For more than two centuries, residents of a remote Canadian island in the North Atlantic have known that they can count on a nearby doctor to alleviate most illnesses.
But this June, Fogo Island will lose its only full-time doctor in the community, a trend reflected in many Newfoundland towns and villages as the region struggles with economic decline and the looming demographic crisis. The nearest doctor will be six hours away by ferry, subject to the vagaries of powerful sea storms.
Two parallel cards. This one on the left shows Eastern Canada and the United States labeled Newfoundland and Labrador. A more detailed map on the right shows Newfoundland with Fogo Island and Bell Island highlighted in red on its eastern shores.
“When you think that for the first time since 1792, they’ve been left without a permanent doctor, it leaves you amazed, and you really see something bigger happening,” said Paddy Daly, host of the popular Newfoundland radio show Open Line. “This is something that has been expected for a long time. That didn’t happen overnight. “
Since cod fishing collapsed in the early 1990s, Newfoundland and Labrador have struggled to regain economic momentum.
But the province is also struggling with a demographic crisis, with more deaths than births and evictions. In the recent national census, Newfoundland and Labrador were the only provinces in the country to have seen a decline in population since 2016 and are struggling to keep immigrants arriving in the region. Among those most affected by the evictions were the smallest settlements known as outlying communities.
The lack of doctors has become emblematic of this predicament, even inspiring the 2013 Canadian comedy The Great Seduction. In the film, the villagers of Tickle Head work hard to entice a doctor to settle in the community by playing fake cricket games and leaving money on the pier.
After their doctor left in 2021, residents of another outpost, Bell Island, tried to take matters into their own hands by launching the Bell Island Grand Seduction Facebook page, begging health authorities in the region to send Dr. Firas Ayar back in the community.
“We do not want to deceive, enchant or mislead Dr. Ayar to return to Bell Island. We want this platform to be used to show him our love and respect and our desire to bring him back to our community, “wrote local resident Kenneth Cavanagh.
The group scored a small victory when Ayar returned with a short-term contract. But the region’s broader trajectory suggests that these small gains will be rare – especially in communities with declining economic prospects.
“In many of these places, the days of having a family doctor who knew you and your children and their children probably passed,” the Daily said. “So people will have to think about whether they will move closer to care or stay.”
The Fogo Island Inn, one of the largest employers in the community, is run by Shorefast, which can play a role in providing a doctor for the island. Photo: Robertharding / Alamy
Nearly 100,000 Newfoundlanders do not have access to a family doctor, and the recent loss of a doctor from Fogo Island highlights the complex realities of managing a shortage of health professionals.
Sabrina Payne, an islander, recently decided to sell her home and leave the island after long ferry trips to the mainland became too much when she was receiving cancer treatment.
“It took me a long time to make the decision because I really liked the place,” she told the CBC. “But in the end, my mental health deteriorated because it was – it was all boring work.”
In the community is one of the most expensive and famous hotels in Canada, whose guests are Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Gwyneth Paltrow.
The Fogo Island Inn, where the cheapest stay exceeds $ 6,000, is also one of the largest employers in the community. Shorefast, the company that runs the hotel, is a registered charity that says it is investing all its profits back into the community.
The Daily suggested that Fogo may be one of the few places with resources and influence to successfully lobby health authorities in the region.
“In Fogo’s case, Shorefast may be playing a role in helping the community get a doctor,” Daly said. “Because it seems more and more that places will try to take matters into their own hands.”
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