The eastern coyote that has colonized the Island of Newfoundland is a coyote/red wolf hybrid. The Newfoundland Wolf was killed off by the 1930s.
No timber/gray wolves were ever transplanted and to my knowledge no wolves have been legally kept as pets. Domestic coydog hybrids are also virtually unknown on the island.
The closest wild wolf population would be southern Labrador. It is over 600km. Doable, except for all that salt water in between, and crossing that distance on pack ice is highly unlikely. It is possible a wolf may have crossed over the Strait of Belle Isle at the tip of the Northern Peninsula, however, the distance this "wolf" would've had to travel to reach the area where it was shot more than doubles. Unlikely, but not impossible.
That said, the animal pictured definitely displays more wolf than coyote characteristics. I'm guessing that the DNA testing will show it to be a wolf/coyote hybrid, with the recessive red wolf genes having become dominate in this animal. Of course, it's just one more WAY...wild associated guess.
