Newfoundland held two referendum votes on joining Canada in 1949.
Posted by Power & Politics, Checked
- Sources
- 3 contradict1 support2 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 85%
Power & PoliticsOct 21, 2026
Newfoundland did hold two referendums on joining Canada (confederation), but both were held in 1948 (June 3 and July 22), not 1949; 1949 is when Newfoundland became a Canadian province (31 March 1949). The claim's core assertion is supported, while its date is contradicted.
Minor detail. The sources confirm the claim; only a minor detail differs, such as a name's spelling, a title's wording or a rounding.
What was said
… like the right thing to do, but as Jason said, it's awful hard to put the toothpaste back in the tube when you've stoked the flames of separatism, as is required of you. And I, let's invoke a Newfoundland example so we can help educate our fellow Canadians. We can go back, neither you nor I were around in 1949 when we voted to join Canada, but as we both well know from those two referendum votes, because there were two, there are still divisions, there are still questions, there's still uncertainty when you start to determine whether you should stay or should go. It doesn't vanish because the leader says it should, and you don't leave because she tells you to go. …
Power & Politics · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Contradicts. The referendums were held in 1948 (3 June and 22 July 1948), not 1949, as shown by the Hansard record and the Canadian Encyclopedia and UNB sources.[1][2][3]
Supports. Multiple sources state Newfoundland held two referendums to decide its future, with the second (22 July 1948) resulting in a majority for confederation with Canada.[1][2][3][4]
Context. Newfoundland became Canada's tenth province on 31 March 1949, which is likely the source of the 1949 date in the claim.[2][5][6]
Context. The extracted claim matches the post's own wording ('we voted to join Canada in 1949' and 'two referendum votes'), so the date error originates in the post, not the extraction.
Sources
6 sources: 6 not rated
- 1THE STATUS OF NEWFOUNDLAND (Hansard, 9 February 1949)api.parliament.uk · not rated · cited for: contradicts, supports
- 2Newfoundland and Labrador and Confederation | The Canadian ...thecanadianencyclopedia.ca · not rated · cited for: contradicts, supports, context
- 3journals.lib.unb.ca · index · NFLDSPost-Confederation Newfoundland(er) Identity, 1949–1991journals.lib.unb.ca · not rated · cited for: contradicts, supports
- 4Referendums in Canada - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org · not rated · cited for: supports
- 5www.ebsco.com · research-starters · historyNewfoundland becomes a Canadian province - EBSCOebsco.com · not rated · cited for: context
- 6Newfoundland and Canada: 1864-1949heritage.nf.ca · not rated · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
Related claims
- Nearly 75% of voters in the Alberta referendum chose to remain in Canada.True
- Approximately 2 million people voted in the Alberta independence referendum.True
- The recent referendum on Alberta independence resulted in a 75% vote against independence and a 25% vote for independence.True
- Over 500,000 Albertans voted for the independence path.True
- 75% of Albertans want to stay in Canada.True