Mount Pearl is the fourth-largest municipality and second-largest city in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The city is located southwest of St. John's, on the eastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland. Mount Pearl is the fourth largest municipality in the province and is part of the St. John's metropolitan area, the 20th largest metropolitan area in Canada.
Mount Pearl | |
|---|---|
| City of Mount Pearl | |
 Flag  Seal  Coat of arms | |
| Motto(s): "Omnia Ad Dei Gloriam" (Latin) "All things for the glory of God" | |
 | |
  Mount Pearl Location of Mount Pearl in Newfoundland | |
| Coordinates: 47°31′08″N 52°48′21″W / 47.51889°N 52.80583°W | |
| Country | Canada |
| Province | Newfoundland and Labrador |
| Census division | 1 |
| Settled | 1834 |
| Incorporated (town) | January 11, 1955 |
| Incorporated (city) | July 21, 1988 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Dave Aker |
| • MHA | Lucy Stoyles (LIB) Paul Lane (IND) |
| • MP | Seamus O'Regan (Lib) |
| Area | |
| • Land | 15.76 km2 (6.08 sq mi) |
| Population (2021)[1] | |
• Total | 22,477 |
| • Density | 1,436.2/km2 (3,720/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC-3:30 (Newfoundland Time) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-2:30 (Newfoundland Daylight) |
| Forward Sortation Area | |
| Area code | 709 |
| Highways |  Route 1 (TCH) Route 2 Route 3
|
| Website | mountpearl |
History
editMount Pearl dates back to 1829, when Commander James Pearl and his wife, Lady Anne Pearl, arrived in Newfoundland with a Crown grant of 1,000 acres (4.0 km2) of land, a reward for Commander Pearl's 27 years of distinguished service in the Royal Navy. In 1830, Commander Pearl built a house upon the most elevated section of his estate and named it Mount Cochrane in honour of then-governor Sir Thomas Cochrane.
After the governor left Newfoundland, Pearl renamed the site Mount Pearl. Pearl was made a Knight of the Royal Guelphic Order of Hanover and received the honour of Knight Bachelor from Queen Victoria. He died suddenly at his Mount Pearl estate on January 13, 1840, at the age of 50 years. In 1844, Sir James Pearl's wife, Lady Anne, moved to London, England. John Lester, who had come from Devonshire, England to work for James Pearl, continued working the Pearl Estate, leasing it from Lady Anne Pearl for another 14 years.
In her will, she left John Lester 100 acres (0.40 km2) of land called "Anna Vale", (present day Glendale) which he later sold. The Pearl estate eventually came into the hands of Andrew Glendinning, who worked it as successful farmland well into the 1920s. John Lester purchased other land (124 acres opposite the Pearl Estate on Brookfield Road) from Edward Dunscomb and later inherited another 50 acres (200,000 m2) on Old Placentia Road (present day Admiralty Wood) from Pearl's sister, Eunice Blamey.
John Lester died in 1893 leaving his estate, called "FairMead", to sons Ashton and James. Fairmead is the site of Lester's Market today.[2]
Development
editIn the 1930s and 1940s, Mount Pearl became the meeting place of affluent members of society and lovers of horseracing. A large open air gallery, with benches for spectators to view surrounding lands was erected on "The Mount" in the 1940s. Horseracing continued to be prominent and Mount Pearl began to develop into something of a summer resort for St. John's residents. Increased population during summer months led to increased population year round and eventual residential and industrial development.[2]
Incorporation
editWith the population growing quickly, there was increased demand for municipal government. As a result, Mount Pearl held its first election in 1955 which resulted in Hayward Burrage becoming the first mayor of the Town of Mount Pearl. The town was incorporated on January 11, 1955 and had population of 1,979. On July 21, 1988, the Town of Mount Pearl became the third community in Newfoundland and Labrador to be granted city status. Today, it remains one of the largest cities within the province, with a population in 2021 of 22,477.[3][4]
Geography
editMount Pearl is located in the northeastern region of the Avalon Peninsula in southeast Newfoundland.[5] It is landlocked, being about midway between the Atlantic Ocean coast to the east and Conception Bay to the west. The city is bounded on the north, south and east by the city of St. John's and on the west by the town of Paradise, which has led to limited availability of undeveloped land, forcing the city to adopt a more urban, high-density planning structure.
