East Coast Provinces

Canada’s easternmost province is, as the name implies, two distinct geographic areas: the Island of Newfoundland at the mouth of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and the mainland portion of Labrador on the Ungava Peninsula east of Quebec. Two of the planet’s great ocean currents – the warm Gulf Stream and the cold Labrador Current – meet and mix on a huge and shallow underwater continental shelf just offshore, stirring up basic nutrients that provide a huge natural larder. The cold water brings 10,000-year-old icebergs south, where they cross paths with 5,000 northward migrating humpback whales, and 35 million seabirds soar overhead.

Seabirds nest on cliffs and offshore islands, chowing down on seafood for their hungry chicks, while whales tarry to feed on the abundant fish. The fish also brought the Europeans, who began a seasonal fishing industry as early as the 16th century. The now mainly English-Irish human population is gradually changing through immigration. The food is changing, too, as hot young chefs take traditional ingredients and reimagine them in wholly new ways, drawing rave reviews from Copenhagen to New York. The aboriginal people have been here 9,000 years, and built the oldest known funeral mound on the continent in southern Labrador 7,500 years ago.

There are three UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including the Viking settlement founded 1,000 years ago. Music is huge, and the east end of the capital, St. John’s, has more artists than any other post code in the country. St. John’s is a lively old seaport with a modern beat where people speak a variety of English so distinct it has its own 350-page dictionary.