Prince Edward Island is a
CanadianCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
provinceThe provinces and territories of Canada combine to make up the world's second-largest country by area. There are ten provinces and three territories...
consisting of an island of the same name, as well as
other islands. The
maritime provinceThe Maritime provinces, also called the Maritimes or the Canadian Maritimes, is a region of Eastern Canada consisting of three provinces, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. On the Atlantic coast, the Maritimes are a subregion of Atlantic Canada, which also includes the...
is the smallest in the nation in both land area and population. The island has a few other names: "Garden of the Gulf" referring to the pastoral scenery and lush agricultural lands throughout the province; and "Birthplace of Confederation", referring to the
Charlottetown ConferenceThe Charlottetown Conference was held in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island for representatives from the colonies of British North America to discuss Canadian Confederation...
in 1864, although PEI did not join the confederation itself until 1873 when it became the seventh Canadian province.
According to the 2009 estimates, Prince Edward Island has 141,000 residents. It is located in a rectangle defined roughly by
46°The 46th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 46 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses Europe, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America, and the Atlantic Ocean....
–
47°NThe 47th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 47 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses Europe, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America, and the Atlantic Ocean....
, and
62°The meridian 62° west of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, Greenland, North America, the Atlantic Ocean, South America, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole....
–64°30′W and at 5683.91 km² (2,194.6 sq mi) in size, it is the
104th largest island in the world, and
Canada's 23rd largest island.
The island was named for Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn (1767–1820), the fourth son of
King George IIIGeorge III was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death...
and the father of
Queen VictoriaVictoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....
.
Geography
Prince Edward Island is located in the Gulf of St. Lawrence west of
Cape Breton IslandCape Breton Island is an island on the Atlantic coast of North America. It likely corresponds to the word Breton, the French demonym for Brittany....
, north of the
Nova Scotia peninsulaThe Nova Scotia peninsula is a peninsula on the Atlantic coast of North America.-Location:The Nova Scotia peninsula is part of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada and is connected to the neighbouring province of New Brunswick through the Isthmus of Chignecto...
, and east of
New BrunswickNew Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
. Its southern shore bounds the
Northumberland StraitThe Northumberland Strait is a strait in the southern part of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence in eastern Canada...
. The island has two urban areas. The largest surrounds Charlottetown Harbour, situated centrally on the island's southern shore, and consists of the capital city
CharlottetownCharlottetown is a Canadian city. It is both the largest city on and the provincial capital of Prince Edward Island, and the county seat of Queens County. Named after Queen Charlotte, the wife of George III, Charlottetown was first incorporated as a town in 1855 and designated as a city in 1885...
, and suburban towns
CornwallCornwall is a Canadian suburban town located in Queens County, Prince Edward Island.The town is located immediately west of the provincial capital Charlottetown and functions as a bedroom community.-History:...
and
StratfordStratford is a Canadian suburban town located in central Prince Edward Island.It is situated on a peninsula formed by the Hillsborough River estuary, Charlottetown Harbour, and Hillsborough Bay - a sub-basin of the Northumberland Strait....
and a developing urban fringe. A much smaller urban area surrounds Summerside Harbour, situated on the southern shore 40 km (24.9 mi) west of Charlottetown Harbour, and consists primarily of the city of
SummersideSummerside is a Canadian city in Prince County, Prince Edward Island. It is the second largest city in the province and the principal municipality for the western part of the island.- History :...
. As with all natural harbours on the island, Charlottetown and Summerside harbours are created by
riaA ria is a coastal inlet formed by the partial submergence of an unglaciated river valley. It is a drowned river valley that remains open to the sea. Typically, rias have a dendritic, treelike outline although they can be straight and without significant branches. This pattern is inherited from the...
s.
The island's landscape is
pastoralThe adjective pastoral refers to the lifestyle of pastoralists, such as shepherds herding livestock around open areas of land according to seasons and the changing availability of water and pasturage. It also refers to a genre in literature, art or music that depicts such shepherd life in an...
. Rolling hills, woods, reddish white sand beaches, ocean coves and the famous red soil have given Prince Edward Island a reputation as a province of outstanding natural beauty. The provincial government has enacted laws that attempt to preserve the landscape through regulation, although there is a lack of consistent enforcement, and an absence of province-wide
zoningZoning is a device of land use planning used by local governments in most developed countries. The word is derived from the practice of designating permitted uses of land based on mapped zones which separate one set of land uses from another...
and land-use planning.
