Located in this town is Newfoundland's only oil refinery, the Come By Chance Refinery operated by North Atlantic Refining, which has a capacity of 130,000 barrels per day (21,000 m3/d). The associated port was Canada's fifth largest port by cargo tonnage loaded and unloaded in 2011. It handled 27.4 million metric tonnes, of which 23.7 million tonnes was crude petroleum.[4]
History
The town's name is believed to be the result of explorers coming upon a Beothuk path by chance, and naming the location after the unexpected discovery.[5]
Come By Chance was chosen as the location for a Canadian cottage hospital in 1936.[5]
In February 2018, a group of oil refinery workers split a Canadian lottery winning of $60,000,000.[6]
Demographics
In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Come By Chance had a population of 208 living in 90 of its 108 total private dwellings, a change of -8.8% from its 2016 population of 228. With a land area of 39.55 km2 (15.27 sq mi), it had a population density of 5.3/km2 (13.6/sq mi) in 2021.[2][1]
