Tag: Newfoundland

This editorial critiques how academic work can turn silence into proof of consent. Using Jessica Hogan’s 2025 study on wind energy acceptance in Newfoundland and the 2022 Local Paradox paper, it shows how survey numbers and governance theory are combined to manufacture legitimacy for development projects. Hogan’s “recognition justice” framework interprets resignation as support, while Local Paradox explains weak governance as incapacity. Together, they provide governments and industry with a toolkit for pushing projects through without genuine community consent. The Bayman’s Paradox counters that silence is not acceptance, but the product of structural dependency and disempowerment. Read More...

Imported Outrage, Local Silence examines how Newfoundland’s local leadership has borrowed scripts from U.S. culture wars and Canadian partisan media, sidelining real community issues. From Roe v. Wade tests to playground graffiti, the piece traces how outrage has been imported wholesale, drowning out substantive debates about governance, land, and energy policy. It highlights how global frameworks like the Paris Accord shape Newfoundland’s future while remaining invisible to many, and how structural weaknesses in municipalities go unaddressed. The essay concludes by questioning whether Newfoundland still has a culture of its own, or only a borrowed one — and calls on leaders to “teach our children well” with truths rooted in this place. Read More...

This article argues that Newfoundland is trapped in a cycle of repetition: crises are framed as opportunities for “resets,” but the language, promises, and outcomes are the same every time. From resettlement and Churchill Falls to Muskrat Falls and the “Big Reset,” the province rehearses the same narratives of crisis and rescue rather than building new strategies. Municipal bailouts reinforce this cycle by rewarding dependence, while centralized politics and performative culture keep institutions weak. The result is stagnation — Newfoundland isn’t moving forward but re-performing the past. The piece closes by linking this cycle to political candidates themselves, setting the stage for the upcoming Kingmaker article. Read More...

This article examines how Newfoundland’s supposed “wins” in land and resource politics often amount to optics rather than substance. From Gros Morne’s UNESCO designation and the displacement of families, to federal “custodial management” of the fisheries, to new wind-to-hydrogen megaprojects backed abroad, locals are consistently left with symbolic recognition while real control and economic benefits flow outward. Even at the municipal level, provincial bailouts reinforce dependency rather than autonomy. By tracing these patterns, the piece argues that Newfoundland’s resource governance operates as theatre: protecting appearances while leaving communities with empty hands. Read More...

This article examines how Germany and Britain continue to shape Newfoundland’s energy future through hydrogen agreements, corporate projects, financial markets, and historical precedents. Germany’s hydrogen alliance and EU timelines push Newfoundland into serving European demand, while Britain’s legacy runs from BRINCO and Churchill Falls to London bond markets and oil ventures like BP and Nu Oil. Together, they reveal the local paradox: decisions made abroad, staged consultations at home, and a province locked into global strategies with little real sovereignty. Read More...