Burgeo ( ) is a town in the

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

province of

Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

. It is located mainly on Grandy Island, on the south coast of the island of

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

. It is an

outport An outport is any port considered secondary to a main port (including a provincial one as opposed to a capital one), and often (especially) a small port built to support the commercial operations of a large port. The Port of Tilbury from the Port ...

community. The town is approximately east of

Channel-Port aux Basques Channel-Port aux Basques is a town at the extreme southwestern tip of Newfoundland fronting on the western end of the Cabot Strait. A Marine Atlantic ferry terminal is located in the town which is the primary entry point onto the island of Newfoun ...

. Burgeo is home to

Sandbanks Provincial Park Sandbanks Provincial Park is a provincial park located on Lake Ontario in Prince Edward County near Picton, Ontario, Canada. The park is considered one of the best sandy beaches in Ontario and contains the largest bay-mouth barrier dune f ...

, named for its sand dunes and long expanses of flat, sandy beaches.

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; french: Statistique Canada), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and cultur ...

, Burgeo had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. The population was 900 in 1911, 2,474 in 1976, 1,607 in 2006, 1,464 in 2011, and 1,307 in 2016. The median age in the town was 60 in 2021.

Economy

The principal industry was fishing and fish processing until the town was one of many affected by 1992 cod moratorium. As such, the moratorium caused excessive outmigration.

Transport links

Burgeo has a

ferry A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi ...

dock with connections to

Ramea Ramea is a small village in Newfoundland and Labrador located on Northwest Island, one of a group of five major islands located off the south coast of Newfoundland, Canada. The island is approximately 3.14 km long by 0.93 km wide (1.95 ...

, Grey River and Francois. The town is also the southern terminus for Route 480 (Burgeo Highway), connecting Burgeo with the

Trans-Canada Highway The Trans-Canada Highway ( French: ; abbreviated as the TCH or T-Can) is a transcontinental federal–provincial highway system that travels through all ten provinces of Canada, from the Pacific Ocean on the west coast to the Atlantic Ocean o ...

( Route 1) and the rest of mainland Newfoundland.

Climate

Burgeo has a

subarctic climate The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of an ocean, ge ...

( Dfc) with long, cold winters and short, cool summers. Precipitation is heavy year round.

First Nations

Burgeo (''Najioqonuk'' in the

Miꞌkmaq language The Miꞌkmaq language (), or , is an Eastern Algonquian language spoken by nearly 11,000 Miꞌkmaq in Canada and the United States; the total ethnic Miꞌkmaq population is roughly 20,000. The native name of the language is , or (in some diale ...

) falls under the Flat Bay ward of the

Qalipu First Nation The Qalipu First Nation (Pronounced: ha-lee-boo, meaning: Caribou), is a Mi’kmaq band government, created by order-in-council in 2011 pursuant to the Agreement for the Recognition of the Qalipu Mi’kmaq Band. After the band was approved as a ...

. It is also home to the independent Burgeo First Nation Band, a local band of

Miꞌkmaq The Mi'kmaq (also ''Mi'gmaq'', ''Lnu'', ''Miꞌkmaw'' or ''Miꞌgmaw''; ; ) are a First Nations people of the Northeastern Woodlands, indigenous to the areas of Canada's Atlantic Provinces and the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec as well as the nort ...

that currently have status and non-status members. Non-status members are planning to seek status under the

Indian Act The ''Indian Act'' (, long name ''An Act to amend and consolidate the laws respecting Indians'') is a Canadian act of Parliament that concerns registered Indians, their bands, and the system of Indian reserves. First passed in 1876 and still ...

Notable people

The famed Canadian nature writer and naturalist

Farley Mowat Farley McGill Mowat, (May 12, 1921 – May 6, 2014) was a Canadian writer and environmentalist. His works were translated into 52 languages, and he sold more than 17 million books. He achieved fame with the publication of his books on the Can ...

lived in Burgeo for five years during his time in Newfoundland. He wrote several books during his time there, including the controversial ''A Whale for the Killing,'' which was later adapted into a

movie A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

loosely based on the book but with the same name. Mowat's wife,

Claire Mowat Claire Angel Mowat (born 5 February 1933) is a Canadian writer and environmentalist. Personal life Born on February 5, 1933, Mowat (née Wheeler) was raised and educated in Toronto, Ontario. She graduated from Havergal College and the Ontario Co ...

, wrote her book ''The Outport People'' about life in Burgeo although the town in the book is given the fictional name "Baleena". Route 480, also referred to as the Burgeo road, was a frequent subject for famed Canadian painter

Christopher Pratt John Christopher Pratt (December 9, 1935 – June 5, 2022) was a Canadian painter and printmaker.

References

External links

Town of Burgeo official website
{{Subdivisions of Newfoundland and Labrador, towns=yes, ICG=yes Populated coastal places in Canada Towns in Newfoundland and Labrador Fishing communities in Canada