[10][11] The location of Vinland is uncertain,[12] but an archaeological site on the northern tip of Newfoundland at L'Anse aux Meadows[13] has been identified as a good candidate.

[18] The French would form alliances with many indigenous groups within Atlantic Canada, including the Mi'kmaq of Acadia, who joined the Wabanaki Confederacy, important allies to New France.

[19] Competition for control of the island of Newfoundland and its waters contributed to major ongoing conflicts and occasional wars between France and Britain.

[21] Between 1755 and 1764 during the Seven Years' War the British forcibly removed thousands of Acadians from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick in an event known as the Great Expulsion or Le Grand Dérangement.

[25][26] Following the Seven Years War and the Treaty of Paris of 1763, Newfoundland's governor, Admiral Hugh Palliser, consolidated British control by carrying out the first systematic hydrographic charting of the island,[27] including the Bay of Islands and Humber Arm, much of it by the Royal Naval officer James Cook.

[32][33][34] After the conclusion of the American Revolution with the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1783 many loyalists from the United States settled in the region.

[37][38] Additionally these immigrants changed the culture and character of the region which had historically been French towards more British styled communities.

[56] He believed that it would have been presumptuous for Newfoundland to assume that it could include itself within the existing term "Maritime provinces," which was used to describe the cultural similarities shared by New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia.

[62][67] The area encompasses a mix of urban centers like Halifax and St. John's and rural communities that rely on fishing, and tourism.

[35][62][89] The Atlantic provinces contribute a significant part of Canada's fish production,[90][91] with many coastal communities primarily dependent on fisheries.

[101][102][103] Labrador hosts the second largest hydroelectric system in Canada at Churchill Falls where it produces 35,000 GWh of power each year.