Wabush
Wabush | |
|---|---|
Town | |
 Town of Wabush across Jean Lake | |
 Coat of arms | |
| Motto(s): | |
| Country |  Canada |
| Province |  Newfoundland and Labrador |
| Census divisions | 10 |
| Settled | 1955 |
| Founded | 1962 |
| Incorporated | April 11, 1967 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Municipal incorporation |
| • Mayor | Colin Vardy |
| Area | |
• Total | 46.25 km2 (17.86 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 560 m (1,840 ft) |
| Population (2011)[2] | |
• Total | 1,861 |
| • Density | 40/km2 (100/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC-4 |
| Website | Town of Wabush |
Wabush is a small town in the western tip of Labrador, known for transportation and iron ore operations for 40 years (1967 to 2007).
Economy
Wabush is the twin community of Labrador City. At its peak population in the late 1970s, the region had a population of just over 22,000. As of 2011, Wabush's population was 1,861. Most residents continue to work in the nearby mine: Iron Ore Company of Canada, now a unit of Rio Tinto Mines.
Companies in and around Wabush include:
- Stelco
- Dofasco
- Wabush Iron Company Limited, a unit of Cliffs Natural Resources, which announced on 11 February 2014 plans to lay off 500 workers due to falling global demand.[3]
While remote, the town does contain modern amenities. There is a shopping centre (which includes a post office, bank, a women's department, a restaurant, a bar, and a snowmobile store), recreational centre (that includes a bowling alley, gymnasium, swimming pool, a teen centre, and a weight lifting room), ice arena, a library, a legion building that serves alcoholic beverages, a furniture store, several playgrounds, a school, a church, two corner stores, a hotel (which also includes a restaurant, a barber shop, and a bar). In nearby Labrador City, there is a modern indoor shopping centre which includes a Walmart.
Transportation
Air transportation needs for the twin communities are served by Wabush Airport and seasonally by Wabush Water Aerodrome. It used to get more frequent service by Air Gaspé, which was acquired by Quebecair in 1973. The latter ended as an independent business in 1986, acquired in turn by CP Air in 1986 and Canadian Airlines in 1987. Currently the area is serviced by Air Canada (Air Canada Express & Expolits Valley Air Service), Provincial Airlines, Pascan Air and Air Inuit.
Climate
Like most of Labrador, Wabush has a subarctic climate (Köppen Dfc) with precipitation much higher than usual for this type of climate due to the persistent Icelandic Low, which give the region some of the rainiest and snowiest weather in all of Canada. Especially in summer, cloudiness is very high due to the lakes nearby and the unstable northerly airstreams that prevail, but because the town is relatively far from the open sea sunshine is higher than even in St. John’s due to the absence of fog from the Labrador Current. Snow usually melts off in May.
| Climate data for Wabush (Wabush Airport, normals from 1981−2010) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high humidex | 7.7 | 5.9 | 14.6 | 16.9 | 35.0 | 37.1 | 39.0 | 35.3 | 32.2 | 22.6 | 13.8 | 6.5 | 39.0 |
| Record high °C (°F) | 8.0 (46.4) |
6.2 (43.2) |
14.7 (58.5) |
16.8 (62.2) |
28.4 (83.1) |
33.3 (91.9) |
32.6 (90.7) |
30.6 (87.1) |
27.8 (82.0) |
21.1 (70.0) |
12.2 (54.0) |
5.6 (42.1) |
33.3 (91.9) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | −16.7 (1.9) |
−14.2 (6.4) |
−6.7 (19.9) |
1.5 (34.7) |
9.6 (49.3) |
16.1 (61.0) |
19.1 (66.4) |
17.6 (63.7) |
11.8 (53.2) |
3.8 (38.8) |
−4.2 (24.4) |
−12.6 (9.3) |
2.1 (35.8) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −22.2 (−8.0) |
−20.6 (−5.1) |
−13.3 (8.1) |
−4.3 (24.3) |
4.0 (39.2) |
10.3 (50.5) |
