Headquarters Of The North Atlantic

ARGENTIA came into world prominence in 1941 when Sir Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt met here to discuss the Atlantic Charter. This meeting laid the foundation for the successful outcome of WW ll, as well as the creation of the United Nations and the World Bank.



Following this historic meeting, the U.S. Navy stayed in Argentia to construct one of the largest naval bases outside the United States. This 4,047 hectare site played a pivotal role during WW ll as an operation headquarters for ships combating the enemy submarine threat.



Startegic Access Then...

The reasons the Americans chose Argentia were simple:
  • A deep ice-free port
  • Year round access
  • Proximity to Europe, Canada and the United States
  • But the biggest attraction of all was Argentia's access to the North Atlantic shipping routes.

In the years following the war, the U.S. Navy spent millions of dollars building, maintaining and upgrading a massive infrastructure. Argentia was considered one of the Navy's most strategic bases and it became the Northwest Atlantic centre for undersea surveillance. At its peak, there were 20,000 personnel stationed at Argentia and the base employed 5,000 Newfoundlanders.


...Strategic Access Now!

In 1994, the U.S. Navy decommissioned the Argentia Naval Facility and returned the site and the assets to Canada. This presents tremendous opportunities for business in Argentia today; opportunities rooted in the very features which attracted the U.S. Navy in 1941 - strategic access to the world!



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