Labrador City

Labrador City and Wabush are a pair of towns in Labrador West on the Quebec border. Dedicated primarily to iron ore mining, their burgeoning population of 9,350 people makes them the largest metropolitan area in otherwise sparsely-populated Labrador, rivalled only by Happy Valley-Goose Bay (with 7,750 people). The bulk of this population is in Labrador City, with Wabush (established 1955) as a de facto suburb of 1,860.

Understand
Established at the end of the 1950s as "Carol Lake", a mining community, Labrador City is the largest town and the primary overland point of entry into Labrador, a vast and largely-unpopulated territory. (It's also possible to enter Labrador from a ferry crossing which runs from Newfoundland's Great Northern Peninsula to Blanc Sablon, near Forteau; the road at that point dead-ends at Vieux-Fort, Quebec, instead of continuing westward toward Sept-Îles.)

The town's fortunes have largely risen or fallen in lock-step with global demand for iron ore; reaching a peak in the 1970s, declining in the 1980s (an era when Schefferville, Quebec, at one point ceased all mining activity) and staging a comeback in the 21st century as demand from Chinese industry pushed the world price of iron ore to US$190/tonne at its peak in 2011. As of April 2020, the ore sold for US$85/tonne and local jobs were once again in jeopardy.

An enclosed indoor mall houses Labrador's only Walmart; Labrador City is also home to Labrador's only McDonald's and one of Labrador's two hospitals (the other is in Goose Bay). The gravel road to Manic 5 and Baie-Comeau opened in 1986, with a road from Labrador City to Goose Bay in 1992. The Trans-Labrador Highway made overland travel from Labrador City to Forteau possible by 2009. The last section of Route 500 eastward from Labrador City to Goose Bay was paved in mid-2015.

Labrador City, Goose Bay and Cartwright use Atlantic time, the same time zone as New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.

By car
Labrador City is just across the Québec-Labrador border on Highway 500 (Trans-Labrador Highway). On the other side of the Québec-Labrador border is Fermont, Quebec, about 29 km drive heading northwest to Labrador City. Within Quebec, Highway 500 becomes Quebec Route 389. Labrador City can be reached by traveling north on Quebec Route 389 from its southern terminus in Baie-Comeau (582 km away), where the highway intersects with Quebec Route 138. Along the way there is only one intermediate point (Relais Gabriel) to stop for fuel or lodging. Quebec 389 is a gravel road from the Manic 5 hydroelectric dam to Fermont (RCM of Caniapiscau). The road improves on becoming Route 500 in Labrador, continuing as asphalt through Goose Bay, Port Hope Simpson and Red Bay to Forteau.

From the Québec-Labrador limit, the distance to be traveled on Route 500 is 243 km to Churchill Falls, which has a gas station, hotel and some services, and another 288 km beyond there to Happy Valley-Goose Bay, which is the next city with a hospital.

Airport
Wabush is across Little Wabush Lake from the rest of Labrador City. Rental cars are available at the airport.

Airlines
Canadian airlines operating to Wabush:

Get around
Taxis in Labrador City are metered; as of 2013, fares started at $5.50 plus $1.85/km or $0.48 per minute of waiting time:



Do

 * Walking trails: Jean Lake Walking Trail (Grenfell Drive, 5-km trail around Jean Lake), Menihek Interpretive Trail (Smokey Mountain Road, 5 km of Menihek Nordic Trails) and Tanya Lake Walking Trail (Badden Powell Road, 3-km trail around Tanya Lake).
 * Walking trails: Jean Lake Walking Trail (Grenfell Drive, 5-km trail around Jean Lake), Menihek Interpretive Trail (Smokey Mountain Road, 5 km of Menihek Nordic Trails) and Tanya Lake Walking Trail (Badden Powell Road, 3-km trail around Tanya Lake).
 * Walking trails: Jean Lake Walking Trail (Grenfell Drive, 5-km trail around Jean Lake), Menihek Interpretive Trail (Smokey Mountain Road, 5 km of Menihek Nordic Trails) and Tanya Lake Walking Trail (Badden Powell Road, 3-km trail around Tanya Lake).
 * Walking trails: Jean Lake Walking Trail (Grenfell Drive, 5-km trail around Jean Lake), Menihek Interpretive Trail (Smokey Mountain Road, 5 km of Menihek Nordic Trails) and Tanya Lake Walking Trail (Badden Powell Road, 3-km trail around Tanya Lake).
 * Walking trails: Jean Lake Walking Trail (Grenfell Drive, 5-km trail around Jean Lake), Menihek Interpretive Trail (Smokey Mountain Road, 5 km of Menihek Nordic Trails) and Tanya Lake Walking Trail (Badden Powell Road, 3-km trail around Tanya Lake).
 * Walking trails: Jean Lake Walking Trail (Grenfell Drive, 5-km trail around Jean Lake), Menihek Interpretive Trail (Smokey Mountain Road, 5 km of Menihek Nordic Trails) and Tanya Lake Walking Trail (Badden Powell Road, 3-km trail around Tanya Lake).
 * Walking trails: Jean Lake Walking Trail (Grenfell Drive, 5-km trail around Jean Lake), Menihek Interpretive Trail (Smokey Mountain Road, 5 km of Menihek Nordic Trails) and Tanya Lake Walking Trail (Badden Powell Road, 3-km trail around Tanya Lake).

Go next

 * Fermont and Baie-Comeau in Quebec via Quebec Route 389