Paradise, Newfoundland and Labrador

Paradise is a town on the Avalon Peninsula in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The town is a part of the St. John's Metropolitan Area. The town borders the City of St. John's, the City of Mount Pearl, the Town of Portugal Cove-St. Philip's, and the town of Conception Bay South. According to the 2006 census the population of Paradise was 12,584 and was the fastest growing community in Atlantic Canada^[1]

History

While parts of Paradise have been inhabited since the late nineteenth-century, its growth only took off in the 1960s and 1970s as a "bedroom community" of nearby St. John's, and has grown at a rapid pace since. In the early 1990s, the Town of Paradise was amalgamated with the Town of St. Thomas. Other developed areas which had previously been administered by the St. John's Metropolitan Board, an agency of the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, were also amalgamated with Paradise. These areas are Three Island Pond, Topsail Pond, Elizabeth Park, and Evergreen Village. Recently, Paradise has been identified by Statistics Canada as the fastest-growing municipality in Atlantic Canada.

Sports

• Paradise is the starting point for the annual Tely 10 road race, one of the oldest races in Canada. The race beings near Octagon Pond in Paradise beside heading towards Mount Pearl.

Town crest

The town crest of Paradise was created by a former town council member and one time mayor, "Black" Arch Janes in 1986. He also provided an explanation of what each element of the crest represented.

• The animal in the top of the crest is a caribou, which is currently the Provincial animal of Newfoundland.

• There are two bulldogs holding up the crest. These are the representation of Britain's Royal Navy. Newfoundland was a protectorate of Great Britain before becoming a province of Canada in 1949.

• The cross located on the center of the crest is a representation of the Christian religion on which the laws of Newfoundland are founded.

• The gear and electric bolt located in the top two portions of the crest represent industry in the community.

• The lower left corner of the crest bears a tree. This symbol is a representation of the town's name. Paradise in Greek means a park.

• The final symbol, located in the lower right corner is a sled filled with wood. This symbol represents Paradise's past industry, which was primarily in the wood industry.

This information was collected from the official town website, see below.

War memorial

The War memorial located at the town hall was also designed by Arch Janes before his death in 1987.

Government

The Paradise town council is made up of a mayor, deputy mayor, and five councillors. The current mayor of the town is Ralph Wiseman, a former Liberal cabinet minister under the Premier Roger Grimes. Paradise is part of two provincial electoral districts; Conception Bay East and Bell Island, represented by David Brazil as of December 2010, and Topsail, which is represented by Paul Davis. Dianne Whalen was the mayor of Paradise for 18 years before entering provincial politics in 2003.

The town's Members of Parliament are Ryan Cleary, who was elected to the House of Commons in the 2011 federal election in the riding of St. John's South—Mount Pearl; and incumbent Jack Harris, who represents St. John's East.

2009 mayoral election controversy

On September 29, 2009, Newfoundland and Labrador held municipal elections in its municipalities. Paradise had two people running for mayor – incumbent Ralph Wiseman and 19-year-old Kurtis Coombs.^[2]

On September 30, it was announced that Coombs had won the election, making him the youngest mayor in Canada.^[3] He had beat Wiseman by three votes, having 1,821 votes compared to Wiseman's 1,818.^[4] However, a recount revealed that the two were tied. Under Newfoundland and Labrador's Municipal Elections Act, a draw is used to determine the winner if a recount results in a tie. Wiseman was announced the mayor when a piece of paper with his name was drawn out of a recycle bin that contained both his name and Coombs'. Coombs planned on requesting a judicial recount and recommended that another election be held.^[4]

On October 6, a judge ordered that the results be recounted again, which took place on October 13.^[5] The following day it was announced that the recount resulted in another tie. Joyce Moss, the town's chief returning officer, stated that the result from the random draw will stand, resulting in Wiseman remaining as the town's mayor.^[6]

Demographics

2011

17, 326 According to the 2006 Statistics Canada Census:

• Population: 12,584
• % Change (2001–2006): 31.1
• Dwellings: 4,734
• Area (km².): 29.24
• Density (persons per km².): 430.0

See also

• List of cities and towns in Newfoundland and Labrador

References