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St. John's Harbour, Newfoundland
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The Canadian city of St. John’s is the provincial capital of Newfoundland and Labrador and its largest city. St. John’s is also the oldest English-founded city in North America. St. John's is a sister city with Waterford, Ireland.
It was in St. John's that Guglielmo Marconi received the first transatlantic wireless message, and it was from there that the first nonstop transatlantic flight began (ending in Ireland) in 1919 by Alcock and Brown.
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Geography and Climate
The city is located on the beautiful northeast coast of the Avalon Peninsula in southeastern Newfoundland, and on the large Atlantic Ocean. It is the most easterly city in North America, as well as the second largest city in Atlantic Canada. The downtown area exists to the north of St. John's Harbour and the rest of the city expands uphill to the west, north, and east.
St. John's has the third mildest winter in comparison to other Canadian cities. St. John's has a Maritime climate with cool-to-warm summers, and relatively mild winters for Canada. Average highs and lows are 20°C (68°F)/10°C (50°F) in July and -1°C (30°F)/-8°C (17°F) in January. The annual precipitation is moderate/high, with an average of 1,640 millimetres per year.
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Downtown St. John's, Newfoundland
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| Top Regions of Birth for Recent Immigrants
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| Birth Region |
Population |
Percent |
| United States of America |
70 |
6.8% |
| Central America |
20 |
2.0% |
| South America |
110 |
10.7% |
| Western Europe |
25 |
2.4% |
| Eastern Europe |
65 |
6.3% |
| Southern Europe |
0 |
0.0% |
| Northern Europe |
115 |
11.2% |
| Western Africa |
65 |
6.3% |
| Eastern Africa |
35 |
3.4% |
| Northern Africa |
120 |
11.7% |
| Central Africa |
0 |
0.0% |
| Southern Africa |
0 |
0.0% |
| West Central Asia and the Middle East |
65 |
6.3% |
| Eastern Asia |
130 |
12.7% |
| Southeast Asia |
20 |
2.0% |
| Southern Asia |
125 |
12.2% |
| Oceania and other |
0 |
0.0% |
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St John's Immigration Profile
Many of the earliest settlers of St. John's came from the southeast of Ireland, primarily Waterford, Wexford and Kilkenny. These origins can still be detected in similarities between accents from that part of Ireland and the traditional St. John's accent. More recently there has been an increase in cultural diversity and a substantial portion of Canadian immigrants that settled in St. John's were from Asia and the Middle East (33%) and Africa (22%).
During the period of 2001 to 2006 St. John’s became home to 1,025 new Canadian immigrants. The chart to the left shows the regions of birth for the recent immigrants according to the Canadian 2006 Census.
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Economy and Job Opportunities for Immigrants
St. John's economy has been continuously connected both to its role as a regional/national/provincial capital and to the ocean. Today, its continued growth is as much tied to what lies beneath the ocean – oil and gas – as what swims in or travels across the ocean.
The city's economy is growing quickly, and St. John's has been identified as having one of the highest proportion of scientists and engineers per capita of any city under one million population in North America. Economic forecasts suggest that the city will continue its strong economic growth in the coming years not only in the "oceanic" industries mentioned above, but also in tourism and new home construction as the population continues to grow. This growing economy offers many opportunities for business class and skilled worker immigrants.
Education for Dependant Children and Post Secondary
If you are interested in pursuing a career in science or engineering, consider immigrating to St. John’s. Not only does St John’s have a large number of established scientists and engineers, they have a reputation for their post secondary education programs.
Memorial University of Newfoundland, (popularly known as Memorial University or "MUN") is a comprehensive university located primarily in St. John's. With historical strengths in engineering, business, geology, and medicine, it is perhaps most widely recognized as one of the top comprehensive universities in Canada. With over 17,000 students, it is also the largest university in Atlantic Canada. MUN's four main campuses are served by more than 900 faculty and 2,300 staff members.
The College of the North Atlantic is a technical college in Newfoundland and Labrador.
The college was formed in 1997 through an amalgamation of the province's community colleges which had been administered and operated independently. Today the college offers over 90 full-time programs and 300 part-time courses in the applied arts, industrial/trades, information technology, business, health sciences, and natural resources. The college produces 3,000 graduates each year, operating from 17 campuses across the province.
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Cabot Tower in St. John's Newfoundland
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Arts and Culture
The Museum Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (MANL) is a non-profit, charitable organization representing institutions and individuals interested in the preservation and promotion of Newfoundland and Labrador's material and cultural heritage. Since 1980 MANL has grown to include over 150 member museums and heritage societies and 115 individual members.
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Cabot Tower was built in 1897 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of John Cabot's discovery of Newfoundland, and Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee. It is located on top of Signal Hill overlooking the city of St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. In 1901, Guglielmo Marconi received the first trans-Atlantic wireless message at a position near the tower, the letter "S" in Morse Code sent from Cornwall, England.
Cabot Tower is now the centre of Signal Hill National Historic Park, Canada's second largest historic park, with walking trails, and an interpretation centre where the visitor can hear very interesting stories about the area. Hikers will be rewarded with spectacular views of the city, the harbour, and the ocean.
St. John's is the site of the Oxen Pond Botanical Garden Newfoundland Museum. It is located in the suburbs of St. John's along Mount Scio Road and was founded in 1971 under the supervision of Bernard Jackson. It became a not-for-profit organization in 1994. The garden and nature trails were developed to provide a place where people of all ages and depths of interest can learn about the plants and natural environment of Newfoundland. The park's emblem is the Twinflower (Linnaea borealis). Plants producing nectar have been developed to maintain the several species of butterflies including, Swallowtail, Skipper, Gossamer, and Woodnymphs.
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Sports and Recreation
St. John's is the home of the St. John's Fog Devils, a junior hockey team in the QMJHL. The Fog Devils' home stadium is Mile One Centre in downtown St. John's.
St. John's is home to North America's oldest continuously held annual sporting event, the Royal St. John's Regatta, which dates back to at least 1816. The event is considered important enough in the life of the city that the day of the Regatta (the first Wednesday with fine weather in August) is a civic holiday - one of the only weather-dependent holidays in the world.
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Mile One Centre in St. John's, Newfoundland
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St. John's played host to the Canada Men's Soccer team's first (and only) qualification for the FIFA World Cup on September 14, 1985 where they defeated Honduras 2-1, at King George V Park. The park also played host to a FIFA World Cup Qualification game on August 20, 1972, where Canada beat USA 3-2. Canada, however, failed to qualify for the World Cup in 1974.
Rugby union is a popular sport in St. John's. The current Rugby Canada Super League champions are the Newfoundland Rock who play at Swilers Rugby Park in St. John's. The city was also host to a Rugby World Cup qualifying match between Canada and the USA on 12 August 2006, where the Canadians heavily defeated the USA 56-7 to qualify for the 2007 Rugby World Cup finals in France.
The 2005 Scott Tournament of Hearts, the Canadian women's curling championship, was held at Mile One Centre in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador from February 19 to 27, 2005. The 2006 Olympic gold medalist men's curling team, skipped by Brad Gushue, is based in St. John's.
Ultimate Frisbee is a quickly-growing sport in the city, having an established League providing two seasons: the larger and more competitive Summer League and the Fall League, intended as a way to become acquainted with the basics of the sport. The provincial team, called Granite, plays from the city and will compete in the 2007 national championships.
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