, and Gilbert was lost at sea during his return voyage, thereby ending any immediate plans of 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.

The first permanent European settlers arrived at St. John's in 1605. By 1620 the fishermen of England's West Country had excluded other nations from most of the east coast. In 1627, St. John's was "the principal prime and chief lot in all the whole country". The resident population grew slowly in the 17th century, but St. John's was by far the largest settlement in Newfoundland when English naval officers began to take censuses around 1675. Every summer the population swelled 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 defenses were probably erected due to commercial interests, following the temporary seizure of St. John's by the Dutch admiral Michiel de Ruyter in June, 1665. Regardless of the identity of those who built the defenses, the inhabitants were able to fend off a second Dutch attack in 1673. The British government began to plan fortifications around 1689, and these were constructed following the retaking of St. John's after the French admiral Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville captured and destroyed the town late in 1696. The French attacked St. John's again in 1705 and 1708, and devastated civilian structures with fire.

The harbour remained fortified through most of the 18th and 19th century. The final battle of the Seven Years' War in North America (the French and Indian War) was fought in 1762 in St. John's at the Battle of Signal Hill, in which the French surrendered St. John's to the British 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 banks fisheries. St. John's grew slowly, and although it was still primarily a fishing station, it was also a garrison, a centre of government and, increasingly, a commercial hub. St. John's served as a naval base during both the American Revolutionary War and the War of 1812.

Shanawdithit, the last known individual of the indigenous Beothuk people, died in a St. John's hospital of tuberculosis in 1824.

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 message at 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 was used by Royal Navy and Royal Canadian Navy ships used for protecting convoys. It was also the site of a large US Army base called Fort Pepperrell. This base was established as part of the "Lend-Lease" agreement between the UK and USA.

 Geography

The city is located on the northeast coast of the Avalon Peninsula in southeastern Newfoundland, and on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the most easterly city in North America, as well as the second largest city in Atlantic Canada (after Halifax, Nova Scotia). The downtown area lies to the north of St. John's Harbour, and the rest of the city expands uphill to the west, north, and east.

St. John's is the largest city in census Division No. 1.

 Climate

Of all major cities in Canada, St John's is the cloudiest (only 1,497 hours of sunshine a year), snowiest (359 cm; 11.8 ft), and has the most wet days per year (Environment Canada, 2005). However, St. John's has the third mildest winter in comparison to other Canadian cities. [2] St. John's has a Maritime climate with cool-to-warm summers, and relatively mild winters for Canada (cold by a world standard). Average highs and lows are 20°C (68°F)/10°C (50°F) in July and -1°C (30°F)/-8°C (17°F) in January. The annual precipitation is moderate to high, with an average of 1,640 millimetres (64.6 in) per year. 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.

St. John's Climatological Data
Temperature
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Mean
Record high °C (°F) 15 (59) 16 (61) 18 (64) 24 (75) 26 (79) 29 (84) 32 (90) 31 (88) 30 (86) 25 (77) 20 (68) 16 (61)
Average high °C (°F) -1 (30) -2 (28) 1 (34) 5 (41) 11 (52) 16 (61) 20 (68) 20 (68) 16 (61) 11 (52) 6 (43) 2 (36) 9 (48)
Mean °C (°F) -5 (23) -5 (23) -3 (27) 2 (36) 6 (43) 11 (52) 15 (59) 16 (61) 12 (54) 7 (45) 3 (37) -2 (28) 5 (41)
Average low °C (°F) -9 (16) -9 (16) -6 (21) -2 (28) 2 (36) 6 (43) 11 (52) 11 (52) 8 (46) 3 (37) -1 (30) -6 (21) 1 (34)
Record low °C (°F) -23 (-9) -24 (-11) -24 (-11) -15 (5) -7 (19) -3 (27) -1 (30) 1 (34) -1 (30) -6 (21) -13 (9) -20 (-4)
Precipitation and Sunshine Hours
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Total
Total mm (in) 150 (5.9) 125 (4.9) 131 (5.2) 122 (4.8) 101 (4.0) 102 (4.0) 89 (3.5) 108 (4.3) 131 (5.2) 162 (6.4) 144 (5.7) 149 (5.9) 1514 (59.6)
Rainfall mm (in) 74 (2.9) 61 (2.4) 77 (3.0) 94 (3.7) 94 (3.7) 101 (4.0) 89 (3.5) 108 (4.3) 131 (5.2) 160 (6.3) 116 (4.6) 89 (3.5) 1191 (46.9)
Snowfall cm (in) 80 (31.5) 67 (26.4) 52 (20.5) 26 (10.2) 6 (2.4) 1 (0.4) 0 (0) 0 (0) 0 (0) 3 (1.2) 26 (10.2) 61 (24.0) 322 (126.8)
Sunshine hours 72 91 109 117 158 177 216 196 140 106 72 59 1513
Temperature and Precipitation data recorded at St. John's International Airport by Environment Canada. Data spans 1971 to 2000.
Sunshine hours recorded at St. John's West CDA by Environment Canada. Data spans 1971 to 2000.