The island's lush landscape has a strong bearing on its economy and culture. Author
Lucy Maud MontgomeryLucy Maud Montgomery OBE , called "Maud" by family and friends and publicly known as L.M. Montgomery, was a Canadian author best known for a series of novels beginning with Anne of Green Gables, published in 1908. Anne of Green Gables was an immediate success...
drew inspiration from the land during the late
Victorian EraThe Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
for the setting of her classic novel
Anne of Green GablesAnne of Green Gables is a bestselling novel by Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery published in 1908. Set in 1878, it was written as fiction for readers of all ages, but in recent decades has been considered a children's book...
. Today, many of the same qualities that Montgomery and others found in the island are enjoyed by tourists who visit year-round. They enjoy a variety of leisure activities, including beaches, various
golf courseA golf course comprises a series of holes, each consisting of a teeing ground, fairway, rough and other hazards, and a green with a flagstick and cup, all designed for the game of golf. A standard round of golf consists of playing 18 holes, thus most golf courses have this number of holes...
s, eco-tourism adventures, touring the countryside, and enjoying cultural events in local communities around the island.
The smaller, rural communities as well as the towns and villages throughout the province proudly retain a slower-paced, old-world flavour, something factoring heavily into Prince Edward Island's popularity as a destination for relaxation. The economy of most rural communities on the island is based on
small-scale agricultureSmall-scale agriculture is an alternative to factory farming or more broadly, intensive agriculture or unsustainable farming methods that are prevalent in primarily first world countries. Environmental Health Perspectives has noted that " Sustainable agriculture is not merely a package of...
, given the size of farm properties is small when compared with other areas in Canada. There is an increasing amount of industrial farming as older farm properties are consolidated and modernized.
The coastline consists of a combination of long
beachA beach is a geological landform along the shoreline of an ocean, sea, lake or river. It usually consists of loose particles which are often composed of rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles or cobblestones...
es, dunes, red
sandstoneSandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
cliffs, salt water
marshIn geography, a marsh, or morass, is a type of wetland that is subject to frequent or continuous flood. Typically the water is shallow and features grasses, rushes, reeds, typhas, sedges, other herbaceous plants, and moss....
es and numerous
baysHeadlands and bays are two related features of the coastal environment.- Geology and geography :Headlands and bays are often found on the same coastline. A bay is surrounded by land on three sides, whereas a headland is surrounded by water on three sides. Headlands are characterized by high,...
and
harboursA harbor or harbour , or haven, is a place where ships, boats, and barges can seek shelter from stormy weather, or else are stored for future use. Harbors can be natural or artificial...
. The beaches, dunes and sandstone cliffs consist of sedimentary rock and other material with a high iron concentration which oxidises upon exposure to the air. The geological properties of a white silica sand found at
Basin HeadBasin Head is a cape in Lot 47, Kings County, Prince Edward Island, Canada.Extending into the Northumberland Strait, its geographic coordinates are 46'23"N, 62'07"W....
are unique in the province; the sand grains cause a scrubbing noise as they rub against each other when walked on, aptly named the singing sands. Large dune fields on the north shore can be found on
barrier islandBarrier islands, a coastal landform and a type of barrier system, are relatively narrow strips of sand that parallel the mainland coast. They usually occur in chains, consisting of anything from a few islands to more than a dozen...
s at the entrances to various bays and harbours. The magnificent sand dunes at
GreenwichGreenwich is an unincorporated Canadian rural community located in eastern Prince Edward Island, Canada.Located on the Greenwich Peninsula, which extends northwest from St. Peters, creating St...
are of particular significance. The shifting, parabolic dune system is home to a variety of birds and rare plants and is also a site of significant archeological interest.
Geology
Between 250 to 300 million years ago, freshwater streams flowing from ancient mountains brought silt, sand and gravel into what is now the Gulf of St. Lawrence. These sediments accumulated to form a
sedimentary basinThe term sedimentary basin is used to refer to any geographical feature exhibiting subsidence and consequent infilling by sedimentation. As the sediments are buried, they are subjected to increasing pressure and begin the process of lithification...
