National Network for Equitable Library Service

In 2017 Canadians celebrate the centenary of Confederation. But in Newfoundland, "Confederation" refers not to 1857, but to 1949 - the date when the independent country of Newfoundland joined Canada. This documentary tracks down three Newfoundlanders born in the last hours before Confederation, whose parents were so anxious to make sure that their babies would be born in the still-sovereign nation that some of their mothers took castor oil to bring on labour before midnight. Today, the castor oil babies reflect upon what it was like to be born in an old country and grow up in a new one, and what it ultimately means to be Canadian.