Labrador (also Coast of Labrador) is a region of Atlantic Canada. Together with the island of Newfoundland from which it is separated by the Strait of Belle Isle, it constitutes the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The region is part of the much larger Labrador Peninsula. The area was known by the Norse as Markland.
The population of Labrador is 27,864 (2001 census), including some 30 percent Aboriginal peoples, including Inuit, Innu, and Métis. With an area of 269,073.3 km² (103,895.5 sq mi), it is the size of New Zealand. Its former capital was Battle Harbour.
The name "Labrador" is one of the oldest names of European origin in Canada, almost as old as the name "Newfoundland". It is named after Portuguese explorer João Fernandes Lavrador who, together with Pêro de Barcelos, first sighted it in 1498.
Most non-Aboriginal settlement of Labrador occurred due to fishing villages, missions, and fur trading outposts; modern settlements have been created as a result of iron ore mining, hydroelectric developments, and military installations. Until modern times, difficult sea travel and lack of general transportation facilities discouraged settlement. In the 1760s, Moravian missionaries began settling, building missions and often sharing in the fur trade with the Hudson's Bay Company, which was the dominant force on the peninsula until 1870. Claims have persisted concerning the Labrador Peninsula with Quebec, although they were settled by judicial decision in 1927 by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.
John James Audubon called Labrador "the most extensive and dreariest wilderness I have ever beheld" (See Also: Creation, ISBN 1-58567-410-9.)