Channel-Port aux Basques, Nfld, Town, pop 4637 (2001c), 5243 (1996c), 5644 (1991c), area 38.77 km2, inc 1945, is located on the Island's southwest coast. It is the main western port of entry for the province, the eastern terminal for the CN Marine Gulf Ferry Service to North Sydney, NS, connecting the Trans-Canada Hwy. The modern town comprises the former settlements of Channel, Port aux Basques, Grand Bay east, Grand Bay west and Mouse Island. Port aux Basques was named for BASQUE whalers who skirted the southwestern tip of Newfoundland en route to Labrador in the 1500s.
Until the 1890s, when Port aux Basques became a railway centre, the settlements were mainly fishing communities settled by the French and later by Channel Islanders and the English. The community expanded as a trade centre, especially later when Port aux Basques was chosen as the terminus of the transinsular Newfoundland Railway in the 1890s. In 1893 the railway was linked by the gulf steamer service to the Canadian railways. A number of fish plants were built by the 1950s, and one large firm continued to the 1980s. Since incorporation, Channel-Port aux Basques has been the administrative centre for the Burgeo-La Poile region.