Establishments like the Caribou Hut and the Red Triangle Club frequently hosted dances and other forms of entertainment which promoted extensive intermingling between resident civilians and foreign troops. Less quantifiable, though immensely pervasive, were the social impacts brought about by the sudden exposure of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians to the thousands of American and Canadian military personnel stationed in their previously isolated country. The establishment of the Canadian airfield at Goose Bay had a particularly profound effect in western Labrador, where almost overnight, radio, air travel, and snowmobiles put the previously remote and undeveloped area in close contact with the rest of the world.
The Canadians also provided Newfoundland and Labrador with much in the way of social capital, including airports at Torbay, Gander, and Botwood, and hospitals at St. They also made various health services available to the public during the war, and later turned over to civilian use their hospitals at Fogo Island, Goose Bay, Pleasantville, and other areas.
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John’s to Stephenville, reconstructed the 54-mile highway between Holyrood and Argentia, and helped upgrade the Newfoundland Railway’s Whitbourne to Argentia track. The Americans helped modernize the island’s communication system by installing aerial cables from St. It also created a Labour Relations Office to protect the interests of Newfoundland and Labrador contract workers being recruited by North American employers.Īlthough the Commission increased spending on health care, communication, and transportation, it was the United States and Canadian Armed Forces that made the largest contributions in these spheres.
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In August 1942, it made school attendance mandatory and free of charge for children between the ages of seven and 14. The Commission, which in 1941 reported a surplus for the first time in years, suddenly possessed ample resources to initiate much-needed social reforms. The establishment of Canadian and American bases in the early 1940s, however, sparked an economic revival in Newfoundland and Labrador as millions of foreign dollars were poured into the local economy. Because the Commission had little money to spend on roads or telecommunications, many rural residents were isolated from other communities and practiced a way of life that had remained largely unchanged for generations.
Widespread poverty and destitution had resulted in high rates of tuberculosis, malnutrition, and infant mortality, which the country’s poorly funded health system could do little to combat. When war broke out in 1939, Newfoundland and Labrador was in financial straits – unemployment was rampant and government spending that year exceeded its income by more than $4 million. Ultimately, the social changes of the 1940s helped shape the country’s constitutional future, which cumulated in Confederation. Standards of living rose, styles of dress changed, new friendships – both romantic and platonic – were forged, and the introduction of American radio and other forms of entertainment did much to integrate Newfoundland and Labrador into North American culture and distance it from Great Britain’s.
The presence of thousands of visiting Canadian and American troops also altered values and attitudes previously entrenched in Newfoundland and Labrador society. Advancements were made in health care, education, transportation, communication, and other fields. The establishment of foreign bases provided the Commission of Government with an unforeseen amount of wealth, which it used to improve social services.
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The Second World War triggered a series of rapid and far-reaching social changes in Newfoundland and Labrador. (Related Articles: For other related articles view the Second World War section of the Government and Politics Table of Contents.) Stephenville Integrated High School Project.Une série de documentaires (en français).
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