 Economy

St. John's economy has been continuously connected both to its role as a regional/national/provincial capital and to the ocean. Today, its continued growth is as much tied to what lies beneath the ocean – oil and gas – as what swims in or travels across the ocean. The city's economy is growing quickly, and the city has been identified as having one of the highest proportion of scientists and engineers per capita of any city under one million population in North America. 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.

This growth in St. John's and its surrounding suburban municipalities, particularly Paradise (+21%), Flatrock (+5%), Torbay (+5%), Conception Bay South (+3%) and Portugal Cove-St. Philip's (+2%) (all percentages indicate 1996-2001 growth) is in stark contrast to the population and economic collapse of much of the rest of the Province (St. John's metro area: -0.7% population; Rest of the province: -10.0% population). Many feel that the growth in St. John's has not particularly spread to the rest of the Province.

 Educational Institutions

St. John's hosts the following institutions of higher learning:

* the main campus of Memorial University of Newfoundland, including the Memorial University of Newfoundland Botanical Garden.
* the Marine Institute of Memorial University of Newfoundland.
* the College of the North Atlantic.
* the Academy Canada, Private College

 Recreation

 Sports

* St. John's is the home of the St. John's Fog Devils, a junior hockey team in the QMJHL. The Fog Devils' home stadium is Mile One Centre in downtown St. John's. The St. John's Maple Leafs of the AHL played in St. John's from 1990-91 until the 2004-2005 season, after which they relocated to Toronto, Ontario and became the Toronto Marlies.

* 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 considered important enough in the life of the city that the day of the Regatta (the first Wednesday with fine weather in August) is a civic holiday - one of the only weather-dependent holidays in the world.

* 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.

* Rugby union is a popular sport in St. John's. The current Rugby Canada Super League champions are the Newfoundland Rock who play at Swilers Rugby Park in St. John's. The city was also host to a Rugby World Cup qualifying match between Canada and the USA on 12 August 2006, where the Canadians heavily defeated the USA 56-7 to qualify for the 2007 Rugby World Cup finals in France.

* The 2005 Scott Tournament of Hearts, the Canadian women's curling championship, was held at Mile One Centre in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador 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.

* The late professional and WWE wrestler, Ed "Sailor" White, was born in St. John's.

* Ultimate Frisbee is a quickly-growing sport in the city, having an established League providing two seasons: the larger and more competitive Summer League and the Fall League, intended as a way to become acquainted with the basics of the sport. The provincial team, called Granite, plays from the city and will compete in the 2007 national championships.

 Nightlife

St. John's is reputed to have the most bars per capita of any city in North America; George Street in downtown St. John's is reputed to have the most bars per square foot in North America.

 Transportation

St. John's is the eastern terminus of the Trans-Canada Highway. (Victoria, British Columbia is the western terminus.)

The city is served by St. John's International Airport.

The city's public transportation system is Metrobus.

St. John's was the eastern terminus of the Newfoundland Railway until the abandonment and closure of the railway in September 1988.

