Change Islands 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 in the

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 ...

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 ...

. The community spans two small islands of the same name which lie off the northeast coast of the island of

Newfoundland 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 population ...

between

Notre Dame Bay Notre Dame Bay is a large bay in Newfoundland, Canada. To the south it adjoins the Bay of Exploits. The name, French for '' Our Lady Bay'', dates to at least 1550, and is possibly a French translation of an earlier Portuguese name. Trump Isl ...

and the

Labrador Sea The Labrador Sea (; ) is an arm of the North Atlantic Ocean between the Labrador Peninsula and Greenland. The sea is flanked by continental shelf, continental shelves to the southwest, northwest, and northeast. It connects to the north with Baffi ...

. The community of Change Islands is located primarily on the larger South Island, today hosting approximately 184 residents, though most of the public buildings are on the North Island. The Newfoundland Pony Refuge is located on Change Islands.

Geography

The southern and northern Change Islands are separated by a "tickle" (a narrow

strait A strait is a water body connecting two seas or water basins. The surface water is, for the most part, at the same elevation on both sides and flows through the strait in both directions, even though the topography generally constricts the ...

, in

Newfoundland English Newfoundland English refers to several accents and dialects of Atlantic Canadian English found in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Most of these differ significantly from the English commonly spoken elsewhere in Canada and North Amer ...

). The South Island is larger, containing more

marsh In ecology, a marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous plants rather than by woody plants.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p More in genera ...

es/

bog A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and musk ...

s, and wooded area, the North Island is smaller, mostly barren. It is located in

, on the northeast coast of the island of Newfoundland. The community was first established as a series of random settlements around the islands tied to seasonal fishing activity which developed into a cohesive community, but by the early 1960s only Red Rock Cove (at the middle of the southern island) and Woody Island Tickle (approximately at the ferry terminal at the south of the southern island) remained. Most of the remaining settlements (Granpher's Cove, etc.) on either side of the tickle effectively incorporated into one entity. Remoter places (Gannis Island, etc.) were gradually abandoned. The first European settlers arrived sometime in the mid-18th century to fish. The residents of Change Islands have preserved many of their traditional homes,

stages Stage, stages, or staging may refer to: Arts and media Acting * Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions * Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage" * ''The Stage'', a weekly Brit ...

, and stores (fishing sheds); many of these landmarks are disappearing in much of coastal Newfoundland and Labrador with the collapse of the ground fishery. There are a few accommodation facilities on the islands, which are accessible by the MV ''Veteran'', the provincially operated ferry from Farewell that also services Fogo Island further to the east.

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 ...

, Change Islands 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.

People

*Artist

Gerald Squires Gerald Leopold "Gerry" Squires, (November 17, 1937 – October 3, 2015) was a Canadian artist. Best known for painting dramatic landscapes in acrylic and oil, Squires also produced major work in sculpture, lithography and stained glass. He was a ...

was born in Change Islands."Gerald Squires’ humble beginnings"
''Gander Beacon'', Clarence Ngoh, Oct 02, 2017

References

{{Subdivisions of Newfoundland and Labrador, towns=yes, ICG=yes Islands of Newfoundland and Labrador Towns in Newfoundland and Labrador Road-inaccessible communities of Newfoundland and Labrador Islands of the Labrador Sea Fishing communities in Canada

Geography

Demographics

People

See also

References