The Newfoundland Act was an
Act of the
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...
that confirmed and gave effect to the Terms of Union agreed to between the then-separate
Dominions of
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
and
Newfoundland on March 23, 1949. It was originally titled the
British North America Act 1949, but was renamed in Canada on the
patriation
Patriation is the political process that led to full Canadian sovereignty, culminating with the Constitution Act, 1982. The process was necessary because under the Statute of Westminster 1931, with Canada's agreement at the time, the British parl ...
of the
Canadian Constitution
The Constitution of Canada (french: Constitution du Canada) is the supreme law in Canada. It outlines Canada's system of government and the civil and human rights of those who are citizens of Canada and non-citizens in Canada. Its contents ar ...
from the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
in 1982.
In exchange for Newfoundland becoming a province, the Canadian government took over the
Newfoundland Railway
The Newfoundland Railway operated on the island of Newfoundland from 1898 to 1988. With a total track length of , it was the longest narrow-gauge railway system in North America.
Early construction
]
In 1880, a committee of the Newfoundland Leg ...
,
Gander International Airport, Newfoundland Airport (now Gander International Airport),
public broadcasting
Public broadcasting involves radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing ...
, telegraph services and other services that fell under federal control. The federal government assumed responsibility for Newfoundland's debt.
Newfoundland was also given statutory subsidies, a special subsidy of $1.1 million, the right to enter into tax rental agreements with the federal government and an additional transitional grant of $3.5 million, diminishing by 10 per cent per year for a total of 12 years. Also, as a safety net, it was agreed a
Royal Commission would review finances.
Previous Newfoundland Acts
Prior to the 1949 Act there were a handful of Acts with revisions to the Newfoundland's Constitution:
* Newfoundland Act 1699 - encourage and established trade (fisheries) links in the region; also called King William's Act
* Newfoundland Act 1842 - established an appointed upper
Legislative Council and elected lower
House of Assembly
House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level.
Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible gove ...
* Newfoundland Act 1933 - suspended responsible government with the
General Assembly of Newfoundland and Labrador
The General Assembly of Newfoundland and Labrador (known as the General Assembly of Newfoundland until 6 December 2001) is the legislature of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Today, the legislature is made of two elements: the m ...
dissolved and established rule by
Newfoundland Commission
See also
*
Malaysia Act 1963
The Malaysia Act 1963 (1963 C 35) was an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom. It came into operation on 31 July 1963.
The Act made provisions for the federation of the States of North Borneo, Sarawak and Singapore with the existing Stat ...
*
Hong Kong Act 1985
The Hong Kong Act 1985 (c. 15) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that made provision for the ratification of the Sino-British Joint Declaration that was signed on 19 December 1984 in Beijing that agreed to end British sovereign ...
References
External links
Newfoundland Act text*
British North American Act, 1949 (Newfoundland Act) audio reading of act by
LibriVox
LibriVox is a group of worldwide volunteers who read and record public domain texts, creating free public domain audiobooks for download from their website and other digital library hosting sites on the internet. It was founded in 2005 by Hugh Mc ...
(57m23s)
{{Canada topic, Constitution of
Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom concerning Canada
Canada and the Commonwealth of Nations
Constitution of Canada
Political history of Newfoundland and Labrador
United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1949
Legal history of Canada
1949 in Canada
1949 in international relations
Dominion of Newfoundland law
1949 in Newfoundland
March 1949 events in Canada
United Kingdom and the Commonwealth of Nations