Channel–Port aux Basques sits on the southwestern tip of Newfoundland, overlooking the eastern end of the Cabot Strait. As the gateway to the island, the town is easy to reach by road, air, or ferry. Read below for helpful travel information as you explore our region.

By Road
If you’re travelling by road, there are two exits from the Trans‑Canada Highway into Channel–Port aux Basques:
Exit – Port aux Basques (via Grand Bay West): Located near the Industrial Park
Exit – Port aux Basques (Downtown): Located at High Street in the centre of the community
DRL Coachlines provides daily motor coach service with 25 stops across Newfoundland.
For schedules and fares, visit the DRL website or call 1‑888‑263‑1854

By Air
Deer Lake Regional Airport
Located 265 km (164 miles) east of Channel–Port aux Basques.

By Ferry
Marine Atlantic operates year‑round ferry service between Channel-Port aux Basques and North Sydney, Nova Scotia.  For schedules, reservations, and travel updates, visit the Marine Atlantic website or call 1‑800‑341‑7981.

Car Rentals
During peak summer tourism season, car rentals often reach full capacity. With limited vehicle supply, booking early is strongly recommended.
• There is no car rental in Channel-Port aux Basques**

Dr. Charles L. LeGrow Health Centre
1 Grand Bay Road
Tel: (709) 695-4555

Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Trans Canada Highway
Tel: (709) 695-2149/2140
Province Wide Emergencies: 1-800-709-7267
Hearing/Speech Impaired TYY-TDD: 1-800-563-2172

Channel-Port aux Basques Volunteer Fire Department
18 Marine Drive
Emergency: (709) 695-2323
Social Hall: (709) 695-7418

Channel-Port aux Basques, the Gateway to Newfoundland, has been welcoming visitors for 500 years, from Basque Fisherman in the 1500’s who found the ice free harbour a safe haven, to ferry passengers who commenced arriving on the “Bruce” steamship in 1898 to take the railway across the island.

The area was not settled on a year-round basis until fisher-folk from the Channel Islands established Channel in the early 1700’s, although people had been working the south coast fishery year-round for a century before this. The name Port aux Basques came into common usage from 1764 onwards following surveys of Newfoundland undertaken by Captain James Cook on behalf of the British Admiralty. Captain Cook went on to fame, if not fortune, as a result of his surveys in the Pacific Ocean, but it was he who surveyed the St. Lawrence prior to Wolfe’s Assault of Quebec and was awarded 50 pounds gratuity for his “selfless service”.

The region gained a strong French influence following the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713 and the legacy remains in many of the place names on the coast. Fox Roost used to be Fosse Rouge, while Rose Blanche was Roche Blanche, or white rock, which is very obvious when you walk to the lighthouse. Isle aux Morts, or Isle of the Dead (named for the number of shipwrecks there) has retained its identity unscathed.

A major change occurred in southwest Newfoundland in 1818 when England ceded fishing rights on the coast to the American’s who had been fishing the coast for two decades. This treaty continued into the 20th century and, as a result, the area is often referred to as the American Coast. The American connection gave the local occupants a back door through which they could trade and avoid the control of the fishery exercised by the English and Jersey merchant companies. As a result, the coast also has strong family connections with New England States.

The development of Channel – Port aux Basques is closely intertwined with that of communication and transportation in Newfoundland. In 1856, Samuel Morse (of Morse Code fame) investigated the possibility of laying submarine cable from Cape Ray to Nova Scotia. One year later the cable became a reality.

What created Port aux Basques was the coming of the railway in 1898. The location was chosen by the Reid Company, who had been contracted by the Newfoundland government to build a railway across the province, partly because of its proximity to Cape Breton, but also because the area was usually ice-free through the winter. By 1881 construction began on the Reid Newfoundland Railway and on June 29th, 1898, the first train left St. John’s at 7:00pm. It arrived in Port aux Basques on June 30th at 10:45pm … a journey of 27 hours and 45 minutes!

Railroad passengers then went by sea to North Sydney, Nova Scotia, on the first ferry, the “S.S. Bruce”. This passenger-freight vessel made the crossing for 20 years before being replaced by other vessels.

Newfoundland saw much activity during the Second World War with one of the Loran C master stations on Mouse Island operating from 1942-45. Also in 1942, the US military erected radio and telephone repeater stations on Table Mountain, one of seven installations across the province.

In 1942 one of the most notable vessels, the “S.S. Caribou” was sunk on the gulf crossing by a German U-boat. Of the 288 on board, 187 lost their lives. A monument now sits at the Legion Memorial Park to commemorate this tragic event. Today, a new super ferry “M.V. Caribou” with luxury accommodations, named after its predecessor, is making the crossing in less than six hours.

With an emergence of the fishery, union of the Newfoundland Railroad and ferry crossing the Cabot Strait, Channel and Port aux Basques was growing rapidly and merged into a single community in November 1945.

Port aux Basques owes is settlement in part to its strategic location, aiding transportation, and its rich fishing grounds. Today, Channel – Port aux Basques is a community of some 4,319 people. The town, with its modernized facilities, provides shopping, business, education and recreational services to the area; is known as the hub of Southwestern Newfoundland.

Online Radio Stations:
CFCB 1230 AM
OZ 96.9 FM
CHBI 95.7 FM

Public Internet Access:
Port aux Basques Public Library
8 Grand Bay Road
Tel: (709) 695-3471

Codroy Valley Public Library
Belanger Memorial School
Tel: (709) 955-3158