St. John’s is the provincial capital city for Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada’s second-most sparsely populated province trailing only Prince Edward Island.

St. John’s is North America’s most eastern and oldest port. Nicknames for St. John’s include the City of Legends for its steeped history of folklore, Newfiejohn based on slang for a Newfoundlander and the whimsical Sin Jawns .

St. John’s is hilly and has a steep maze of residential streets, with many houses painted in distinct colors earning St. John’s downtown the moniker Jelly Bean Row. In contrast, Newfoundland island is nicknamed The Rock reflecting its rocky geology.

The east end of St. John’s features Pippy Park one of Canada’s biggest urban parks. Pippy Park encompasses two golf courses, camping grounds and other recreational facilities.

From a weather perspective, St. John’s is susceptible to tropical storms coming in from the Atlantic Ocean mostly cyclones but occasionally hurricanes. St. John’s is also one of Canada’s rainiest cities excluding those on coastal British Columbia.

Guinness World Records casts the spotlight on St. John’s as the eastern starting point for the fastest crossing of Canada by a female on foot in 143 days. Canadian Ann Keane covered 4,866 miles (7,831 kilometers) from April 17 to September 8, 2002 before arriving at Tofino, British Columbia on Canada’s western coast.

Another of world record was when St. John’s served as the kickoff site for the fastest unsupported crossing of the North Atlantic by kayak. Brit Peter Bray paddled for 76 days from June 22 to September 5, 2001 before arriving in Belderrig, Ireland but not before overcoming hostile currents and treacherous weather.

St. John’s serves as headquarters for two of Canada’s largest 500 corporations by revenue. Fortis Inc. is a consistently profitable and diversified electric utility holding firm, while Nalcor Energy is a provincial government Crown Corporation that manages the province’s energy resources.

From an international trade perspective, Newfoundland and Labrador shipped C$6.247 billion worth of goods around the globe during 2019. Its most valuable exports include crude oil, iron ores, seafood notably crabs and shrimps, copper, nickel and paper according to the Canadian International Merchandise Trade Database.

The unemployment rate for St. John’s was 16.3% at May 2020, up from 7.4% as of April 2017.

Capital Facts for St. John’s, Canada: Quick Reference

 
St. John’sans celebrate Canada Day as a national holiday each July 1.

The land area for St. John’s occupies 172.2 square miles (445.88 square kilometers). The provincial capital city’s population was 108,860 people per the 2016 Census.

At the province level, Newfoundland and Labrador covers a land area measures 144,353 square miles (373,872 square kilometers) home to a population of 523,790 inhabitants.

The population density for St. John’s averages 632 residents per square mile (244 per square kilometer).

Zooming out to provincial land boundaries, population density drops to an average 4 inhabitants per square mile (1.4 per square kilometer).