, and make up the island's
bedrockIn stratigraphy, bedrock is the native consolidated rock underlying the surface of a terrestrial planet, usually the Earth. Above the bedrock is usually an area of broken and weathered unconsolidated rock in the basal subsoil...
. When
PleistoceneThe Pleistocene is the epoch from 2,588,000 to 11,700 years BP that spans the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek and ....
glacierA glacier is a large persistent body of ice that forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. At least 0.1 km² in area and 50 m thick, but often much larger, a glacier slowly deforms and flows due to stresses induced by its weight...
s receded about 15,000 years ago, glacial debris such as till was left behind to cover most of the area that would become the island. This area was connected to the mainland by a strip of land, but when ocean levels rose as the glaciers melted this land strip was flooded, forming the island. As the land rebounded from the weight of the ice, the island rose up to elevate it further from the surrounding water.
Climate
Winters are moderately cold, with clashes of cold Arctic air and milder Atlantic air causing frequent temperature swings. From December to April, the island usually has many storms (which may produce rain as well as snow) and blizzards. Springtime temperatures typically remain cool until the sea ice has melted, usually in late April or early May. Summers are moderately warm, but rarely uncomfortable, with the daily maximum temperature only occasionally reaching as high as 30 °C (86 °F). Autumn is a rather pleasant season, as the moderating Gulf waters delay the onset of frost, although storm activity does increase over that of summer. There is ample precipitation throughout the year, although it is heaviest in the late autumn and early winter and mid spring.
History
Before the influx of Europeans, the Mi'kmaq people inhabited Prince Edward Island. They named the Island
Epekwitk, meaning "resting on the waves"; Europeans represented the pronunciation as
Abegweit. The natives believed that the island was formed by the Great Spirit placing on the Blue Waters some dark red crescent-shaped clay.
French colony
In 1534,
Jacques CartierJacques Cartier was a French explorer of Breton origin who claimed what is now Canada for France. He was the first European to describe and map the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the shores of the Saint Lawrence River, which he named "The Country of Canadas", after the Iroquois names for the two big...
was the first European to see the island. As part of the French colony of
AcadiaAcadia was the name given to lands in a portion of the French colonial empire of New France, in northeastern North America that included parts of eastern Quebec, the Maritime provinces, and modern-day Maine. At the end of the 16th century, France claimed territory stretching as far south as...
, the island was called "Île Saint-Jean".
Battle at Port-la-Joye (1745)
After the
Siege of Louisbourg (1745)The Siege of Louisbourg took place in 1745 when a New England colonial force aided by a British fleet captured Louisbourg, the capital of the French province of Île-Royale during the War of the Austrian Succession, known as King George's War in the British colonies.Although the Fortress of...
during
King George's WarKing George's War is the name given to the operations in North America that formed part of the War of the Austrian Succession . It was the third of the four French and Indian Wars. It took place primarily in the British provinces of New York, Massachusetts Bay, New Hampshire, and Nova Scotia...
, the New Englanders also captured Île Saint-Jean (Prince Edward Island). An English detachment landed at Port-la-Joye. Under the command of Joseph de Pont Duvivier, the French had a garrison of 20 French troops at Port-la-Joye. The troops fled and New Englanders burned the capital to the ground. Duvivier and the twenty men retreated up the Northeast River (Hillsborough River), pursued by the New Englanders until the French troops received reinforcements from the Acadian militia and the Mi'kmaq. The French troops and their allies were able to drive the New Englanders to their boats, nine New Englanders killed, wounded or made prisoner. The New Englanders took six Acadian hostages, who would be executed if the Acadians or Mi'kmaq rebelled against New England control. The New England troops left for Louisbourg. Duvivier and his 20 troops left for Quebec. After the fall of Louisbourg, the resident French population of Ile Royal were deported to France. The Acadians of Ile Saint-Jean lived under the threat of deportation for the remainder of the war.
Battle at Port-la-Joye (1746)
The New Englanders had a force of two war ships and 200 soldiers stationed at
Port-La-JoyePort-la-Joye—Fort Amherst is a National Historic Site of Canada in Prince Edward Island, Canada, commemorating the location's double distinction in hosting both the oldest permanent European settlement on Ile Saint-Jean and the first military fortification on the island to be built by the British...
