Newfoundland

[kiltimabar]

For the canadian members, do you guys consider Newfoundland, your redneck/backwards province, like many in the US consider states like West Virginia and Arkansas? I have heard it a few times from relatives that live in Canada. Just curious on your thoughts.

One Canadian girl I met years ago seemed to have an inexhaustible number of Newfie jokes--they just about mirrored the Polish jokes that used to be common before Political Correctness sensitivities banished the lot.

[ccga3359]

One Canadian girl I met years ago seemed to have an inexhaustible number of Newfie jokes--they just about mirrored the Polish jokes that used to be common before Political Correctness sensitivities banished the lot.

We're PC but we still have Newfie jokes, also Quebec jokes. Newfie jokes used to be akin to the Polish jokes in the States and Irish jokes in England. As Colin mentioned, "they are Canadian whether they like it or not" is due to the fact that they joined the Confederation in 1947 before that they were a very independant British colony.

[Sean_the_Kilted]

We're PC but we still have Newfie jokes, also Quebec jokes. Newfie jokes used to be akin to the Polish jokes in the States and Irish jokes in England. As Colin mentioned, "they are Canadian whether they like it or not" is due to the fact that they joined the Confederation in 1947 before that they were a very independant British colony.

It was actually in 1949 that they joined the confederation.

[ccga3359]

It was actually in 1949 that they joined the confederation.

You are correct, my bad I thought I typed that. Needless to say many a Newfoundlander curses Joey Smallwood... Rumour has it that they dug up his corpse and did something with it.

[slohairt]

When my parents and I emigrated to Canada we moved to St. John's, Newfoundland. (I think we were the first immigrants they'd had since the 19th Century!) Newfoundland is often referred to as the most Irish place outside of Ireland, so it seemed a natural choice to them. In fact, it has its own unique name in Irish, Talamh an Éisc meaning Land of the Fish. In addition, Newfoundland had its own dialect of the Irish language which only recently died out.

When my dad got his first job in St. John's, he came home one day and commented to my mother that there were many people at his work from County Waterford. My mother said that would be nice in case he felt homesick. A few days later, my dad asked one of his co-workers how long he had been here, to which the man replied, "Oi'm fram de Rock, b'y!" My father thought this may have been some unfamiliar area in Co. Waterford, and simply nodded. The man then asked, "An' ye?" My father answered, "I'm from Donegal." The man scratched his head, and said, "Ne'er heared o' it, buddy."
It took my father some time to realise that The Rock is Newfoundland!

We stayed for a couple of years, my sister was born there, and then we moved to Ontario. There are a number of Newfoundlanders in my area (indeed many in my apartment building), most are great people, while others do something of a discredit to their province.

Newfoundland, being one the oldest colonies in North America, has a very rich history and culture. Much of that history is sad, and it is a testament to the Newfoundland people that they have trudged on. Yes, they joined Confederation in 1949, but they were a British Dominion (like Canada), not a colony anymore by that point. They simply had had their home rule suspended.