Living on the Edge - Newfoundland & Labrador in Confederation

After years of Liberal leadership, a new conservative government is at the helm in both Ottawa and in Newfoundland and Labrador. Over the years many people have expressed concern about how things have gone since the Province joined Confederation in 1949. Time will tell if the approaches taken by both levels of government over the next few years will have an impact on those concerns, but one thing is certain, a lot of people are not satisfied.

Although there has never been a concerted or organized effort to build support for separation within the Newfoundland and Labrador population, statistics show that a strong level of dissatisfaction is never the less alive and well among the residents.

The 2005 Portraits of Canada survey, an annual survey of public opinion conducted by CRIC, found that:

37 percent of Atlantic Canadians felt that the federal government had become irrelevant to them. In Newfoundland & Labrador that number was a staggering 44 percent, while Ontario had the lowest level of discontent among Canadian provinces at 28 percent.

Only 18 percent of Newfoundlanders and Labradoreans felt that their province was being treated with sufficient respect by Ottawa. Not surprisingly, once again, Ontario had the highest satisfaction numbers, with 62 percent saying they felt their province received the respect it deserved. What's surprising in the survey is the responses from the people of Quebec, where separation has been high on the agenda for decades. 35 percent of Quebec respondents felt they are receiving a reasonable level of respect from Ottawa.

It's interesting that in a Province where 35 percent of the population feels Ottawa is responding to their needs, a large separation movement exists, while a Province where only 18 percent of the population were satisfied, no such movement is prevelent. Interesting as well is the fact that as soon as a Newfoundlander or Labradorean expresses their concerns in this area they are generally labeled a groaner or told how good they have it while in Quebec any issues that arise are at least listened too.

With respect to Newfoundland & Labrador, the problem of a lack of fair and respectful treatment was also identified in the Royal Commission survey which, although considered flawed in many areas, found that:

A slight majority (51 percent) listed ‘not being treated with respect/fairly by the federal government’ as a reason for their dissatisfaction.

A significant group (26 percent) listed ‘not being treated with respect/fairly by other Canadians’ as a reason.

The Final Report stated the following among other things.

Newfoundlanders and Labradoreans do not believe that the province has yet found its full place in Canada. There is a strong sense that the fundamental issues facing the province are not well understood by the federal government, and are too often ignored or dismissed as “regional” and far less important than concerns seen as “central.” The overwhelming sentiment is that the status quo is totally unacceptable.

The report also noted that, by and large, Canadians outside of Newfoundland and Labrador recognize the uniqueness of the Province with 72% of those polled saying they see Newfoundlanders and Labradoreans as a distinct culture. Not surprising since the Province was a separate country before Joining Canada. This is very telling in that Quebec has been recognized in this way for some time however Newfoundland and Labrador never has.

The numbers speak for themselves. They tell the story of a centralist country where Ontario, the seat of power, has enough federal representatives to ensure that their needs are met. They tell the story of a Quebec with enough of separatist sentiment and federal seats to ensure that they are being heard loud and clear. They also tell the story of Atlantic Canada, with Newfoundland and Labrador clearly the most dissatisified, being neglected and forgotten thanks to their pitifully small voice in Ottawa.

I believe a lot of the dissatisfaction is due to two primary reasons:

1. Being ignored by Ottawa on a regular basis because of the current structure of the centralist Canadian government.

2. When the smaller Provinces find themselves at odds with larger Provinces like Ontario or Quebec, they generally end up on the losing end, even when in the right, simply because politicians know they need to keep the larger Provinces happy if they hope to remain in power.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to pit Newfoundland and Labrador against our bigger brothers in Confederation, Heavon's no. I don't believe the majority of people in the Province have a problem with any of the other Provinces generally. What they do seem to have a major problem with is Ottawa itself and the way things are done there. As far as most federal politicians are concerned, all Canadians are important, from Coast to Coast, all the way from BC to Quebec.