. To regain Acadia, Ramezay was sent from Quebec to the region to join forces with the
Duc d'Anville ExpeditionThe Duc d'Anville Expedition was sent from France to recapture peninsular Acadia . The expedition was the largest military force ever to set sail for the New World prior to the American Revolution. The effort to take the Nova Scotian capital, Annapolis Royal was also supported on land by a force...
. Upon arriving at Chignecto, he sent Boishebert to Ile Saint-Jean on a reconnaissance to assess the size of the New England force. After Boishebert returned, Ramezay sent Joseph-Michel Legardeur de Croisille et de Montesson along with over 500 men, 200 of whom were Mi'kmaq, to Port-La-Joye. In July 1746, the battle happened near York River. Montesson and his troops killed forty New Englanders and captured the rest. Montesson was commended for having distinguished himself in his first independent command.
Expulsion of the Acadians
Roughly one thousand Acadians lived on the island, many of whom had fled to the island from mainland Nova Scotia during the first wave of the British-ordered
expulsionThe Expulsion of the Acadians was the forced removal by the British of the Acadian people from present day Canadian Maritime provinces: Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island...
in 1755, reaching a population of 5,000. However, many more were forcibly deported during the second wave of the expulsion after the
Siege of Louisbourg (1758)The Siege of Louisbourg was a pivotal battle of the Seven Years' War in 1758 which ended the French colonial era in Atlantic Canada and led directly to the loss of Quebec in 1759 and the remainder of French North America the following year.-Background:The British government realized that with the...
. In the
Ile Saint-Jean CampaignThe Ile Saint-Jean Campaign was a series of military operations in fall 1758, during the French and Indian War, to deport the Acadians that either lived on Ile Saint-Jean or had taken refuge there from earlier deportation operations...
(1758) General Jeffery Amherst ordered
Colonel Andrew RolloAndrew Rollo, 5th Lord Rollo, was a Scottish army commander in Canada and Dominica during the Seven Years' War, who led the British land forces in the capture of Dominica on June 6, 1761....
to capture the island. Many Acadians died in the expulsion enroute to France: on December 13, 1758, the transport ship Duke William sank and 364 died. A day earlier the
Violet sank and 280 died; several days later the
Ruby sank with 213 on board.
British colony
Great BritainThe former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...
obtained the island from
FranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
under the terms of the
Treaty of ParisThe Treaty of Paris, often called the Peace of Paris, or the Treaty of 1763, was signed on 10 February 1763, by the kingdoms of Great Britain, France and Spain, with Portugal in agreement. It ended the French and Indian War/Seven Years' War...
in 1763 which settled the
Seven Years' WarThe Seven Years' War was a global military war between 1756 and 1763, involving most of the great powers of the time and affecting Europe, North America, Central America, the West African coast, India, and the Philippines...
. The British called their new colony St. John's Island (also the Island of St. John's).
The first British governor of St. John's Island,
Walter PattersonWalter Patterson was the first British colonial Governor of Prince Edward Island.-Birth and life in the military:...
, was appointed in 1769. Assuming office in 1770, he had a controversial career during which land title disputes and factional conflict slowed the initial attempts to populate and develop the island under a feudal system. In an attempt to attract settlers from Ireland, in one of his first acts (1770) Patterson led the island's colonial assembly to rename the island "New Ireland", but the British Government promptly vetoed this as exceeding the authority vested in the colonial government; only the Privy Council in London could change the name of a colony.
Raid on Charlottetown (1775)
During the
American Revolutionary WarThe American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
Charlottetown was raided in 1775 by a pair of American-employed privateers. Two armed schooners,
Franklin and
Hancock, from
Beverly, MassachusettsBeverly is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 39,343 on , which differs by no more than several hundred from the 39,862 obtained in the 2000 census. A resort, residential and manufacturing community on the North Shore, Beverly includes Beverly Farms and Prides...
, made prisoner of the attorney-general at Charlottetown, on advice given them by some Pictou residents after they had taken eight fishing vessels in the Gut of Canso.
