Newfoundland independent?

[James G]

Newfoundland was long separate from Canada but economic factors drove it into joining the confederation which is Canada.
Can Newfoundland stay independent? Up to the current day too?

[stevep]

Aug 7, 2019 9:01:43 GMT James G said:

Newfoundland was long separate from Canada but economic factors drove it into joining the confederation which is Canada.
Can Newfoundland stay independent? Up to the current day too?

  Possible but I think its likely to have economic problems at some point and it has a small population.  Also I think pretty much its only asset is the Grand Banks fisheries and even before their OTL exhaustion this was compromised by the fact that assorted nations, including the US and France - and possibly Britain - had access by assorted treaties.

[Middlesex_Toffeeman]

I could see Newfoundland being used as a pawn (along with Labrador and the Maritimes) in the event that La République de Québec is established. One imagines in such a situation lots of bribery may be directed in the direction of the East of Canada in order to beat it into remaining in the status quo…

[1bigrich]

Aug 7, 2019 9:01:43 GMT James G said:

Newfoundland was long separate from Canada but economic factors drove it into joining the confederation which is Canada.
Can Newfoundland stay independent? Up to the current day too?

James,

I think Newfoundland could certainly be independent, especially in the current day with the offshore oil.   Newfoundland and Labrador were an independent Dominion of the British Empire since 1907.

In 1933 their debt from World War I led the Dominion legislature to vote itself out of existence in exchange for load guarantees from the Crown, and a British appointed commission took over, with the corollary that the legislature would be reinstated when things were better.   The Dominion Legislature never returned.    When the Dominion was on a good footing during World War 2, there was a call for an end to the commission and return of the legislature.   Instead, the British created a national convention on Newfoundland's future.   The British wanted a referendum on confederation with Canada, which the convention rejected.   But the British overruled the convention.   

I've spoken offline with BC Renown from the BC Board.   He's a Newfie, and he says at the time the majority of opinion was for Independence or joining the United States (there's a start for an alternate history 51st state...) 

A vote was held in June of 1948, but none of the three options (confederation, independence, continuing the commission government) got over 50 percent of the vote.   A second referendum was held in July,with only independence or confederation as choices, and that vote was 52.3% to 47.7% for confederation.    A very close-run vote, it could have easily went the other way..

On a side note, we had some fun with the Dominion fielding a capital ship in World War 2 over on the NavWeaps Design board.   I've reposted the image and the hypothetical here:

www.tapatalk.com/groups/alltheworldsbattlecruisers/battleship-neptune-in-world-war-ii-t8721.html

Regards,

.  

[lordroel]

Aug 7, 2019 9:01:43 GMT James G said:

Newfoundland was long separate from Canada but economic factors drove it into joining the confederation which is Canada.
Can Newfoundland stay independent? Up to the current day too?

Face to Face | Should Newfoundland have joined Confederation?