Prior to the completion of the 146 kms of the Burgeo Highway - or Caribou Trail – in the 1970s, Burgeo and the neighboring south-west coast communities depended for many years upon the coastal boat and ferry service for access to the outside world. This relative isolation provided a shared identification of place that still connects the communities culturally. Burgeo is now connected to the TransCanada Highway, and is the regional hub for neighbouring communities that remain accessible only by boat. A regular ferry schedule connects these communities to Burgeo’s Coast Guard station, policing, shopping and health services provided by Burgeo’s hospital, the Calder Health Care Center.
Suitable housing for the town’s growing senior population is an area of concern for the municipality, and home-care is an increasing source of employment for some residents. Potentially adding to the number of seniors in the community are retirees from surrounding communities, who have indicated their preference to retire into Burgeo.
In the height of the fishing industry, immediately prior to the 1992 cod moratorium, there were between 400 and 500 men employed on trawlers and at the local fish plant. Today a small inshore fishery sells its crab, lobster, and cod catch locally or transports it by road to the plant in Port aux Basques. The fish plant has since been converted into a fish meal plant and employs 12 workers seasonally.
