The Royal Newfoundland Regiment is a militia unit of the Canadian Armed Forces.

Newfoundland called itself Britain's oldest colony, and as such it entered the First World War on August 4, 1914, with the rest of the British Empire. From a very small population base, it raised the 1st Newfoundland Regiment to fight with the British Army. Unfortunately, the battalion-sized regiment was virtually wiped out at Beaumont Hamel on the first day of the Battle of the Somme in 1916. Since then, July 1 has been marked as Memorial Day in Newfoundland and Labrador.

In late 1917, following the Battle of Cambrai, the regiment was granted the "Royal" prefix by King George V, making it the only regiment of the British Empire to receive that honour during the war itself.

Newfoundland became an independent dominion on 26 September 1907 by royal proclamation. Full independence was granted by the United Kingdom Parliament with the Statute of Westminster in 1931; Unfortunately, financial ruin during the Great Depression exacerbated by the repayment of war debts caused the Newfoundland government to ask for the suspension of its independence under Commission government . When the Second World War started, Newfoundland joined as a dependency of Britain but did not raise any local ground forces to fight overseas.

In 1949, after a pair of referenda, Newfoundland and Labrador joined Canada as the latter's 10th province. The Royal Newfoundland Regiment became the primary militia unit for the province.