Never to Forget

Newfoundland came into Confeder­ation with no familiarity of federalism. The new province had experienced bankruptcy and a loss of responsible government in 1934, suffering the humiliation of being just one of two British colonies to do so (the other being Malta in 1933). In lieu of Newfoundland governing itself, its leaders opted for rule-by-committee in the form of a British-appointed commission. This state of affairs persisted until March 31, 1949, the day Newfoundland became a province on the slimmest of margins—a 52 to 48 split in the last of two bitterly contested referendums the previous year.

In socioeconomic terms, the new province was in a class of its own. Less than 50 percent of Newfoundland households (26 percent in rural communities) had electricity, while comparable rates in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick were 79 percent and 74 percent. Similar discrepancies were found...