Cabot Strait

Cabot Strait separates Cape Ray on Newfoundland from Cape North on Cape Breton Island. About 110 kilometres wide, it is the broadest opening from the Gulf of Saint Lawrence into the Atlantic. The Laurentian Channel cuts a deep trench between shallower coastal shelves, producing abrupt changes in depth and confused seas. Strong currents, fog and drifting ice made the passage difficult for sailing ships.

The strait was already a route for Indigenous seafarers around the Gulf of Saint Lawrence when European ships began crossing the Atlantic. John Cabot's voyages brought the region into wider European knowledge, and the water later carried the explorer's name. French, Basque, English and other fishing fleets used the Gulf approaches for cod, while transatlantic and coastal vessels sought the shortest passage between the inland river system and open ocean.

During the colonial wars, control of the strait mattered because armies and supplies depended on ships entering the Saint Lawrence. St. Paul Island, exposed near its northern approach, became notorious for wrecks when contrary winds drove vessels onto its shore. Cabot Strait thus joined the deep-water geography of the Gulf to the narrow, sometimes perilous passage between Newfoundland and Cape Breton, making it a hinge for fishing, trade and naval movement.