Hon. Fabian Manning: Honourable senators, today I am pleased to present Chapter 77 of “Telling Our Story.”

The territorial limit between Quebec and the Labrador portion of our province is the longest interprovincial boundary in Canada at over 3,500 kilometres long. A dispute over that boundary and who rightfully owned Labrador, Quebec or Newfoundland began in 1902, when the Newfoundland government granted a lumber company a licence to harvest trees on both sides of the Hamilton River, now called the Churchill River.

The Quebec government considered the southern part of the river to be part of Quebec and complained to Canada’s Secretary of State. Newfoundland refused to cancel the licence.

Two years later, Quebec asked Ottawa to submit the controversy to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London. This reference to an outside impartial body was appropriate, since Canada and Newfoundland were separate members of the British Empire, and neither could have settled the issue through its own courts.

In March of 1927, the Privy Council settled the boundary in its present location and ruled in Newfoundland’s favour.

In the course of our history, Newfoundland has made at least four separate attempts to sell Labrador to Canada. The only reason that there was no deal was that Canada would not pay the price that Newfoundland was asking.

The first offer was made in 1922, during Sir Richard Squires’ first term as prime minister. A year later, in 1923, William Warren, the newly elected prime minister of Newfoundland, made another approach to Canada.

On December 27, 1923, The Daily News reported that the selling price of Labrador was rumoured to be around $60 million.

Another prime minister, Walter S. Monroe, saw little potential in Labrador. He told the House of Assembly, “This country will never be able to develop it.”

Sir Richard Squires became prime minister of Newfoundland again in 1928. Newfoundland’s financial situation was deteriorating rapidly. Squires and his colleagues, once again, turned to Ottawa in the fall of 1931. Newfoundland’s finance minister at the time, Peter Cashin, met with Canada’s then-prime minister, The Right Honourable R.B. Bennett, and made him a formal offer to sell Labrador for $110 million.

While interested and sympathetic to Newfoundland’s plight, Prime Minister Bennett advised the Newfoundland government in a letter later that week that due to financial problems brought on by the Great Depression, it was impossible for Canada to do a deal at that time.

When Newfoundland joined Confederation in 1949, its boundary in Labrador was confirmed in the Terms of Union — now the Newfoundland Act — enshrined in the Constitution Act, 1982.

It is not difficult to imagine the consequences if Canada had accepted any of the offers from Newfoundland and had bought Labrador.

The immense natural resources of Labrador, including the hydroelectric energy at Churchill Falls and on the lower Churchill River, the vast mineral deposits in western Labrador and the enormous nickel, copper and cobalt discovery at Voisey’s Bay would all have become the property of Canada and the Province of Quebec. Some may consider the idea unthinkable, but the historical truth is that this nearly happened.

Canada’s refusal to pay Newfoundland’s asking price on at least four different attempts is the reason that, today, I — along with my colleagues Senators Marshall, Petten, Rivalia and Wells — can proudly say that we are from Newfoundland and Labrador. We want to say a sincere “thank you” to Canada for that.