Mary's Harbour is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

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 town had a population of 312 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 ...

, down from 341 in the

Canada 2016 Census The 2016 Canadian census was an enumeration of Canadian residents, which counted a population of 35,151,728, a change from its 2011 population of 33,476,688. The census, conducted by Statistics Canada, was Canada's seventh quinquennial censu ...

. It is serviced by Mary's Harbour Airport. Mary's Harbour surrounds the St. Mary's River, which was the site of a salmon fishery as early as the 1780s. However, Mary's Harbour was not a permanent settlement until after a fire at Battle Harbour in 1930. The International Grenfell Association decided to relocate its hospital and boarding school, destroyed by the fire, from Battle Harbour to Mary's Harbour. Mary's Harbour has always depended on the fishery for its livelihood. Since the

Collapse of the Atlantic northwest cod fishery In 1992, Atlantic cod, Northern cod biomass (ecology), populations fell to 1% of historical levels, in large part from decades of overfishing. The Canadian Minister of Fisheries and Oceans (Canada), Federal Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, John ...

the community has thrived on the

crab fishery Crab fisheries are fisheries which capture or Fish farming, farm crabs. True crabs make up 20% of all crustaceans caught and farmed worldwide, with about 1.4 million tonnes being consumed annually. The horse crab, ''Portunus trituberculatus'', ac ...

. The Labrador Fishermen's Union Shrimp Company employs over 120 people at the local crab processing facility. It is also the gateway to the National Historic District of Battle Harbour.

Climate

Mary's Harbour has a

subarctic climate The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a continental 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 ...

(

Koppen Koppen is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Dan Koppen (born 1979), American football offensive lineman * (1929–1990), German literary scholar * (1855–1922), German author * Otto C. Koppen (1901–1991), American aircraf ...

: Dfc) with cold winters in spite of its marine position, courtesy of the cold waters of the

Labrador Current The Labrador Current is a cold current in the North Atlantic Ocean which flows from the Arctic Ocean south along the coast of Labrador and passes around Newfoundland, continuing south along the east coast of Canada near Nova Scotia. Near Nova Sco ...

. Being located on the same latitude around from almost frost-free areas of

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 ...

, the difference between the two Atlantic coastlines is rather extreme. As typical of eastern Canada, Mary's Harbour receives heavy snowfall each winter. Unusually for such a climate, it has a pronounced

seasonal lag Seasonal lag is the phenomenon whereby the date of maximum average air temperature at a geographical location on a planet is delayed until some time after the date of maximum daylight (i.e. the summer solstice). This also applies to the minimum ...

, especially in the summer, with September averaging warmer than June and October warmer than May. A more typical subarctic climate, like

Oymyakon Oymyakon is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, rural locality (a ''village#Russia, selo'') in Oymyakonsky District of the Sakha Republic, Russia, located in the Yana-Oymyakon Highlands, along the Indigirka River, northwest of Tomtor, Oy ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

has a temperature lag of only about 15 days.

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 ...

, Mary's 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.

Notable residents

Yvonne Jones Yvonne Jean Jones (born March 15, 1968) is a Canadian politician in Newfoundland and Labrador, who served in the House of Commons of Canada from 2013 to 2025. She represented the district of Labrador as a member of the Liberal Party caucus. On ...

, Member of Parliament for

Labrador Labrador () is a geographic and cultural region within the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is the primarily continental portion of the province and constitutes 71% of the province's area but is home to only 6% of its populatio ...

; former Leader of the

Liberal Party of Newfoundland and Labrador The Liberal Party of Newfoundland and Labrador is a political party in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It is one of the three parties currently represented in the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly, and one of two t ...

References

Towns in Newfoundland and Labrador Populated places in Labrador {{Labrador-geo-stub

Climate

Demographics

Notable residents

See also

References