Introduction

This document that you hold in your hands is The Social and Economic Landscape for Bridging the Gap, Pilot Phase II—Clarenville. It is a key part of the evaluation of the Bridging the Gap (BTG) program. It seeks to describe the social and economic state of the communities which are taking part in this phase of the BTG pilot. It does this with the goal of allowing the Evaluation Subcommittee and the External Evaluator to better understand the broad picture of the social and economic opportunities and issues that exist in the partnering communities. The document compares information at the community, zonal, and provincial level in order to get at the larger picture. The information is further divided into 5 headings, drawing upon the analytical framework of the Strategic Social Plan of Newfoundland and Labrador.

• Educated People
• Self-Reliant People
• Prosperous People
• People Living within Sustainable Communities/Zones

In all cases, the latest available statistical information is referenced, which varies from 1996 to 2001.

In this document, the focus is on the Clarenville region. This necessitates the inclusion of the adjacent community of Shoal Harbour. Due to the manner in which statistical data has been collected over the years, and the varied sources used for this document, information for some topics is not always available for Shoal Harbour. Furthermore, the statistics for Clarenville also incorporate figures for some of the smaller surrounding communities. The Clarenville group of communities includes all communities on Random Island except Britannia, Hickman's Harbour and Lower Lance Cove as well as all communities from Milton to Waterville. It is important to note Clarenville is the location of the Bridging the Gap program, but many participants come from these surrounding communities which may have different landscapes.

To begin the landscape, some basic population information is presented below. Clarenville and Shoal Harbour have remained different from the zonal and provincial trends by continuing to grow throughout the 1990s.

Population

Note: 2001 population figures were estimated based on Statistics Canada's Census Subdivisions (CSD's). For this reason estimates are subject to revision as new information becomes available. Figures may not add to total due to rounding of the underlying data. Source: 1986, 1991 & 1996 figures, Newfoundland & Labrador Zone Profiles 2000 http://www.linkproject.nf.ca/profiles/2000.pdf. All provincial figures, Statistics Canada http://www.statcan.ca