Atlantic Provinces

Introduction:
The Atlantic Provinces of Canada are on the Far East coast of that country. Is the region of Canada comprising the four provinces located on the Atlantic coast, the threeMaritime provinces – New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia – and Newfoundland and Labrador, excluding Quebec. Rugged and sparsely populated, the provinces have traditionally mademuch of their income from the area's large fisheries. This is changing in the region, as oil production, information technology, biomedical research, post-secondary education and tourismbecome more important for local economies.

History:
All of the Atlantic Provinces have similarities and some differences on what was like in the early years. Until 1949 most Newfoundlandresidents had few emotional and economic ties with the Maritimes in particular and Canada in general. Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries Newfoundland, unlike the Maritime Provinces, wasnot an integral part of the economic, cultural and political system of North America. Confederation in 1949 began the difficult process of transforming Newfoundlanders into Canadians.
Since1949 many attempts have been made to draw the Atlantic provinces closer. Possibly most important was the 1954 establishment of the Atlantic Provinces Economic Council. APEC was to haveunited economic thinking in Atlantic Canada and projected a positive regional image. But despite APEC and many similar organizations, few residents of the Atlantic provinces see themselves asparts of such a region.
In the Maritimes there has been strong support for Maritime Union, but there has been little enthusiasm, as the Task Force on Canadian Unity discovered in 1978, forAtlantic Union. Newfoundland has never been interested in Atlantic Union and the discovery of the Hibernian oil field off its east shore has merely strengthened its resolve to remain apart.