Canadian province
Canada has ten provinces and three territories that are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Constitution of Canada, Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North Amer ...
of
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the populatio ...
. It is located on the northeast side of
Fortune Bay
Fortune Bay () is a fairly large natural bay located in the Gulf of St. Lawrence on the south coast of Newfoundland, Canada.Mi’kmaq
The Mi'kmaq (also ''Mi'gmaq'', ''Lnu'', ''Mi'kmaw'' or ''Mi'gmaw''; ; , and formerly Micmac) are an Indigenous group of people of the Northeastern Woodlands, native to the areas of Canada's Atlantic Provinces, primarily Nova Scotia, New Bru ...
of Newfoundland which used land on the "Neck" of the Harbour, they were joined in the early 1800s, by the English Dodge family and by Irishman Thomas Hynes Sr. European fishermen were first brought to the small community by English merchant family of Newman and Co. based in
Harbour Breton
Harbour Breton is a small fishing community on the Connaigre Peninsula in Fortune Bay, on the south coast of the island of Newfoundland in Canada. It is the largest center on the Connaigre Peninsula and was long considered the unofficial capital ...
, the firm of merchant John Gorman, and the Jersey firm of Nicholle and Co. The town had a population of 117 in the
Canada 2021 Census
The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canada, Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, whic ...
.
Geography
Its boundaries are established by the ''Town of English Harbour East Order'' under the ''Municipalities Act'' (Newfoundland and Labrador).
History and Economy
Used by the Mi'kmaq in the years prior to European settlement, English Harbour East was permanently settled by the 1830s. In 1831, prominent Newfoundland fisherman Thomas Hynes, who defied the Bait Act, was born in English Harbour East. George Dodge of England and his family were residents by 1835.
English Harbour East's steady growth in the mid to late 19th century coincided with the success of the cod and herring fishery in
Fortune Bay
Fortune Bay () is a fairly large natural bay located in the Gulf of St. Lawrence on the south coast of Newfoundland, Canada. Its residents were primarily
fishermen
A fisherman or fisher is someone who captures fish and other animals from a body of water, or gathers shellfish.
Worldwide, there are about 38 million commercial and subsistence fishers and fish farmers. Fishermen may be professional or recr ...
and planters at the time. English Harbour East also significantly prospered in conjunction with the herring fishery and the sale of bait to United States traders. This was despite laws forbidding such action and the patrol of Fortune Bay waters by wardens who frequently (with little success) warned residents of the law and were on the receiving end of their ire. One such case was where the patrolling officer warned an offender named Hackett and reported in annoyance: “got a fair share of slang (abuse) here from sea-lawyer Hackett; 2 seines, 5 crafts." During this period, a Way Office was established in 1883 on July 1, and a post office was created with the first Postmistress being Annie Hackett in 1891.
Beginning in the 1890s, the lobster fishery (including lobster factories) became a staple of income for many families in the town. In the first two decades of the 20th Century, salmon was also tinned by ambitious merchants. Many people moved to the area from such remote communities as Conne and New Harbour in the early to mid 20th Century.
Mass Exodus to Woods Island, Bay of Islands
Between 1897 and 1902, several dozens of families migrated from English Harbour East to Woods Island, Newfoundland and Labrador on Newfoundland's west coast in search of a better
herring
Herring are various species of forage fish, belonging to the Order (biology), order Clupeiformes.
Herring often move in large Shoaling and schooling, schools around fishing banks and near the coast, found particularly in shallow, temperate wate ...
fishery and living conditions.
20th century
By the mid-late 20th century, many workers of English Harbour East were forced to commute to work from outside the town. This pushed five families from 1965 and 1975 to resettle to the nearby towns of Harbour Mille, Harbour Breton, and Terrenceville. Road construction to connect English Harbour East to nearby
Grand le Pierre
Grand Le Pierre is a town in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The town had a population of 176 in the Canada 2021 Census.
History
During the 1990s, the council of Grand Le Pierre, led by Mayor George Fizzard, conceived a pla ...
for a distance of 6 miles began in 1970 and completed shortly thereafter at an estimated cost of $200,000.
The community was incorporated as a town in 1973 with residents mostly being employed in the fishery and a government wharf was built. This coincided with the addition of telephone service to the town that same year.
Vandalism became a serious problem in the small town in the mid-late 1990s as the school, several houses, and other buildings were broken into or damaged. In 1996, in response to various vandalism complaints, the community adopted the COPs program which was operated in July 1996 by resident Shirley Kearley. Kearley would patrol around the town and visit various buildings and vacant houses to help deter vandalism in the program which was the first of its kind for the
Burin Peninsula
The Burin Peninsula ( ) is a peninsula located on the south coast of the island of Newfoundland (island), Newfoundland in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Marystown is the largest population centre on the peninsula.Statistics Canada. 201 ...
.
In 2003, a complete waterfront infrastructure project was completed in the town to revitalize the fishing premises and government wharf area. This $600,000 retrofit including a concrete foundation rather than a wooden one.
In the first decade of the 21st Century, several fishing sheds from abandoned communities elsewhere in Newfoundland were moved to English Harbour East and restored.
Education
A
Roman Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
school was operating in English Harbour East by 1878.
Throughout the later part of the 20th century, the community was formally served by St. George's School, which in 1981 had students from Kindergarten to Grade Nine, and high school students were bussed to the nearby St. Joseph's school in
Terrenceville
Terrenceville is a small town located on the Burin Peninsula of Newfoundland, Canada, south west of Swift Current.
History
Terrenceville is located on the island of Newfoundland, approximately north of Marystown on Route 211. It was known as H ...
. St. George's School closed in 2006.
Culture and Religion
Despite beginning in 1836 as a majority of Church of England settlement, by 1874, English Harbour East's population was of majorly Roman Catholic residents.
In 1975, resident Margaret Bolt explained that once a month the community would have a "time" or party where all of the residents would gather to socialize.
Demographics
In the
2021 Census of Population
The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, which is sli ...
conducted by
Statistics Canada
Statistics Canada (StatCan; ), 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 culture. It is headquartered in ...
, English Harbour East 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.
See also
*
List of communities in Newfoundland and Labrador
This article lists unincorporated communities of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.
Incorporated towns and cities are incorporated municipalities and can be found on List of municipalities in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Newfoundl ...
Burin Peninsula
The Burin Peninsula ( ) is a peninsula located on the south coast of the island of Newfoundland (island), Newfoundland in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Marystown is the largest population centre on the peninsula.Statistics Canada. 201 ...
*
Newfoundland outport
An outport is the term given for a small coastal community in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Originally, the term was used for coastal communities on the island of Newfoundland, but the term has now been adopted for tho ...