St. Lewis is a community on the coast of

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 ...

in the

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

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. Formerly known as Fox Harbour, St. Lewis is the most easterly permanent community on the North American mainland. The community of St. Lewis enjoys a long and vibrant history as one of the earliest recorded places in all of Labrador by Europeans. Settled in the early 18th century (by Europeans), the area’s sheltered location, proximity to good fishing grounds and seal migration routes made the settlement a desired location for both the European-based migratory fishery, and the native

Inuit Inuit (singular: Inuk) are a group of culturally and historically similar Indigenous peoples traditionally inhabiting the Arctic and Subarctic regions of North America and Russia, including Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwe ...

families who inhabited the south Labrador coast.

Geography

The town lies neatly within a sheltered harbour at the mouth of St. Lewis Bay. Like most of the landscape along the east coast of Labrador, barren, rocky slopes scourged by the frigid

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 ...

extend throughout the St. Lewis Sound. The

subarctic The subarctic zone is a region in the Northern Hemisphere immediately south of the true Arctic, north of hemiboreal regions and covering much of Alaska, Canada, Iceland, the north of Fennoscandia, Northwestern Russia, Siberia, and the Cair ...

climate of the south Labrador coast generally offers a pleasant cool summer climate, which is soon replaced with a snow-covered, ice-chilled winter season. This harsh environment, with a few trifling exceptions, nourishes a hardy

boreal ecosystem A boreal ecosystem is an ecosystem with a subarctic climate located in the Northern Hemisphere, approximately between 50° and 70°N latitude. These ecosystems are commonly known as taiga and are located in parts of North America, Europe, and Asia ...

. Collective forests of

black spruce ''Picea mariana'', the black spruce, is a North American species of spruce tree in the pine family. It is widespread across Canada, found in all 10 provinces and all 3 territories. It is the official tree of Newfoundland and Labrador and is tha ...

white spruce White spruce is a common name for several species of spruce (''Picea'') and may refer to: * '' Picea engelmannii'', native to the Rocky Mountains and Cascade Mountains of the United States and Canada * ''Picea glauca ''Picea glauca'', the whi ...

and

balsam fir ''Abies balsamea'' or balsam fir is a North American fir, native to most of eastern and central Canada (Newfoundland west to central Alberta) and the northeastern United States (Minnesota east to Maine, and south in the Appalachian Mountains to ...

are confined to interior valleys and riverbanks where the geography affords mild protection against the elements. Yet, the bleak, rocky shore of the Labrador coastline strongly resembles an

Arctic tundra In physical geography, a tundra () is a type of biome where tree growth is hindered by frigid temperatures and short growing seasons. There are three regions and associated types of tundra: Arctic, Alpine, and Antarctic. Tundra vegetation is ...

biome. St. Lewis embellishes its position as the easternmost permanent community on the North American mainland. The community’s physical location provides an excellent vantage point to view the southward procession of

iceberg An iceberg is a piece of fresh water ice more than long that has broken off a glacier or an ice shelf and is floating freely in open water. Smaller chunks of floating glacially derived ice are called "growlers" or "bergy bits". Much of an i ...

s and floe-ice commencing every summer. St. Lewis is proudly recognized by Newfoundland and Labrador Tourism as located in the province's renowned " Iceberg Alley".

History

St. Lewis is one of the earliest recorded place names in Labrador. It was depicted on maps as early as 1502-1503 as ''Ilha de Frey Luis''. The Loder family from

Harbour Grace Harbour Grace is a town in Conception Bay on the Avalon Peninsula in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. With roots dating back to the 16th century, it is one of the oldest towns in North America. It is located about northwest of ...

had established a fish trading business and constructed premises in the community; now restored, it houses exhibits relating the history of St. Lewis. The community has been a radar site since 1957, when the United States constructed Fox Harbour Air Station, a radar site as part of the Pinetree Radar System. A Loran C station was operated by the

Canadian Coast Guard The Canadian Coast Guard (CCG; ) is the coast guard of Canada. Formed in 1962, the coast guard is tasked with marine search and rescue (SAR), communication, navigation, and transportation issues in Canadian waters, such as navigation aids and i ...

at St. Lewis. In January 2010, it was announced that the Loran C signal would be terminated. The broadcasting of the Loran C signal ceased in August 2010. In 2012, the local fish plant closed.

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 ...

, St. Lewis 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.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Lewis, Newfoundland and Labrador Inuit in Newfoundland and Labrador Populated coastal places in Canada Towns in Newfoundland and Labrador Populated places in Labrador

Geography

History

Demographics

See also

References