Located in the central part of Labrador on the coast of Lake Melville and the Churchill River, Happy Valley-Goose Bay is the largest population centre in that region with an estimated 8,040 residents in 2021. Incorporated in 1973, it comprises the former town of Happy Valley and the Local Improvement District of Goose Bay. Built on a large sandy plateau in 1941, the town is home to the largest military air base in northeastern North America,[3]CFB Goose Bay.[4]
History
In the summer of 1941, Eric Fry, an employee of the Canadian Department of Mines and Resources on loan to the Royal Canadian Air Force, selected a large sandyplateau near the mouth of the Goose River to build the Goose Bay Air Force Base. Docking facilities for transportation of goods and personnel were built at Terrington Basin.[5]
Goose Air Base became a landing and refueling stop for the Atlantic Ferry route. Soon after the site was selected, men from the coast of Labrador began working on the base. With World War II in bloom, it took only five months to build an operational military airport on the leased territory.
The first settlers to the area came from coastal Labrador to work with McNamara Construction Company, which was contracted to build the Goose Bay Air Force Base. Their first choice was Otter Creek, where they were told that it would be too close to the base. A new location was chosen based upon the requirement to be at least five miles (8 km) from the base. In 1942, a new site was chosen that was first called Refugee Cove; it was not until 1955 that it eventually was renamed Happy Valley.[6]
Happy Valley's first school was operated by a Mrs. Perrault from her home until 1946, when the Royal Canadian Air Force donated a building. The old one-room school was bought by Bella and Clarence Brown in early 1962 and turned into a family residence. In 1949, the Air Force donated a second building which became the North Star School. Mrs. Perrault became Happy Valley's first librarian also. Bella Brown took over as Happy Valley's librarian when the North Star School's second building was donated as the new library.
The Grenfell Mission operated the first medical facilities when it opened a nursing station in 1951. In 1963, the provincial government built Paddon Memorial Hospital.
Geography
Happy Valley-Goose Bay lies at the southwest end of Lake Melville near the mouth of the Churchill River. The town is located on the southern shore of a peninsula created by Terrington Basin to the north and Goose Bay at the south.
Churchill River near Happy Valley-Goose Bay
Climate
Happy Valley-Goose Bay displays a humid continental climate (KöppenDfb) right on the borderline with a subarctic climate (KöppenDfc), marked by significant snowfall in the winter, which has average highs around −12 °C (10 °F). Summer highs, on the other hand, average 20 °C (68 °F). The average high temperature stays near or below freezing for five months of the year and the low does so for eight months.[7] Snowfall averages nearly 460 centimetres (180 in) per year, and occurs in all months except July and August.[7] Precipitation, at nearly 950 millimetres (37.4 in), is significant year-round and is heavy for a continental climate at its latitude.[7]
Climate data for CFB Goose Bay, 1991−2020 normals, extremes 1941−present
CFB Goose Bay saw a reduction of NATO low-level tactical flight training in the decade 1996–2005, and the town faced an uncertain future as the federal government reduced the number of permanent Royal Canadian Air Force personnel to fewer than 100 all-ranks. The last NATO nations to use CFB Goose Bay for flight training, Germany and Italy, did not renew their leases after terminating in early 2006.
The runway at Happy Valley-Goose Bay was also an alternative, but unused, landing site for the now-decommissioned NASASpace Shuttle, because of its size and length.[4][10]
Local Improvement District of Goose Bay
Prior to its amalgamation with Happy Valley, the Local Improvement District of Goose Bay was set up in 1970 and included an area called Spruce Park and the Canadian Department of Transport Housing areas. It grew to include other areas of the base until 1973, when it comprised all of the base area.
In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Happy Valley-Goose Bay had a population of 8,040 living in 3,072 of its 3,390 total private dwellings, a change of -0.9% from its 2016 population of 8,109. With a land area of 304.52 km2 (117.58 sq mi), it had a population density of 26.4/km2 (68.4/sq mi) in 2021.[14]
The 2011 census showed that Happy Valley-Goose Bay has outgrown Labrador City and is now the largest community in Labrador. However, Labrador West (a region consisting of Labrador City and a nearby community, Wabush) still has a higher population than Upper Lake Melville (which includes Happy Valley-Goose Bay and 3 nearby communities)[15]
Transportation
Road
Happy Valley and Goose Bay are connected by the Trans-Labrador Highway with Labrador City and Baie-Comeau in Quebec. The road was extended south to link with an existing road from the Blanc Sablon-St Barbe ferry. It opened in December 2009.
Prior to 1954, hardly any licence plates were issued to Labrador communities except for Happy Valley and the Goose Bay area. A series of small plates were issued to help fund road development. It was not until the mid-1960s that all of Labrador started using regular Newfoundland licence plates.[16]
Since 1992, the road from Baie-Comeau to Wabush was connected to an open route year-round to Happy Valley-Goose Bay.
Water
The town was serviced by boat and container ship to the ports from Newfoundland and the port of Montreal. Most of the town's supplies were transported by container vessels brought to the docking facilities located at Terrington Basin. These facilities were operated by Transport Canada. The shipping season usually lasted from June to December. In the summer, a ferry service connects Happy Valley-Goose Bay with Cartwright.
Air
Air Canada and Eastern Provincial Airways were the first air carriers in the area to carry passengers from outside the area into CFB Goose Bay. Labrador Airways Limited provided air transportation to local communities. Located at Otter Creek is a seaplane base that also provided airlifts to local communities and tourist lodges in the interior of Labrador.
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Canada
Newfoundland and Labrador
Route 500 (Trans-Labrador Highway)
Route 520 (North West River Road)
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