Historical
The economy of Newfoundland struggled in the 1990s due to the federal government closing down the Atlantic cod fishery in 1992. This decision was made by the government due to a decrease in catches made during the late 1980s. The Atlantic cod fishery closing down was compared to closing all the manufacturing factories in Ontario. With many fishermen and fish plant workers left out of work, the government created a program called The Atlantic Groundfish Strategy, to try and help these workers.
While the fish industry suffered during this time, the oil and gas industry was being developed and helped Newfoundland’s economy. The federal government committed to developing the oil resources of an oil field found in the Grand Banks in the late 1980s. The Grand Banks are underwater plateaus found to the southeast of Newfoundland. This development created many job opportunities for Newfoundlanders throughout the 1990s.
Social
From 1991-1996 marked the start of a declining Newfoundland population. The population went down 3% during this time. This could be due to a lack of available jobs. As previously stated, the fishing industry greatly suffered in the early 1990s and could have led to many fishermen emigrating. In 1994, the food fishery actually completely closed and it was illegal to fish for oneself. A man was charged with catching and eating his cod in July 1994, the first of over 3000 eventual offenses.
In the 1993 provincial election, the Liberals returned to power in Newfoundland. They were faced with a tough challenge as 71 000 Newfoundlanders were living on social assistance in 1995. Many of those people were teenagers or young adults. The early 1990s seemed to be a tough time period economically for Newfoundland.