 Mount Pearl is part of the St. John's metropolitan area, the 20th largest metropolitan area in Canada.Mount Pearl dates back to 1829, when Commander James Pearl and his wife, Lady Anne Pearl, arrived in Newfoundland with a Crown grant of one thousand acres (4 km²) of land, a reward for Commander Pearl's 27 years of distinguished service in the Royal Navy.In 1830, Commander Pearl built a house upon the most elevated section of his estate and named it Mount Cochrane in honour of then-governor Sir Thomas Cochrane.