The Yes We Have! video combines a speech by Danny Williams, left, with images of other Newfoundlanders singing along to a song based on the premier's words. (CBC)

A viral video making the rounds around Newfoundland and Labrador computers is celebrating the "have" status that the province surprisingly acquired last week.

A video titled Yes We Have! takes words spoken by Premier Danny Williams and sets them to music, with the song sung by a series of individuals.

The video was made by staff of Bristol Communications, without Williams's knowledge. In fact, the premier did not know that the patriotically themed video existed until it was brought to his attention this week.

The video took as its inspiration the "Yes, we can" refrain of U.S. president-elect Barack Obama — not to mention viral videos made by hip-hop superstar will.i.am and others.

Chris Richardson says he directed the video to provide 'a moment to step back from politics and say, wow, you know, good on us all. We've pulled this off. This is a good thing.' (CBC)

"On the American election day, we also had our 'have' status announcement. And we said, 'Wouldn't it be really interesting to celebrate that?' " said Don Barnes, a Bristol executive.

The video features a speech Williams delivered after learning that Newfoundland and Labrador no longer qualifies for equalization from the federal government. In it, he says that the age of so-called Newfie jokes has ended, and that Newfoundland and Labrador has come of age after years of "hardship and scorn."

Chris Richardson, who directed the video, said the video was not made as a political statement.

"It's more a patriotic statement, that this is a moment in time in Newfoundland and Labrador which is worth recognizing," Richardson said.

"[It's] taking a moment to step back from politics, and say, wow, you know, good on us all. We've pulled this off. This is a good thing."

For the music, Richardson enlisted the help of his brother, Jody Richardson, a songwriter and singer who has fronted several bands, including the early 1990s Canadian indie rock mainstay the Thomas Trio and the Red Albino.

"I came back with the speech, shuttled it over to Jody, and said, 'You've got 24 hours.' And Jody worked through the night and came back, first thing the next morning, with this beautiful song," Richardson told CBC News.

"All of us really, you know what, just put politics aside and took three days to do something to celebrate what's taken six decades to happen in Newfoundland."

Barnes said he hopes the video will take on a life of its own on the web.

"You know, a lot of stuff that happens on the internet, people are inspired by it, copy it, poke fun at it or do a homage to it," he said. "We're inspired by it."