In the 1960s, Labrador City was founded to accommodate employees of the Iron Ore Company of Canada, and iron ore mining continues to be the primary industry in the town.
The Labrador City town motto is Kamistiatusset, a Naskapi word meaning "land of the hard-working people." The Labrador City town crest is that of a snowy owl holding a scroll atop a black spade on a mound of red earth. The symbol represents iron ore mining. The spade is flanked by two caribou. Both snowy owls and caribou are native to the Labrador City area.
Labrador City was built around the rich iron ore deposits of the Labrador Trough by the Iron Ore Company of Canada (IOC) in the 1960s. The Carol Project is the major iron ore mining operation for the area.[8] In 2008, IOC and their parent company Rio Tinto announced they would spend $800 million to develop additional mines in the region. However, only a few months after announcing the second phase of their expansion, the project was shelved due to the economic recession and low demand for steel. With the world recovering from the economic crisis, it is believed that IOC will go ahead with their expansion in the near future.[9][10][11][12]
The town contains many amenities found in larger locations thanks to investments by the mining companies who established the area including an ice arena, curling, downhill & cross country ski clubs. The White wolf snowmobile club connects with a larger trail network across the region and is home to the Cain's Quest Snowmobile Endurance Race.
The main shopping mall in the town, the 22,940-square-metre (246,923 sq ft) Labrador Mall, includes a Walmart, Canadian Tire & Mark's.[13] The mall opened in 1978 and is the largest shopping mall in Labrador; it is also the only enclosed mall.[14][15][16][17]
There is a Masonic lodge in Labrador City, Lodge Anik No 1707 of the District Grand Lodge of Newfoundland and Labrador of the Grand Lodge of Scotland.
In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Labrador City had a population of 7,412 living in 3,070 of its 3,368 total private dwellings, a change of 2.7% from its 2016 population of 7,220. With a land area of 34.11 km2 (13.17 sq mi), it had a population density of 217.3/km2 (562.8/sq mi) in 2021.[18]
Wabush and Labrador City has a continental subarctic climate (Köppen: Dfc), with mild summers and severely cold winters.[21] Precipitation is heavy year round (although higher in summer) due to the strong Icelandic Low to the east driving cold, moist and unstable air onto the region. Snowfall, as is typical for the province, is very heavy for seven months each year and depths can reach as high as 218 centimetres (85.83 in). Despite its latitude around the same as cities like Berlin, London, and Amsterdam, its annual mean temperature is 13 °C (23 °F) colder.
Climate data for Wabush (Wabush Airport, normals from 1981−2010)