There are no provincial trademark registries in Canada, but you may see a rare reference to a Newfoundland trademark registration. The Newfoundland Act in 1949 made Newfoundland the final province of Canada in 1949, and it included a provision that provided for all trademarks registered in Newfoundland to maintain those same rights.

As a result of the Newfoundland Act, there are Newfoundland trademarks listed on the Register which have different rights and requirements than all other trademarks in Canada. There is no cancellation mechanism for Newfoundland trademarks. These trademarks can be assigned, and the fee remains the $1.00 that was required in 1949.

Most significantly, there is no renewal requirement for Newfoundland trademarks, so they will remain on the register unless they are voluntarily withdrawn or a Court intervenes. For this reason, someday the oldest trademark registrations in Canada will likely be Newfoundland registrations. Fittingly, the oldest Newfoundland registration from back in 1890, NFLD1, is the following mark, registered for use in association with cod fish.

The second oldest Newfoundland trademark registration, also from 1890 is the trademark for Goodfellow and Company, in association with “no classifiable goods”.