During and after the
American Revolutionary WarThe American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
, from 1776 to 1783, the colony's efforts to attract exiled
Loyalist refugeesThe name United Empire Loyalists is an honorific given after the fact to those American Loyalists who resettled in British North America and other British Colonies as an act of fealty to King George III after the British defeat in the American Revolutionary War and prior to the Treaty of Paris...
from the rebellious American colonies met with some success. Walter Patterson's brother, John Patterson, one of the original grantees of land on the island, was a temporarily exiled Loyalist and led efforts to persuade others to come.
The 1787 dismissal of Governor Patterson and his recall to London in 1789 dampened his brother's efforts, leading John to focus on his interests in the United States (one of John's sons, Commodore
Daniel PattersonDaniel Todd Patterson was an officer in the United States Navy during the Quasi-War with France, the First Barbary War and the War of 1812.-Biography:...
, became a noted
United States NavyThe United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
hero, and John's grandsons, Rear Admiral
Thomas H. PattersonThomas Harmon Patterson was a rear admiral in the United States Navy.-Early life and career:Patterson was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, the second son of Commodore Daniel Todd Patterson, a War of 1812 U.S. Navy hero, and George Ann Pollock. Patterson saw action in the American Civil War and...
and Lt.
Carlile Pollock PattersonCarlile Pollock Patterson was an American civil engineer, superintendent of the United States Coast Survey...
USN, achieved success).
Edmund FanningEdmund Fanning first gained fame for his role in the War of the Regulation, but later had a distinguished career as a colonial governor and British general.right| Sketch of Edmund Fanning...
, also a Loyalist exiled by the Revolution, took over as the second governor, serving until 1804. His tenure was more successful than Patterson's.
On November 29, 1798, during Fanning's administration, Great Britain granted approval to change the colony's name from St. John's Island to Prince Edward Island to distinguish it from similar names in the Atlantic, such as the cities of
Saint John, New BrunswickCity of Saint John , or commonly Saint John, is the largest city in the province of New Brunswick, and the first incorporated city in Canada. The city is situated along the north shore of the Bay of Fundy at the mouth of the Saint John River. In 2006 the city proper had a population of 74,043...
and
St. John'sSt. John's is the capital and largest city in Newfoundland and Labrador, and is the oldest English-founded city in North America. It is located on the eastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland. With a population of 192,326 as of July 1, 2010, the St...
in Newfoundland. The colony's new name honoured the fourth son of
King George IIIGeorge III was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death...
, Prince Edward Augustus, the Duke of Kent (1767–1820), who subsequently led the British military forces on the continent as
Commander-in-Chief, North AmericaThe office of Commander-in-Chief, North America was a military position of the British Army. Established in 1755 in the early years of the Seven Years' War, holders of the post were generally responsible for land-based military personnel and activities in and around those parts of North America...
(1799–1800), with his headquarters in
HalifaxHalifax is a city in Canada, which was the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County. It was the largest city in Atlantic Canada until it was amalgamated into Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996...
. (Prince Edward later became the father of the future
Queen VictoriaVictoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....
.)
During the 19th century the colony of Prince Edward Island began to attract "adventurous Victorian families looking for elegance on the sea. Prince Edward Island became a fashionable retreat in the nineteenth century for British nobility."
The island is known in Scottish Gaelic as
Eilean a' Phrionnsa (lit. "the Island of the Prince", the local form of the longer 'Eilean a' Phrionnsa Iomhair/Eideard') or
Eilean Eòin for some Gaelic speakers in Nova Scotia though not on PEI (lit. "John's Island" in reference to the island's former name of St. John's Island: the English translation of Île Saint Jean); in Míkmaq as
Abegweit or
Epekwitk roughly translated "land cradled in the waves".
Confederation
In September 1864, Prince Edward Island hosted the
Charlottetown ConferenceThe Charlottetown Conference was held in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island for representatives from the colonies of British North America to discuss Canadian Confederation...
, which was the first meeting in the process leading to the Articles of
ConfederationCanadian Confederation was the process by which the federal Dominion of Canada was formed on July 1, 1867. On that day, three British colonies were formed into four Canadian provinces...
and the creation of Canada in 1867. Prince Edward Island did not find the terms of union favourable and balked at joining in 1867, choosing to remain a colony of the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. In the late 1860s, the colony examined various options, including the possibility of becoming a discrete dominion unto itself, as well as entertaining delegations from the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, who were interested in Prince Edward Island joining the United States of America.
