As premier, he vigorously promoted economic development, championed the welfare state, and emphasized modernization of education and transportation.

During the Great Depression, Smallwood worked for various newspapers and edited a two-volume collection titled The Book of Newfoundland.

[8][9] At this point, Smallwood was a well-known radio personality, writer and organizer; he was a nationalist who had long criticized British rule.

In 1945, London announced that a National Convention would be elected in Newfoundland to advise on what constitutional choices should to be voted on by referendum.

[10] At the convention Smallwood emerged as the leading proponent of confederation with Canada, insisting, "Today we are more disposed to feel that our very manhood, our very creation by God, entitles us to standards of life no lower than our brothers on the mainland.

Crosbie, a leader of the fishing industry, led the Economic Union Party, seeking responsible government first, to be followed by closer ties with the United States, which could be a major source of capital.

Catholics (mostly of Irish descent) in the city desired independence to protect their parochial schools, leading to a Protestant backlash in rural areas.

The 1948 referendums resulted in Confederation being approved, and in 1949, as leader of the Liberal Party, Smallwood was elected premier of the new province.

He emphasised modernisation of education and transportation to attract outsiders, such as German industrialists, because the local economic elite would not invest in industrial development.

He relied heavily on the expertise of German industry in his repeated attempts to industrialise Newfoundland in the post-Confederation period.

His efforts to promote industrialisation were a mixed bag, with the most favourable results in hydroelectricity, iron mining, and paper mills.

[15] Part of Smallwood’s industrialization legacy is the 1969 agreement locking Newfoundland into selling electricity from the power dam at Labrador’s Churchill Falls to Quebec until the year 2041—at a fixed rate that is now roughly one-tenth of the market price.

[citation needed] Smallwood announced his retirement in 1969, only to change his mind and run for the leadership against John Crosbie.

The Labrador Party's lone MHA, Tom Burgess, threw his support to Smallwood, resulting in a three-month deadlock.

[21] However, under the threat of a revolt in his own caucus, Smallwood was forced to resign in January 1972 in favour of the PCs' Frank Moores.

I'm sitting on top of the public chest, and not one red cent will come out of it for Ferryland unless Greg Power is elected [to Ottawa].

Many of Smallwood's interviews, as well as numerous solo films and speeches he made, are rebroadcast during the Captain Atlantis block of freeform telecasts that CJON carries very early on Saturday mornings.