Labrador City is a town in western

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 ...

(part of the

Canadian province Canada has ten provinces and three territories that are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Constitution of Canada, Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North Amer ...

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 ...

), near the

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

border. With a

population Population is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area. Governments conduct a census to quantify the resident population size within a given jurisdiction. The term is also applied to non-human animals, microorganisms, and pl ...

of 7,412 as of 2021, it is the second-largest population centre in Labrador, behind Happy Valley-Goose Bay. Neighbouring Labrador City is

Wabush Wabush is a small town in the western tip of Labrador, bordering Quebec, known for transportation and iron ore operations. Economy Wabush is the twin community of Labrador City. At its peak population in the late 1970s, the region had a populati ...

, a smaller town with a population of approximately 1,964 as of 2021. Together, the "twin towns" are known as Labrador West. In the 1960s, Labrador City was founded to accommodate employees of the

Iron Ore Company of Canada Iron Ore Company of Canada (often abbreviated to IOC) () is a Canadian-based producer of iron ore. The company was founded in 1949 from a partnership of Canadian and American firms, the largest being the M.A. Hanna Company. It is now owned by a c ...

, and iron ore

mining Mining is the Resource extraction, extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agriculture, agricultural processes, or feasib ...

continues to be the primary industry in the town. The Labrador City town

motto A motto (derived from the Latin language, Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian language, Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a Sentence (linguistics), sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of a ...

is ''Kamistiatusset'', a

Naskapi The Naskapi (Nascapi, Naskapee, Nascapee) are an Indigenous people of the Subarctic native to the historical region St'aschinuw (ᒋᑦ ᐊᔅᒋᓄᐤ, meaning 'our Clusivity, nclusiveland'), which was located in present day northern Qu ...

word meaning "land of the hard-working people." The Labrador City town crest is that of a

snowy owl The snowy owl (''Bubo scandiacus''), also known as the polar owl, the white owl and the Arctic owl, is a large, white owl of the true owl family. Snowy owls are native to the Arctic regions of both North America and the Palearctic, breeding mo ...

holding a scroll atop a black spade on a mound of red earth. The symbol represents iron ore mining. The spade is flanked by two

caribou The reindeer or caribou (''Rangifer tarandus'') is a species of deer with circumpolar distribution, native to Arctic, subarctic, tundra, boreal, and mountainous regions of Northern Europe, Siberia, and North America. It is the only represe ...

. Both snowy owls and caribou are native to the Labrador City area.

Government

Since a 2013 by-election, the federal riding of

seat has been held by

Yvonne Jones Yvonne Jean Jones (born March 15, 1968) is a Canadian politician in Newfoundland and Labrador, who served in the House of Commons of Canada from 2013 to 2025. She represented the district of Labrador as a member of the Liberal Party caucus. On ...

, a

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

member, while New Democrat Jordan Brown has represented Labrador West in the provincial

House of Assembly House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level. Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible g ...

since 2019.

Economy

Labrador City was built around the rich iron ore deposits of the Labrador Trough by the

(IOC) in the 1960s. The Carol Project is the major iron ore mining operation for the area. In 2008, IOC and their parent company Rio Tinto announced they would spend $800 million to develop additional mines in the region. However, only a few months after announcing the second phase of their expansion, the project was shelved due to the

economic recession An economy is an area of the Production (economics), production, Distribution (economics), distribution and trade, as well as Consumption (economics), consumption of Goods (economics), goods and Service (economics), services. In general, it is ...

and low demand for steel. The town is serviced by the Wabush Airport, and the

airlines An airline is a company that provides air transport services for traveling passengers or freight (cargo). Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for codeshare agreements, in ...

flying out of the airport are

Provincial Airlines Provincial may refer to: Government & Administration * Provincial capitals, an administrative sub-national capital of a country * Provincial city (disambiguation) * Provincial minister (disambiguation) * Provincial Secretary, a position in Can ...

, Air Inuit and Pascan Aviation. Additionally, the Quebec North Shore and Labrador Railway provides freight rail transportation to and from Sept-Îles. The

Trans-Labrador Highway The Trans-Labrador Highway (TLH) is the primary public road in Labrador, the mainland portion of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The highway's total length is . The paving of the entire highway was completed in July 2022. The ...

( Route 500) serves as the only road connection to Labrador City, connecting it with the rest of Labrador as well as the neighbouring province of Quebec, becoming Quebec Route 389 at the border. The town contains many amenities found in larger locations thanks to investments by the mining companies who established the area including an ice arena, curling, downhill & cross country ski clubs. The White wolf snowmobile club connects with a larger trail network across the region and is home to the Cain's Quest Snowmobile Endurance Race. The main shopping mall in the town, the Labrador Mall, includes a

Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores in the United States and 23 other ...

, Canadian Tire &

Mark's Mark's (known as La Ouérasse and L'Équipeur since 1990 in Quebec) is a Canadian clothing and footwear retailer specializing in casual and industrial wear. Beginning in 1977 as Mark's Work Wearhouse in Calgary, Alberta, it evolved from an i ...

. The mall opened in 1978 and is the largest shopping mall in Labrador; it is also the only enclosed mall.History of Labrador City
, ''LabradorWest.com'', Retrieved February 7, 2011Labrador Mall
, Westcliff.ca, Retrieved February 7, 2011(22 November 2010)
Concerns turn to action
''The Aurora'' There is a

Masonic lodge A Masonic lodge (also called Freemasons' lodge, or private lodge or constituent lodge) is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry. It is also a commonly used term for a building where Freemasons meet and hold their meetings. Every new l ...

in Labrador City, Lodge Anik No 1707 of the District Grand Lodge of Newfoundland and Labrador of the

Grand Lodge of Scotland The Grand Lodge of Antient Free and Accepted Masons of Scotland is the governing body of Freemasonry in Scotland. It was founded in 1736. About one third of Scotland's lodges were represented at the foundation meeting of the Grand Lodge. Histo ...

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 ...

, Labrador City 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.

Attractions

* Basilica of our Lady of Perpetual Help

Climate

Wabush and Labrador City have a

continental 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 ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

: ''Dfc''), with mild summers and severely cold winters. Precipitation is heavy year round (although higher in summer) due to the strong Icelandic Low to the east driving cold, moist and unstable air onto the region. Snowfall, as is typical for the province, is very heavy for seven months each year and depths can reach as high as . Despite its latitude around the same as cities like

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, and

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

, its annual mean temperature is colder.

Notable residents

Notable former residents of Labrador City include: * Damhnait Doyle, singer-songwriter *

Margot Kidder Margaret Ruth Kidder (October 17, 1948 – May 13, 2018) was a Canadian and American actress and activist. She amassed List of Margot Kidder performances, several film and television credits in her career spanning five decades, including her bes ...

, actress * Dan LaCosta,

National Hockey League 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 ...

goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as goalie or netminder) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their own team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays ...

* Pascal Pelletier, National Hockey League player * Chad Penney, National Hockey League player * Mark Nichols, 2006 Turin Olympics gold medallist curler

References

External links

*
Labrador West website

The Aurora
newspaper (published by Transcontinental)
Labrador City - Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador, vol. 3, p. 221-222.
{{coord, display=title, name=Labrador City, 52, 57, N, 66, 55, W 1960s establishments in Newfoundland and Labrador Mining communities in Newfoundland and Labrador Towns in Newfoundland and Labrador