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Paradise 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 ...
on the
Avalon Peninsula The Avalon Peninsula () is a large peninsula that makes up the southeast portion of the island of Newfoundland in Canada. It is in size. The peninsula is home to 270,348 people, about 52% of the province's population, according to the 2016 Ca ...
in the province 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 ...
, Canada. Paradise is the third largest settlement in the province and is part of the St. John's metropolitan area, the 20th largest metropolitan area in Canada. The town borders the City of St. John's, the City of
Mount Pearl Mount Pearl is the fourth-largest municipality and second-largest city in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The city is located southwest of St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, St. John's, on the eastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the isla ...
, the Town of Portugal Cove-St. Philip's, and the town of
Conception Bay South Conception Bay South is a town in the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The town is commonly called CBS. The town is located on the Avalon Peninsula which forms part of the southern shore of Conception Bay which is in turn part of ...
. In the 2021 Census of Population 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 ...
, Paradise 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. Based on the 2016 Census, the median income for the Town of Paradise was $107,542 before taxes and a median income of $89,037 after taxes.


Geography

Precambrian The Precambrian ( ; or pre-Cambrian, sometimes abbreviated pC, or Cryptozoic) is the earliest part of Earth's history, set before the current Phanerozoic Eon. The Precambrian is so named because it preceded the Cambrian, the first period of t ...
bedrock underlies the town, with a belt of
volcanic rock Volcanic rocks (often shortened to volcanics in scientific contexts) are rocks formed from lava erupted from a volcano. Like all rock types, the concept of volcanic rock is artificial, and in nature volcanic rocks grade into hypabyssal and me ...
along the coast and
clastic Clastic rocks are composed of fragments, or clasts, of pre-existing minerals and rock. A clast is a fragment of geological detritus,Essentials of Geology, 3rd Ed, Stephen Marshak, p. G-3 chunks, and smaller grains of rock broken off other rocks by ...
sedimentary rock Sedimentary rocks are types of rock (geology), rock formed by the cementation (geology), cementation of sediments—i.e. particles made of minerals (geological detritus) or organic matter (biological detritus)—that have been accumulated or de ...
inland. The soil is for the most part a stony loam podzol mapped as Cochrane series. Peat is common in poorly drained areas.


History

While parts of Paradise have been inhabited since the late nineteenth century, mainly as farmland, its growth only took off in the 1830s and 1870s as a "bedroom community" of nearby St. John's. It grew at a slow pace until the early 1990s, when the Town of Paradise was amalgamated with the Town of St. Thomas. Other developed areas which had previously been administered by the Southern Metropolitan Board--an agency of the
Government of Newfoundland and Labrador The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador is the provincial government of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It was established by the Newfoundland Act and its powers and structure are set out in the Constitution Act, 1867. Role of ...
--were also amalgamated with Paradise. These areas are Three Island Pond, Topsail Pond, Elizabeth Park, and Evergreen Village.


Octagon Castle

Operating from 1896 to 1915, the Octagon Castle was a four-storey, eight-sided hotel resort, named by its creator, "Professor" Charles Henry Danielle. Destroyed by fire in 1915, its name survives in the nearby Octagon Pond. In 2022, a blue sculptural artwork inspired by Octagon Castle was installed at the centre of a Paradise roundabout.


Sports

Paradise is the starting point for the annual Tely 10 Mile Road Race, one of the oldest races in Canada. The race begins near Octagon Pond in Paradise before heading towards Mount Pearl. The town of Paradise hosted the
Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. The Maple Leafs compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the A ...
at its Paradise Double Ice Complex in September 2019 when the
NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...
club opened their 2019-2020 training camp in the town. In December 2019, the town of Paradise hosted th
2019 Para Hockey Cup
at its Paradise Double Ice Complex, which saw teams from Canada, The United States of America, Russia, and the Czech Republic participating in the event.


Town crest

The town crest of Paradise was created by a former town council member and one time mayor, "Black" Arch Janes in 1986. He also provided an explanation of what each element of the crest represented. * The animal in the top of the crest is a caribou. The caribou is currently the provincial animal of Newfoundland. * There are two bulldogs holding up the crest. These are the representation of Britain's Royal Navy. Newfoundland was a protectorate of Great Britain before becoming a province of Canada in 1949. * The cross located on the center of the crest is a representation of the Christian religion on which the laws of Newfoundland are founded. * The gear and electric bolt located in the top two portions of the crest represent industry in the community. * The lower left corner of the crest bears a tree. This symbol is a representation of the town's name. Paradise in Greek means a park. * The lower right corner of the crest is a sled filled with wood. This symbol represents Paradise's past industry, which was primarily in the wood industry.


War memorial

The War memorial located at the town hall was also designed by Arch Janes before his death in 1987.


Government

The Paradise town council is made up of a mayor, deputy mayor, and five councillors. The current mayor of the town is Dan Bobbett, a former Paradise town councillor. Paradise is part of three provincial electoral districts; Conception Bay East – Bell Island, represented by Fred Hutton, and
Topsail-Paradise Topsail–Paradise is a provincial electoral district in Newfoundland and Labrador. As of 2011 there are 14,830 people living in the district. Topsail–Paradise includes part of the town of Paradise and the part of the town of Conception Bay Sou ...
, which is represented by Paul Dinn. Sarah Stoodley, the MHA for Mount Scio, also represents the Elizabeth Park subdivision in Paradise, near the Mount Pearl border. Dianne Whalen was the mayor of Paradise for 18 years before entering provincial politics in
2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...
. The town is represented in Parliament by two MPs: Joanne Thompson, who represents the district of St. John's East, and Ken McDonald, who represents the district of Avalon.


2009 mayoral election controversy

On September 29, 2009, Newfoundland and Labrador held municipal elections in its municipalities. Paradise had two people running for mayor – incumbent Ralph Wiseman and 19-year-old Kurtis Coombs. On September 30, it was announced that Coombs had won the election, making him the youngest mayor in Canada. He had beat Wiseman by three votes, having 1,821 votes compared to Wiseman's 1,818. However, a recount revealed that the two were tied. Under Newfoundland and Labrador's Municipal Elections Act, a draw is used to determine the winner if a recount results in a tie. Wiseman was announced the mayor when a piece of paper with his name was drawn out of a recycle bin that contained both his name and Coombs'. Coombs planned on requesting a judicial recount and recommended that another election be held. On October 6, a judge ordered that the results be recounted again, which took place on October 13. The following day it was announced that the recount resulted in another tie. Joyce Moss, the town's chief returning officer, stated that the result from the random draw will stand, resulting in Wiseman remaining as the town's mayor.


Infrastructure


Medical centres and hospitals

Eastern Health's Tuckamore Youth Treatment Centre is a residential treatment centre located in Paradise.


Mayors

The current mayor is Dan Bobbett, first elected in 2013. * Dianne Waleman (1986–2003) * Fred W. Brown (2003–2005) * Ralph Wiseman (2005–2013) * Dan Bobbett (2013–present)


Notable people

* Sarah Davis, women's hockey player * Carl English, professional basketball player


See also

*
List of cities and towns in Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador is the ninth-most populous province in Canada, with 510,550 residents recorded in the 2021 Canadian Census, and is the seventh-largest in land area, with . Newfoundland and Labrador has 278 municipalities, including 3 ...


References


{{DEFAULTSORT:Paradise, Newfoundland And Labrador Towns in Newfoundland and Labrador