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rfmcdonaldThe Newfie joke is, to my mind, one of the least reputable corners of Canadian humour. The Newfie joke is the standard sort of ethnic-stereotyping joke, with the story making fun of Newfoundlanders' stupidit, venality, uncontrolled and/or naive sexuality, and the like. The motives? It's the standard mockery of the poor, really, especially of the poor who speak oddly and come from distant lands of which we know nothing. Even Maritimers try to maintain a certain distance from our neighbours, distinguishing carefully between "the Maritimes" (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island) and "Atlantic Canada" (the Maritimes along with Newfoundland and Labrador). Despite Newfoundland's increasingly prestigious position as an exporter of culture--humour, television shows, music--the jokes are still told, if perhaps not as often as they used to be.
Newfoundland was poor before Confederation, only in the 1990s after the collapse of the cod fishery were natural resources discovered, like the iron ore of Voisey's Bay, and known resources like the Hibernia offshore oil and gas fields expanded. These discoveries and their exploitation has led to a much needed economic boom characterized by the fastest economic growth in Canada. It will take some time to translate this economic growth into generally improvd living standards, especially given the capital-intensive but employment-light nature of these growth industries, but sooner or later the lag will end. As per my prediction at the Head Heeb, Newfoundland might become like Iceland just another absurdly wealthy resource-rich North Atlantic island nation.
Will the Newfie joke still be told when--perhaps more appropriately if, perhaps--Newfoundland becomes the richest province in Canada? I suspect that it will. Money can't automatically buy respect, especially if you're perceived as nouveau-riche. Take a look at Alberta's stereotyped identification, in central and eastern Canada, with retrograde conservatism and selfishness. Canada's interprovincial hatreds are enduring.
Newfoundland was poor before Confederation, only in the 1990s after the collapse of the cod fishery were natural resources discovered, like the iron ore of Voisey's Bay, and known resources like the Hibernia offshore oil and gas fields expanded. These discoveries and their exploitation has led to a much needed economic boom characterized by the fastest economic growth in Canada. It will take some time to translate this economic growth into generally improvd living standards, especially given the capital-intensive but employment-light nature of these growth industries, but sooner or later the lag will end. As per my prediction at the Head Heeb, Newfoundland might become like Iceland just another absurdly wealthy resource-rich North Atlantic island nation.
Will the Newfie joke still be told when--perhaps more appropriately if, perhaps--Newfoundland becomes the richest province in Canada? I suspect that it will. Money can't automatically buy respect, especially if you're perceived as nouveau-riche. Take a look at Alberta's stereotyped identification, in central and eastern Canada, with retrograde conservatism and selfishness. Canada's interprovincial hatreds are enduring.
