Maxxim Vacations

The oldest city in North America is set at the Far East of the Western World, where you can see the first sunrise on North American soil. The City of St. John's offers over 500 years of history from John Cabot’s voyage to Cape Bonavista in “Newfound Land” to Marconi’s first transatlantic wireless signal in 1901.

In this flag, the primary colours of red, gold and blue are placed against a background of white to allow the design to stand clearly. White is representative of snow and ice; blue represents the sea; red represents human efforts; and gold our confidence in ourselves. The blue section, most reminiscent of the Union Jack, represents our Commonwealth heritage which has so decisively shaped our present. The red and gold section, larger than the other, represents our future. The two triangles outlined in red portray the mainland and island parts of our province reaching forward together. A golden arrow points the way to what we believe will be a bright future. Surrounded by red to indicate human effort, the arrow suggests that our future is for making and not the taking.

The Atlantic Puffin is the provincial bird of Newfoundland and Labrador. Some people call it the Sea Parrot or Baccalieu Bird. About 95% of all North America's puffins breed in colonies around the Newfoundland and Labrador coasts. As people with strong marine heritage, it is appropriate to have a marine bird as its symbol.

Queen Victoria, more than a hundred years ago, chose the Pitcher Plant to be engraved on a newly minted Newfoundland penny. In 1954, the Newfoundland Cabinet designated this unusual and interesting plant as the official flower of the province. It gets its nourishment from insects that get trapped and drown in a pool of water at the base of the tubular leaves. The flower is wine and green in colour and can be found on bogs and marshes in Newfoundland and Labrador.

The provincial animal is the Caribou. Known elsewhere as Reindeer, they have been a symbol of the provincial wilderness for centuries. There are a significant number of Caribou in Newfoundland. The population estimates between 80,000 and 120,000 animals. They eat a variety of green plants; however, the mainstay of their diet, especially in winter, is the lichen that grows profusely on the large barren areas of the province.