Fox Harbour is a small community on the Avalon Peninsula 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 ...

. According to

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 ...

in 2011, the population was 270. It is surrounded by hills. It is located close to

Argentia Argentia ( ) is a Canadian commercial seaport and industrial park located in the Town of Placentia, Newfoundland and Labrador, Placentia, Newfoundland and Labrador. It is situated on the southwest coast of the Avalon Peninsula and defined by ...

, the site of the

Naval Station Argentia Naval Station Argentia is a former base of the United States Navy that operated from 1941 to 1994. It was established in the community of Argentia in the Dominion of Newfoundland, which later became the tenth Canadian province, Newfoundland and ...

. According to some sources, Fox Harbour got its name from tales of foxes that came down from the surrounding hills and ate the drying fish on the flakes. As well, the community was called Little Glocester before it became officially named Fox Harbour.

History

Fox Harbour started as a fishing community in the early 19th century by the three families of Matthew, Martin, and George Spurvey. However, fisherman from

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

had come overseas to fish there seasonally since the 18th century. All of them returned to England in the 1820s except for a Matthew Spurvey. Other families had settled in Fox Harbour by then with the arrival of Healey, Kelly and Dreaddy families from Ireland in 1806. The population grew over time, and peaked at 746. Fox Harbour was incorporated in 1964, and the council building opened in 1969. The council building now incorporates the fire station, the library, museum, and the council office.

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

, Fox Harbour 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.

Religion

The population of Fox Harbour is predominantly

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 ...

. The Roman Catholic Church, the only church in Fox Harbour, was built in 1890. Before the church was built, the people of Fox Harbour had to boat to Argentia to attend church service. In October, 1919 the original church was torn down and a new church built. In 1945, Fox Harbour became a

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

and was called Sacred Heart Parish. Fr. Penny was the first appointed parish priest. Recently the Fox Harbour parish joined with the Placentia area to become the ''Placentia Area Roman Catholic Cluster''.

Education

The first school established in Fox Harbour was in 1848. St. Regis was built in 1946 and expanded in 1956. High school students were initially schooled at Laval High School in Placentia. When St. Anne's Academy was opened, the high school students from St. Regis moved from Laval to St. Anne's which was closer to home. However, in the early 1990s St. Regis closed its doors and all students are now bused to St. Anne's Academy from kindergarten to grade six, and Laval from grade seven to grade twelve.

The Fox Harbour Festival

In 1993 Fox Harbour had its first festival. It has been held every year since then. The festival is held in the last weekend of July. It commences with a cemetery mass followed by a garden party on the Sunday previous to the festival week. During the following week many events are held, including dances for adults and children, and a concert. On Saturday, there is a

softball Softball is a Variations of baseball, variation of baseball, the difference being that it is played with a larger ball, on a smaller field, and with only underhand pitches (where the ball is released while the hand is primarily below the ball) ...

tournament; all residents and visitors are invited to participate (usually in four teams). The turnout is good and the games are lively. Following the softball game a dance is held that night. On Sunday afternoon, a local variety show is held that includes all the local talent. Local residents organize the event; they are called the ''Fox Harbour Festival Committee''. Image:beautiful fox harbour.jpg, Fox Harbour Sunset Image:Fox Harbour Community.JPG, The Town of Fox Harbour Image:FoxHarbour.jpg, A Foggy Morning in Fox Harbour

References

Statistics Canada Census of Fox Harbour 2011

External links

*

Fox Harbour - Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador, vol. 2, p. 356-358.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fox Harbour, Newfoundland And Labrador Towns in Newfoundland and Labrador