13.8 (56.8) |
12.5 (54.5) |
7.6 (45.7) |
0.5 (32.9) |
−8.2 (17.2) |
−17.5 (0.5) |
−3.1 (26.4) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −27.8 (−18.0) |
−27.0 (−16.6) |
−19.8 (−3.6) |
−10.0 (14.0) |
−1.7 (28.9) |
4.4 (39.9) |
8.3 (46.9) |
7.4 (45.3) |
3.3 (37.9) |
−2.9 (26.8) |
−12.0 (10.4) |
−22.5 (−8.5) |
−8.4 (16.9) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −43.9 (−47.0) |
−47.8 (−54.0) |
−46.7 (−52.1) |
−37.2 (−35.0) |
−21.7 (−7.1) |
−11.1 (12.0) |
−6.7 (19.9) |
−0.6 (30.9) |
−7.0 (19.4) |
−21.7 (−7.1) |
−33.1 (−27.6) |
−46.1 (−51.0) |
−47.8 (−54.0) |
| Record low wind chill | −62.8 | −57.1 | −52.6 | −41.8 | −32.6 | −9.6 | 0.0 | −6.2 | −13.9 | −25.6 | −43.9 | −59.5 | −62.8 |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 49.2 (1.94) |
40.3 (1.59) |
54.1 (2.13) |
48.8 (1.92) |
53.5 (2.11) |
82.7 (3.26) |
113.9 (4.48) |
103.5 (4.07) |
96.5 (3.80) |
75.7 (2.98) |
70.9 (2.79) |
50.4 (1.98) |
839.5 (33.05) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 0.6 (0.02) |
1.6 (0.06) |
2.6 (0.10) |
12.1 (0.48) |
40.4 (1.59) |
80.6 (3.17) |
113.9 (4.48) |
103.4 (4.07) |
92.3 (3.63) |
42.0 (1.65) |
10.9 (0.43) |
2.5 (0.10) |
502.9 (19.80) |
| Average snowfall cm (inches) | 63.8 (25.1) |
50.9 (20.0) |
65.9 (25.9) |
44.3 (17.4) |
14.4 (5.7) |
2.1 (0.8) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.1 (0.0) |
4.4 (1.7) |
39.0 (15.4) |
77.5 (30.5) |
66.2 (26.1) |
428.7 (168.8) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.2 mm) | 17.3 | 14.6 | 16.0 | 14.2 | 15.2 | 17.1 | 19.0 | 20.0 | 20.5 | 20.1 | 20.4 | 19.3 | 213.7 |
| Average rainy days (≥ 0.2 mm) | 0.44 | 0.78 | 1.4 | 3.8 | 11.9 | 16.4 | 19.0 | 20.0 | 19.7 | 10.5 | 3.9 | 1.0 | 109.0 |
| Average snowy days (≥ 0.2 cm) | 17.7 | 15.0 | 16.4 | 12.3 | 6.0 | 1.2 | 0.04 | 0.07 | 2.5 | 13.9 | 19.7 | 19.7 | 124.6 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 98.0 | 132.2 | 151.3 | 180.1 | 210.6 | 212.5 | 218.0 | 202.7 | 116.6 | 75.4 | 56.9 | 67.3 | 1,721.4 |
| Percent possible sunshine | 38.6 | 47.6 | 41.2 | 43.1 | 43.0 | 42.1 | 43.0 | 44.4 | 30.6 | 22.9 | 21.7 | 28.3 | 37.2 |
| Source: Environment Canada[4] | |||||||||||||
Demographics
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 2,331 | — |
| 1996 | 2,018 | −13.4% |
| 2001 | 1,894 | −6.1% |
| 2006 | 1,739 | −8.2% |
| 2011 | 1,861 | +7.0% |
| Canada 2006 Census | Population | % of Total Population | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Visible minority group Source:[5] |
South Asian | 20 | 1.1% |
| Chinese | 0 | 0% | |
| Black | 10 | 0.6% | |
| Filipino | 0 | 0% | |
| Latin American | 1 Chilean | 0% | |
| Arab | 0 | 0% | |
| Southeast Asian | 0 | 0% | |
| West Asian | 0 | 0% | |
| Korean | 0 | 0% | |
| Japanese | 0 | 0% | |
| Other visible minority | 0 | 0% | |
| Mixed visible minority | 0 | 0% | |
| Total visible minority population | 30 | 1.7% | |
| Aboriginal group Source:[6] |
First Nations | 50 | 2.9% |
| Métis | 70 | 4.6% | |
| Inuit | 0 | 0% | |
| Total Aboriginal population | 145 | 8.3% | |
| White | 1,595 | 91.7% | |
| Total population | 1,861 | 100% | |
Notable residents
- Mike Adam, Canadian Curler
- Shawn Doyle, actor
- Michael Crummey, poet and writer
- Reg Sherren, CBC Reporter
Literary References
Wabush appears in the John Wyndham post-catastrophy novel The Chrysalids under the name of Waknuk.
References
- ^ Town of Wabush. "Mayor and Council". Retrieved 2008-03-14.
- ^ Statistics Canada (2011). "Wabush Census Profile". Retrieved 2015-09-21.
- ^ "Nearly 500 laid off at Labrador's Wabush Mines" 11 Feb 2014
- ^ "Wabush Lake Airport". Canadian Climate Normals 1981–2010. Environment Canada. Retrieved May 23, 2014.
- ^ [1], Community Profiles from the 2006 Census, Statistics Canada - Census Subdivision
- ^ [2], Aboriginal Peoples - Data table