The Economy of newfoundland From Confederation to Confederation
It has been argued that Newfoundland should never have joined Canada in 1949. There were many people who believe that Newfoundland had a strong enough economy to survive on their own, as a producer of many goods. It was involved in many industries, with the fishery being the major producer of goods in the Newfoundland region. This paper will explore the economic history of Newfoundland and also explore the reasons why Newfoundland would have been better off if they had joined Canada in the 1864 Confederation.The issue of Newfoundland joining Confederation was one that was brought up on many occasions. In 1864, two members of the Newfoundland Assembly Were sent to the Quebec Conference (Rothney 1964, 22). They were F.T.B. Carter and Ambrose Shea. They were sent with the blessing of the governor, but had no authority to commit Newfoundland to Confederation. The talks went well and the two delegates returned to Newfoundland with great things to say about joining with Canada. Their speeches were heard, but Confederation was turned down at that time. In 1869, terms were negotiated and agreed upon by the Newfoundland delegation and Ottawa (MacKenzie 1986, 8). However, in the Newfoundland election that followed the agreem
MacKenzie, David. 1986. Inside The Atlantic Triangle. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. n, and Canadians were driving for a harder bargain. Confederation talks collapsed, leaving bad feelings on all sides. This incident also solidified a strong resentment towards Canada by many Newfoundlanders. Newfoundland's financial collapse reawakened the issue of Confederation with Canada (MacLeod 1994, 22). Since the turn of the century, union with Canada had rarely been discussed. At this time, the Newfoundland government favored a union with Canada. However, the Canadian government had to look at the idea a little closer. There were two conflicting issues. One was that if Newfoundland joined Canada, Canada would have to take the burden of Newfoundland's enormous debt. The other was that is was not in Canada's best interest to let Newfoundland go under financially. The collapse of Newfoundland may reflect the rest of Canada, and that may affect foreign relations. Once again however, Confederation was refused because to Canada, the union was financially impossible. MacLeod, Malcolm. 1994. Kindred Countries: Newfoundland Before Confederation. Ottawa: The Canadian Historical Association. >From the above history, one can see that Newfoundland would have been much better off if they had joined Canada at an earlier time. There was nothing wrong with Newfoundland wanting to remain on their own, but it was easy to see that such a small country would never be able to sustain a stable and prospering economy. Without the fishing industry, there was little else in Newfoundland for economic development. Clearly, foreign trade was an essential element to Newfoundland's economy. Newfoundland's major source of income was and still is the fishing industry. The role of the fishing industry was central. In 1935, the cod fishery alone employed more than thirty-four thousand men (Mackenzie 1986, 5). It is easy to see that one small fluctuation in the foreign market could either make it or break it for most of the population in Newfoundland. If exports went up, the fishermen and the government were better off. If exports went down, the fishermen and the government were worse off. As a result, the standard of living would rise and fall in accordance with expansions or contractions in the outside world. In 1895, this situation had shifted dramatically (Rowe 1980, 305). The bank cash of 1894 had sparked a severe financial crisis in Newfoundland and the government was confronted with the problem of being unable to meet its interest payments. The confederation issue was brought up once again to hopefully solve this crisis. In April of 1895, a conference was held in Ottawa to negotiate possible terms for Confederation. Newfoundland's proposals followed the lines of those discussed in 1888, with consideration given to the country's immediate needs. However, Mackenzie Bowell felt that he could not be overly generous because of the effect that this might have on the other Maritime Provinces. Also, he was concerned about taking Newfoundland's entire debt. Newfoundland wanted Canada to take over their entire debt, but Canada was not willing to do this because of their own economic problems. It was hard to negotiate because Newfoundland was negotiating from an economically weak positio! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The only other sources of income for Newfoundland came from its forests, and mineral wealth
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Approximate Word count = 2327
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)
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