Southlands, a neighbourhood in St. John's was a large part of Mount Pearl's future growth plans[clarification needed] for filling in the area between its boundary and Cochrane Pond Provincial Park.[citation needed] In 1998, the Provincial Government granted the land to the City of St. John's.[6]
Climate
editMount Pearl has a humid continental climate (Dfb) with short, mild summers and long, cold winters.
| Climate data for Mount Pearl | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 18 (64) |
15 (59) |
17 (63) |
25 (77) |
29 (84) |
32 (90) |
33 (91) |
31 (88) |
30 (86) |
26 (79) |
22 (72) |
19 (66) |
33 (91) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 0.6 (33.1) |
0.1 (32.2) |
2.2 (36.0) |
7.0 (44.6) |
12.3 (54.1) |
17.2 (63.0) |
23.1 (73.6) |
22.2 (72.0) |
18.4 (65.1) |
12.2 (54.0) |
7.6 (45.7) |
3.1 (37.6) |
10.5 (50.9) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −6.3 (20.7) |
−6.6 (20.1) |
−4.5 (23.9) |
−0.4 (31.3) |
3.1 (37.6) |
7.8 (46.0) |
13.0 (55.4) |
13.7 (56.7) |
10.2 (50.4) |
6.1 (43.0) |
1.4 (34.5) |
−3.2 (26.2) |
2.9 (37.2) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −20.3 (−4.5) |
−21 (−6) |
−19.5 (−3.1) |
−13 (9) |
−5.2 (22.6) |
−2.4 (27.7) |
2.1 (35.8) |
2.6 (36.7) |
1.7 (35.1) |
−4.6 (23.7) |
−11.5 (11.3) |
−18.6 (−1.5) |
−21 (−6) |
| Source: Environment Canada[7] | |||||||||||||
Demographics
editIn the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Mount Pearl had a population of 22,477 living in 9,931 of its 10,685 total private dwellings, a change of -2.8% from its 2016 population of 23,120. With a land area of 15.65 km2 (6.04 sq mi), it had a population density of 1,436.2/km2 (3,719.8/sq mi) in 2021.[9]
In 2016, Mount Pearl was 92.7% White, 5.6% Aboriginal, and 1.7% other. The median age was 44.5 in 2016 and 41.6 in 2011. The median income was $78,232 before taxes in 2016, with a median income of $67,055 after taxes in 2016.[10]
Government
editMunicipal
editThe city is represented by a mayor, deputy mayor and five councillors. Elections in Mount Pearl are held every four years on the last Tuesday in September, the last election was held on September 28, 2021. The current mayor, Dave Aker, has been in office since 2017.[11][12]
Notable people
edit- David Cochrane, CBC News reporter and anchor
- Zach Dean, pro hockey player in the Vegas Golden Knights system
- Brad Gushue, Canadian curler, three-time Tim Hortons Brier champion, and 2006 gold medal skip
- Terry Ryan, retired pro hockey player whose career included games with the Montreal Canadiens
References
edit- ^ "Census Profile, 2021 Census, Statistics Canada - Validation Error".
- ^ a b "Mount Pearl Community Profile" (PDF). City of Mount Pearl. December 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 7, 2016.
- ^ a b "Census Profile, 2016 Census: Mount Pearl, City [Census subdivision], Newfoundland and Labrador". Statistics Canada. Retrieved October 20, 2019.
- ^ "Population and dwelling count amendments, 2016 Census". Statistics Canada. August 15, 2018. Retrieved September 14, 2020.
- ^ "Mount Pearl". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
- ^ "Land, ahoy: Wells urges province to amalgamate cities". CBC News, Jan 09, 2007
- ^ "Mount Pearl Climate Data". Environment Canada. Retrieved November 28, 2009.
- ^ https://www.stats.gov.nl.ca/Publications/Historical/PDF/Historical_Statistics_of_Newfoundland_and_Labrador_V2_N5_1988.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ a b "Population and dwelling counts: Canada, provinces and territories, census divisions and census subdivisions (municipalities), Newfoundland and Labrador". Statistics Canada. February 9, 2022. Retrieved March 10, 2022.
- ^ "Mount Pearl, CY [Census subdivision], Newfoundland and Labrador and Newfoundland and Labrador [Province] (table). Census Profile". Stats Canada. 8 February 2017. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
- ^ "Mount Pearl Mayor Randy Simms not seeking re-election". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved September 27, 2017.
- ^ "Dave Aker locks up Mount Pearl mayoralty as ballots being counted in N.L. municipal election". The Telegram. Retrieved September 27, 2017.