Hopedale, Newfoundland and Labrador
|
Hopedale Agvituk |
|
|---|---|
| Inuit community | |
Hopedale
|
|
| Nickname(s): Place of the Whales | |
| Coordinates: 55°29′2.54″N 60°12′11.48″W / 55.4840389°N 60.2031889°W | |
| Country |
 Canada
|
| Province |
 Newfoundland and Labrador
|
| Region |
 Nunatsiavut
|
| Settled | 1782 |
| Incorporated | May 12, 1969 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Inuit Community Government |
| • Mayor (AngajukKâk) | Marjorie Flowers |
| • Federal MP | Yvonne Jones (L) |
| • Provincial MHA | Randy Edmunds (L) |
| • Nunatsiavut Assembly member | Greg Flowers (I) |
| Area | |
| • Land | 3.35 km2 (1.29 sq mi) |
| Population (2014) | |
| • Total | 583 |
| • Density | 157.9/km2 (409/sq mi) |
| Time zone | Atlantic Time (UTC-4) |
| • Summer (DST) | Atlantic Daylight (UTC-3) |
| Area code(s) | 709 |
Hopedale (Inuit: Agvituk) is a town located in the north of Labrador, the mainland portion of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Hopedale is the legislative capital of the Inuit Land Claims Area Nunatsiavut, and where the Nunatsiavut Assembly meets. As of 2014 it has a population of 583.
Hopedale was founded as an Inuit settlement named Agvituk, Inuktitut for "place of the whales". In 1782, Moravian missionaries from Germany arrived in the area to convert the population. They renamed the settlement Hopedale (Hoffental in German) shortly afterward. The Hopedale Mission is still standing and is thought to be the oldest wooden-frame building in Canada standing east of Quebec. As such, it was named a National Historic Site of Canada. It is currently run by the Agvituk Historical Society as a part of a museum on the history of missionaries in the area.
From 1953 to 1968 a joint Royal Canadian Air Force-United States Air Force's Hopedale Air Station was located on the hills above Hopedale. Civilian personnel lived in the main part of town. Since 1968 the area has remained abandoned other than maintenance of non-military communications towers nearby.
The majority of people in Hopedale (79%) speak English as a first language, but a significant minority (21%) speak Inuktitut.
About 83% of the population identify themselves as Inuit, 16% are of mainly European descent, and 1% are of Punjabi origin. Many of the Inuit in the town are actually mixed Inuit and White.
About 87% of the population belongs to a Protestant denomination, about 2% are Roman Catholic, and another 1% are Sikh. About 10% are not affiliated with any religion.
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