Vive le Canada's Tiny French Island Neighbours!

Most have heard of Newfoundland, a large island off the east coast of the North American mainland. It's the most populous part of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador and has 29% of that province’s land area.

The French overseas community of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, however is a neighbour few have heard of. They are the only remnant of the former colonial empire of New France and remains under French control.

Originally, the territory of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon were several times occupied by the British, but have been in French possession since 1810, after which they became a partially overseas territory of France. Despite being closer to Canada than France, Saint Pierre and Miquelon’s population of 6,080 uses the euro.

            

(http://www.countryreports.org/country/SaintPierreandMiquelon.htm)

The territory consists of a number of islands and the surrounding fishing areas in the North Atlantic Ocean, off the southern coast of Newfoundland. These islands’ main industry remains the cod fishing, about which George Allan England once famously wrote in his 1929 novel Isles of Romance,

"St Pierre was once the liveliest fishing port in the world. The eighties of the last century beheld its greatest prosperity. In those days seven to eight thousand fisherman from St Malo, Fécamp, St Brieuc, and Dieppe, and the arrival of the Terre Neuves, the vessels and crews from France, was a wondrous, treasure producing event. The French and St Pierre armateurs, or outfitters, reaped golden harvests indeed.”

The main reason that these islands still remain under French control is that it was kept as a fishing base to which France could have access, a relatively profitable industry at the time.

Newfoundland’s special neighbour has a totally different culture from Canada, and if you’d like to sample it, here are two ways to get there: by air or ferry. The daily ferry takes about an hour, and a direct flight takes 45 minutes from St John's TN . The islands don’t look much different from Newfoundland, but as you get closer, you’ll notice the beautifully painted houses. By the way, speaking French is helpful but not necessary as most Miquelonians working in the tourism industry speak English, but it’s a great place to practice your French skills.