 Demographics

(Unless otherwise identified, all statistics below are for the St. John's metro area, not the core city of St. John's.)

* According to the Canada 2006 Census:

City Metro
Population 100,646 181,113
Growth (2001-2006) 1.5
Dwellings 45,317
Area (km²) 446.04 804.64
Area (sq mi) 172.2 310.7
Density (persons per km²) 225.6 214.9

 Religion

Overwhelmingly Christian, the population of St. John's was once divided along sectarian (Catholic/Protestant) lines. This division was reinforced by a religious publicly funded school system. 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.
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 5,645 3.3%
**Pentecostal 3,865 2.3%
**Presbyterian 1,220 0.7%
**Baptist 495 0.3%
**Jehovah's Witness 425 0.2%
**Other Protestant 1,540 0.9%
*Christian, not included elsewhere 1,310 0.8%
Muslim 475 0.3%
Hindu 355 0.2%
Other religions 460 0.3%
No religion 6,990 3.9%

 Ethnic origins

Many of the earliest settlers of St. John's came from southeast Ireland, primarily Waterford, Wexford and Kilkenny. These origins can still be detected in similarities between accents from southeast Ireland and the traditional St. John's accent.
Ethnic origin Population Percent
Canadian 81,490 47.63%
English 73,545 42.98%
Irish 51,180 29.92%
Scottish 13,520 7.90%
French 7,125 4.16%
German 2,925 1.71%
Native American 1,990 1.16%

The information regarding ethnicities above is from the 2001 Canadian Census. The percentages add to more than 100% because of dual responses (e.g. "French-Canadian" generates an entry in both the category "French" and the category "Canadian".) Groups with greater than 1,500 responses are included.

 Crime

St. John's continuously has one of the lowest crime rates in Canada.

 Notable Persons from St. John's

 Media

 Radio

St. John's is currently the only Canadian city served by radio stations 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.

* 590 AM — VOCM (news/talk)
* 640 AM — CBN (CBC Radio One)
* 800 AM — VOWR (oldies/religious)
* 930 AM — CJYQ (Radio Newfoundland: local music and culture, all genres)
* 1210 AM — VOAR (Mount Pearl; religious)
* 92.3 FM — CICQ (Mount Pearl; tourist information)
* 93.5 FM — CHMR (Memorial University of Newfoundland campus radio)
* 94.7 FM — CHOZ (OZ FM, contemporary hit radio)
* 97.5 FM — VOCM (K-Rock 97.5, classic rock)
* 99.1 FM — CKIX (Hits FM, hot adult contemporary)
* 101.1 FM — CKSJ (Coast 101, adult contemporary)
* 101.9 FM — CBAX-2 (Espace musique)
* 105.9 FM — CBAF-17 (La Première Chaîne)
* 106.9 FM — CBN (CBC Radio Two)

 Television

* Channel 4 — CBFJ, SRC
* Channel 6 — CJON, independent station which airs a mix of Global and CTV programming; station is advertised as NTV
* Channel 8 — CBNT, CBC

 Print

* The Telegram (daily newspaper)
* The Independent (weekly newspaper)
* The Express (weekly newspaper, now discontinued)
* The Muse (weekly or, during summer months, bi-monthly Memorial University student newspaper)
* Le Gaboteur (Newfoundland and Labrador's only French-language newspaper; bi-monthly)
* The Scope (Newfoundland's only bi-weekly online and print alternative newspaper)
* Current (St. John's second bi-weekly newspaper)

 Sister cities

* Waterford, Ireland

 Mayors of St. John's


Current Mayor: Andy Wells Deputy Mayor: Dennis O'Keefe


 Notes

1. ^ a b Paul O'Neill, The Oldest City: The Story of St. John's, Newfoundland, 2003, ISBN 0-9730271-2-6.
2. ^ Environment Canada, http://atlantic-web1.ns.ec.gc.ca/climatecentre/default.asp?lang=En&n=83846147-1#champion

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St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador

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