St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
City of St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador | |
---|---|
Nickname: "The City of Legends" | |
Motto: Avancez ("Go forward") | |
Country | Canada |
Province | Newfoundland and Labrador |
Established | August 5, 1583 by Royal Charter of Queen Elizabeth I |
Government | |
• City Mayor | Andy Wells |
• Governing body | St. John's City Council |
• MPs | List of St. John's MPs |
• MHAs | List of St. John's MHAs |
Elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
Population (2001) | |
• City | 99,512 |
• Metro | 172,918 |
• Metro density | 214.9/km2 (557/sq mi) |
19th Largest metropolitain area in Canada | |
Time zone | UTC-3:30 (NST) |
Website | St. John's website |
The Canadian city of St. John's (2001 census population 99,512, metropolitan population 172,918) is the provincial capital of Newfoundland and Labrador, its largest city 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 Portuguese in the Azores followed in the early 16th century, and by 1540 French, Spanish and Portuguese 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 surrounding it, 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. St. Jehan is shown on Nicholas Desliens world map of 1541 and San Joham 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 first permanent 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 defences were probably erected by 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 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 twice more 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.
The core of the city was destroyed by fire several times, the most famous of which was the Great Fire of 1892.
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 beautiful northeast coast of the Avalon Peninsula in southeastern Newfoundland, and on the large 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 exists 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 of Canada, St John's is the cloudiest (only 1,497 hours of sunshine a year), foggiest (124 days a year), windiest (24.3 km/h; 15.1 mph average), snowiest (359 cm; 11.8 ft), and wettest (1,514 mm; 59.6 in). 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/high, with an average of 1,640 millimetres (64.6 in) per year. The city is also one the country's most prone areas for tropical cyclone activity as it is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to its east, where tropical storms and sometimes hurricanes travel.
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.
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 previously played in St. John's, until they relocated and became the Toronto Marlies in 2005.
- St. John's is home to North America's oldest continuously held 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.
- 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.
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.
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 2001 Census:
City | Metro | |
---|---|---|
Population | 99,182 | 172,918 |
Growth (1996-2001) | -2.7% | -0.7% |
Dwellings | 42,443 | 69,118 |
Area (km²) | 446.04 | 804.63 |
Area (sq mi) | 172.2 | 310.7 |
Density (persons per km²) | 222.4 | 214.9 |
Density (persons per sq mi) | 576 | 556.6 |
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 | 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 the southeast of Ireland, primarily Waterford, Wexford and Kilkenny. These origins can still be detected in similarities between accents from that part of 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% |
North American Indian | 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.
Miscellany
- It was at St. John's that the first known letter was sent from North America. On August 3, 1527, John Rut wrote a letter to King Henry on his findings of his voyage to North America.
- It was at St. John's that Guglielmo Marconi received the first transatlantic wireless message, and it was from there that the first nonstop transatlantic flight was begun (ending in Ireland) in 1919 by Alcock and Brown.
- The National War Memorial is located on the waterfront in St. John's where in 1583, Sir Humphrey Gilbert claimed the region as England's first overseas colony.
- St. John's is the site of the Oxen Pond Botanical Garden Newfoundland Museum, Memorial University, and the College of the North Atlantic.
- St. John's continuously has one of the lowest crime rates in Canada.
- St. John's has the most bars per capita in North America; George Street in downtown St. John's has the most bars per square foot in North America.
- St. John's is said to be the oldest English city in North America, and hence home to the oldest street, Water Street.
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
- The Telegram (daily newspaper)
- The Independent (weekly newspaper)
- The Express (weekly newspaper)
- 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)
Sister cities
Mayors of St. John's
See List of mayors of St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador.
Current Mayor: Andy Wells Deputy Mayor: Dennis O'Keefe
See also
Notes
- ^ a b Paul O'Neill, The Oldest City: The Story of St. John's, Newfoundland, 2003, ISBN 0-9730271-2-6.
- ^ Environment Canada, http://atlantic-web1.ns.ec.gc.ca/climatecentre/default.asp?lang=En&n=83846147-1#champion
External links
- City of St. John's
- Early Newfoundland Settlement Schemes
- Newfoundland and Labrador's Provincial Register of Historic Places
- Pictures of St. John's
- St. John's and Area
- Documentary film Rain, Drizzle, and Fog
North: Torbay, Logy Bay-Middle Cove-Outer Cove, and Flatrock, and Pouch Cove | ||
West: Portugal Cove-St. Philip's, Paradise, Mount Pearl, Conception Bay South | St. John's | East: Petty Harbour-Maddox Cove, |
South: Division No. 1, Subd. D, Bay Bulls |