The Newfoundland Act was an act of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace ...

that confirmed and gave effect to the Terms of Union agreed to between the then-separate

Dominions A dominion was any of several largely self-governing countries of the British Empire, once known collectively as the ''British Commonwealth of Nations''. Progressing from colonies, their degrees of colonial self-governance increased (and, in ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and

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 ...

on 23 March 1949. It was originally titled the

British North America Act 1949 The Newfoundland Act was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that confirmed and gave effect to the Terms of Union agreed to between the then-separate Dominions of Canada and Newfoundland on 23 March 1949. It was originally titled the ...

, but was renamed in Canada on the

patriation Patriation is the political process that led to full Canadian sovereignty, culminating with the '' Constitution Act, 1982''. The process was necessary because, at the time, under the '' Statute of Westminster, 1931'', and with Canada's agreemen ...

of the

Canadian Constitution The Constitution of Canada () is the supreme law in Canada. It outlines Canada's system of government and the civil and human rights of those who are citizens of Canada and non-citizens in Canada. Its contents are an amalgamation of various ...

from the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

in 1982. In exchange for Newfoundland becoming a province, the Canadian government took over the

Newfoundland Railway The Newfoundland Railway was a narrow-gauge railway that operated on the island of Newfoundland (island), Newfoundland from 1898 to 1988. With a total track length of , it was the longest narrow-gauge system in North America. History Early con ...

, Newfoundland Airport (now Gander International Airport),

public broadcasting Public broadcasting (or public service broadcasting) is radio, television, and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service with a commitment to avoiding political and commercial influence. Public broadcasters receive f ...

, telegraph services and other services that fell under federal control. The federal government assumed responsibility for Newfoundland's debt.Dominion Delegation, ''St. John's Telegram'', 11 December 2005 Newfoundland was also given statutory subsidies, a special subsidy of $1.1 million, the right to enter into tax rental agreements with the federal government and an additional transitional grant of $3.5 million, diminishing by 10 per cent per year for a total of 12 years. Also, as a safety net, it was agreed a

royal commission A royal commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue in some monarchies. They have been held in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway, Malaysia, Mauritius and Saudi Arabia. In republics an equi ...

would review finances.

Amendments

After patriation, the Newfoundland Act has been amended four times through the Canadian constitutional amendment formulas.

Previous Newfoundland Acts

Prior to the 1949 act there were a handful of acts with revisions to the Newfoundland's Constitution: * Newfoundland Act 1698 – encourage and established trade (fisheries) links in the region; also called King William's Act * Newfoundland Act 1832 * Newfoundland Act 1842 – established an appointed upper

Legislative Council A legislative council is the legislature, or one of the legislative chambers, of a nation, colony, or subnational division such as a province or state. It was commonly used to label unicameral or upper house legislative bodies in the Brit ...

and elected lower

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 ...

* Newfoundland Act 1933 – suspended responsible government with the

General Assembly of Newfoundland The General Assembly of Newfoundland and Labrador (known as the General Assembly of Newfoundland until 6 December 2001) is the legislature of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Today, the legislature is made of two elements: the li ...

dissolved and established rule by Newfoundland Commission

References

External links

Newfoundland Act text
*
British North American Act, 1949 (Newfoundland Act)
audio reading of act by

LibriVox LibriVox is a group of worldwide volunteers who read and record public domain texts, creating free public domain audiobooks for download from their website and other digital library hosting sites on the internet. It was founded in 2005 by Hugh M ...

(57m23s) {{Canada topic, Constitution of Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom concerning Canada Canada and the Commonwealth of Nations Constitution of Canada Political history of Newfoundland and Labrador United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1949 Legal history of Canada 1949 in Canada 1949 in international relations Law of the Dominion of Newfoundland 1940s in Newfoundland 1949 in North America 1949 in the British Empire March 1949 in Canada United Kingdom and the Commonwealth of Nations

Amendments

Previous Newfoundland Acts

See also

References

External links