Marystown


Marystown is a town in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, with a population of around 5,000. Situated 306 km from the province's capital, St. John's, it is on the Burin Peninsula. Until the early 1990s, its economy was largely based on shipbuilding, and it is due in part to this that the town experienced a population increase of 295% in just over a decade. The town was also dependent on the fish plant for employment.
Though the shipyard still holds a presence in the town, residents have had to look elsewhere for economic subsistence in the last decade or so. The closure of the fish plants in Newfoundland has also had its hand in the decline in economic subsistence. Mortier Bay also served a strategic role during World War II, and was the site selected to evacuate the Royal Family and regroup the British Navy in the event of German invasion of Britain. Currently fish farming and the shipyard remain important to the local economy; in fact, construction of the world's largest fish hatchery, the Grieg NL project, began at the town in 2019.

Geography

Marystown lies on hummocky pyroclastic volcanic rock of mixed composition. This rock is overlain by very stony sandy loam glacial till which has a classic podzol soil profile in undisturbed areas; this is named as Toslow soil association. The vegetation at the time of the soil survey was a barren dominated by sphagnum mosses, heath-type shrubs, and mountain alder. Forest vegetation, mostly of coniferous trees, has developed in many areas around town as can be seen on Google Street View.

Demographics

Religion

While the town contains a diverse mixture of churches of varying denominations, the town is almost entirely Christian. The information presented from a 2001 census from Statistics Canada indicates that 68% of the population is Roman Catholic.



  • Roman Catholic; Sacred Heart Parish
  • United; Calvary United Church
  • Anglican; St. Michael's Church;St. Mary's Church
  • Salvation Army; Faith and Hope Corps
  • Pentecostal; Calvary Pentecostal Church
  • Seventh-Day Adventist; Marystown Seventh-Day Adventist Church

Sacred Heart Parish

Established in 1910, the original edifice, constructed in the early 1900s had to be reconstructed in the late 1970s due to a fire. In more recent years, the church has received much attention from the news when a family of illegal immigrants from Israel resided there as a place of sanctuary. Alexi and Angela Portnoy and their five children stayed in the church's basement for a total of 962 days while seeking citizenship status. The family was ultimately deported to Israel, but their supporters vowed to try to help the family to return.

Calvary Pentecost Church

Establishment of the church began in 1956. It was not until 1958 that the first Pentecost church in Marystown was officially completed. Since then there have been three Pentecost churches erected in the Marystown area: the original edifice in 1958, the second in 1974, and the current church that was built in 1995.

Seventh-Day Adventist Church

It wasn't until the 1970s that the Seventh Day Adventists established a significant population in Marystown. The construction of the first church began in 1985 along with a Seventh-Day school. Though the construction was completed much earlier, 1987 denotes the official church opening.

Economy

Workforce

By 2018, it was recognized that the region exhibited significant unemployment, but also that the potential workforce was not sufficient to support shipyard and aquaculture expansions envisioned in subsequent years. This led to a call for loosening immigration regulations so that the workforce could be expanded with immigrant workers.
Shipyard workers are represented by at least two unions, Marine Workers Federation - Unifor Local 20 and the Marine Office and Technical Employees Unit.

Shipbuilding and aquaculture

Shipbuilding began in Marystown not long after it was settled in the early 1800s. The earliest records of shipbuilding in the area date to 1908, and Marystown's first shipyard was constructed in 1918 north of the town.
The Marystown Co-operative shipyard opened in 1939 was destroyed by fire in 1941; originally committed to building fishing trawlers, it was converted to minesweeper construction for World War II.

Fish plant

For many years the fish plant in Marystown created hundreds of jobs in the small town. Originally operated by Fishery Products International the plant was sold to Ocean Choice International in 2007. In 2011, the plant employed roughly 240 people seasonally. In November 2011, provincial government-appointed auditors backed up claims by OCI that they were losing millions of dollars each year operating the fish plant. On December 2, 2011, the company announced that they would permanently close their Marystown and Port Union fish plants and invest money into other plants in the province. Demolition of the plant began in 2015.

Attractions

Attractions to the town include:
The Shrine of Marymount, or The Marymount as it is locally referred to, is one of the largest Marian statues erected in Newfoundland. It stands at fifteen feet tall, and overlooks the entirety of Marystown, sitting at one of the highest points in the area.

Sports

Despite being in a province reporting one of the highest obesity rates in Canada, Marystown has sport enthusiasts in disciplines including softball, soccer, swimming, track and field and hockey. Marystown has many attractions for both residents and visitors:
The urban centre is surrounded by rolling hills and densely wooded areas, as a result Marystown is frequented by hunting, fishing, camping and ATV enthusiasts.

Education

Marystown and surrounding area is home to four public schools, Marystown Central High School, Sacred Heart Academy, Pearce Junior High, and Donald C. Jamieson Academy. Post secondary institutions include two public trade-colleges, College of the North Atlantic, and Keyin College.
Marystown's public schools are serviced under the Eastern School District of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Media

Radio

Marystown currently receives numerous radio stations including:
Marystown is the home of The Southern Gazette, a newspaper that covers the entire Burin Peninsula.

Notable people