These days, Newfoundlanders can find a variety of options for butter and butter substitutes at their local grocery store. But this wasn’t always the case. Historically, the province struggled with dairy production, but the invention of margarine in the 19th century changed the game. Let’s journey back over 140 years to the beginning of margarine in the province and the formation of the Newfoundland Butter Company.

Initial churning

Margarine was invented by a French chemist in 1869. Originally, it was made from beef fat and lard until a later trend toward using refined vegetable oils. Naturally, dairy farmers opposed the butter substitute, which contains little to no dairy.

Many countries were quick to impose strict regulations or bans on margarine. For example, Canada prohibited its production, importation or sale in 1886. However, with annual local butter production as little as one and a half pounds per person, the absence of a strong dairy industry in Newfoundland meant margarine was widely accepted.

Harvey and Company was the first to manufacture margarine in Newfoundland in 1883. In true Newfoundland fashion, it was made using fish and seal oil. A second margarine company entered the market at the beginning of the 20th century; John Chalker Crosbie created the third, the Newfoundland Butter Company, in 1925 (which exclusively made margarine, not butter as its name suggested).

A good spread

Newfoundland Butter Company quickly became the leading margarine producer in the province. The company promoted the release of its Golden Spread and Silver Spread brands of margarine by hiding silver and gold coins in lucky tubs.

In 1932, the company’s two competitors merged to form Harvey-Brehm and in 1937 London-based Lever Brothers and Unilever Ltd. acquired Harvey Brehm and Newfoundland Butter Company. A year later, Lever Brothers consolidated margarine production in the province, merging both companies to operate as Newfoundland Butter Company from its factory on Lemarchant Road.

Throughout the ‘30s and ‘40s, the Newfoundland margarine industry remained strong. In fact, when the province joined Canada in 1949, item 46 in the Terms of Union specified that margarine production and sales in Newfoundland would continue (even though the product was still prohibited throughout the rest of Canada).

In 1950, the Newfoundland Butter Company was renamed Newfoundland Margarine Company. At this time, it was making classic brands, Good Luck and Eversweet. Also, instead of seal and fish oils, vegetable and mineral oils were used in the butter substitute.

As the Newfoundland Butter Company caught attention as the only margarine producer in Canada, others lobbied for the product to be made and sold throughout the rest of the country. Eventually, margarine production was allowed in other provinces, so more competitors entered the market in Newfoundland.

In 2000, Unilever announced plans to consolidate its Canadian operations, which involved the closure of Newfoundland Butter Company. The province’s only margarine manufacturer closed its doors in March 2004 and the building was demolished in 2007 to build a Shoppers Drug Mart.

Note: A representative of Newfoundland Butter Company was unavailable for an interview; the above article is based on third-party research.

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