The province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada has a total area of 405 720 km². This translates to 111 390 km² for the island of Newfoundland and 294 330 km² for Labrador. This impressive area is more than three times the total area of the Maritime Provinces (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island). If it were one of the United States, Newfoundland would rank fourth in size behind Alaska, Texas and California. It is almost one and three quarters times the size of Great Britain.

Newfoundland lies between the 46th and 61st parallels with the bulk of the island portion being below the 50th parallel. The island is located in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the larger Labrador portion is on the eastern part of the Canadian mainland. Newfoundland is Canada's most easterly province and its newest having joined Confederation in 1949.

Vikings probably visited the region c. 1000, but the area was not known to European fishermen and explorers until John Cabot's voyages in the late 15th century. England claimed Newfoundland in 1583, although the claims were disputed by France until the Treaty of Paris (1763). The province of Quebec continued to claim Labrador until 1927. St. John's is the capital and the largest city. Population: 567,681.

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