Burgeo ( ) is a town in the

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

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 ...

. It is located mainly on Grandy Island, on the south coast of the island of

Newfoundland 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 population ...

. It is an outport community. The town is approximately east of Channel-Port aux Basques. Burgeo is home to Sandbanks Provincial Park, named for its sand dunes and long expanses of flat, sandy beaches.

Demographics

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 ...

, Burgeo 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. The population was 900 in 1911, 2,474 in 1976, 1,607 in 2006, 1,464 in 2011, and 1,307 in 2016. The median age in the town was 60 in 2021.

Economy

The principal industry was fishing and fish processing until the town was one of many affected by the 1992 cod moratorium. As such, the moratorium caused excessive outmigration.

Transport links

Burgeo has a

ferry A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus ...

dock with connections to

Ramea Ramea is a small village in Newfoundland and Labrador located on Northwest Island, one of a group of five major islands located off the south coast of Newfoundland, Canada. The island is approximately 3.14 km long by 0.93 km wide (1.9 ...

, Grey River and Francois. The town is also the southern terminus for Route 480 (Burgeo Highway), connecting Burgeo with the

Trans-Canada Highway The Trans-Canada Highway (Canadian French, French: ; abbreviated as the TCH or T-Can) is a transcontinental federal–provincial highway system that travels through all ten provinces of Canada, from the Pacific Ocean on the west coast to the A ...

( Route 1) and the rest of mainland Newfoundland. Burgeo Islands

Climate

Burgeo 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 ...

( Dfc) with long, cold winters and short, cool summers. Precipitation is heavy year round.

First Nations

Burgeo (''Najioqonuk'' in the

Miꞌkmaq language The Miꞌkmaq language ( ; ), or , is an Eastern Algonquian language spoken by nearly 11,000 Miꞌkmaq in Canada and the United States; the total ethnic Miꞌkmaq population is roughly 20,000. The native name of the language is , or (in some ...

) falls under the Flat Bay ward of the

Qalipu First Nation The Qalipu First Nation (Phonetics, phon: /xa.li.bu/, alibu Mi'kmaq language, Mi'kmaq for 'caribou') is a Mi'kmaq band government based on the eastern Canadian island of Newfoundland (island), Newfoundland. The landless band was created by or ...

. It is also home to the independent Burgeo First Nation Band, a local self-identified band of

Miꞌkmaq The Mi'kmaq (also ''Mi'gmaq'', ''Lnu'', ''Mi'kmaw'' or ''Mi'gmaw''; ; , and formerly Micmac) are an Indigenous group of people of the Northeastern Woodlands, native to the areas of Canada's Atlantic Provinces, primarily Nova Scotia, New Bru ...

that currently have status and non-status members. Non-status members are planning to seek status under the

Indian Act The ''Indian Act'' () is a Canadian Act of Parliament that concerns registered Indians, their bands, and the system of Indian reserves. First passed in 1876 and still in force with amendments, it is the primary document that defines how t ...

Notable people

The famed Canadian nature writer and

naturalist Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

Farley Mowat lived in Burgeo for five years during his time in Newfoundland. He wrote several books during his time there, including the controversial ''A Whale for the Killing,'' which was later adapted into a

movie A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

loosely based on the book but with the same name. Mowat's wife, Claire Mowat, wrote her book ''The Outport People'' about life in Burgeo although the town in the book is given the fictional name "Baleena". Route 480, also referred to as the Burgeo road, was a frequent subject for famed Canadian painter

Christopher Pratt John Christopher Pratt (December 9, 1935 – June 5, 2022) was one of Canada's most prominent painters and printmakers.

, who depicted it on several occasions and began his book ''Thoughts on Driving to Venus'' there in 1999. On Saturday 11 April (2009), Pratt wrote:

'Burgeo Road, 10:30 am. 3 °C, breezy, mixture of sun and cloud. Enroute Sandbanks on a chilly but very inviting day. I always remember these "Car Books" began on this road—intended to be a short-hand, stream of consciousness, trigger-happy sort of thing, a sequence of responses, not considered efforts at insights or forced philosophies.'

References

External links

Town of Burgeo official website
{{Subdivisions of Newfoundland and Labrador, towns=yes, ICG=yes Populated coastal places in Canada Towns in Newfoundland and Labrador Fishing communities in Canada