In 1871, the colony began construction of a
railwayThe Prince Edward Island Railway was a historic Canadian railway.-Construction:Located wholly within the province of Prince Edward Island, construction of the PEIR started in 1871, financed by the United Kingdom...
and, frustrated by Great Britain's Colonial Office, began negotiations with the United States. In 1873,
Prime MinisterThe Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...
Sir
John A. MacdonaldSir John Alexander Macdonald, GCB, KCMG, PC, PC , QC was the first Prime Minister of Canada. The dominant figure of Canadian Confederation, his political career spanned almost half a century...
, anxious to thwart American expansionism and facing the distraction of the
Pacific ScandalThe Pacific Scandal was a political scandal in Canada involving allegations of bribes being accepted by the Conservative government in the attempts of private interests to influence the bidding for a national rail contract...
, negotiated for Prince Edward Island to join Canada. The Dominion Government of Canada assumed the colony's extensive railway debts and agreed to finance a buy-out of the last of the colony's absentee landlords to free the island of leasehold tenure and from any new immigrants entering the island (accomplished through the passage of the
Land Purchase Act, 1875The Land Purchase Act, 1875 was a statute in Prince Edward Island, Canada passed by the General Assembly of Prince Edward Island in 1875...
). Prince Edward Island entered Confederation on 1 July 1873.
As a result of having hosted the inaugural meeting of Confederation, the
Charlottetown ConferenceThe Charlottetown Conference was held in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island for representatives from the colonies of British North America to discuss Canadian Confederation...
, Prince Edward Island presents itself as the "Birthplace of Confederation" with several buildings, a
ferryNorthumberland Ferries Limited is a ferry company operating in eastern Canada and headquartered in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island...
vessel, and the
Confederation BridgeThe Confederation Bridge is a bridge spanning the Abegweit Passage of Northumberland Strait, linking Prince Edward Island with mainland New Brunswick, Canada. It was commonly referred to as the "Fixed Link" by residents of Prince Edward Island prior to its official naming. Construction took place...
(constructed 1993 to 1997). The most prominent building in the province with this name is the
Confederation Centre of the ArtsThe Confederation Centre of the Arts is a cultural centre dedicated to the visual and performing arts located in the city of Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada.-History:...
, presented as a gift to Prince Edward Islanders by the 10 provincial governments and the Federal Government upon the centenary of the Charlottetown Conference, where it stands in Charlottetown as a national monument to the "Fathers of Confederation". The Centre is one of the 22
National Historic Sites of Canada located in Prince Edward Island.
Demographics
According to the 2001 Canadian Census, the largest ethnic group consists of people of
ScottishThe Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
descent (38.0%), followed by
EnglishThe English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
(28.7%),
IrishThe Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
(27.9%),
FrenchThe French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
(21.3%), German (4.0%), and
DutchThe Dutch people are an ethnic group native to the Netherlands. They share a common culture and speak the Dutch language. Dutch people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in Suriname, Chile, Brazil, Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and the United...
(3.1%) descent. In recent times the island has received an influx of immigrants from
AsiaAsia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
and
AfricaAfrica is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
. Almost half of respondents identified their ethnicity as "Canadian."
Population of Prince Edward Island since 1851
| Year | Population | Mean annual | 5-year | 10-year | Rank* |
| | Percentage change | |
| 1851 |
62,678 |
– |
– |
– |
5 |
1861 |
80,857 |
2.6 |
– |
29.0 |
1871 |
94,021 |
1.5 |
– |
16.3 |
1881 |
108,891 |
1.5 |
– |
15.8 |
1891 |
109,078 |
0.017 |
– |
0.2 |
6 |
1901 |
103,259 |
−0.55 |
– |
−5.3 |
7 |
1911 |
93,728 |
−0.96 |
– |
−9.2 |
9 |
1921 |
88,615 |
−0.56 |
– |
−5.4 |
1931 |
88,038 |
−0.065 |
– |
−0.7 |
1941 |
95,047 |
0.77 |
– |
8.0 |
1951 |
98,429 |
0.35 |
– |
3.6 |
10 |
1956 |
99,285 |
0.17 |
0.9 |
– |
1961 |
104,629 |
1.1 |
5.4 |
6.3 |
1966 |
108,535 |
0.74 |
3.7 |
9.3 |
1971 |
111,635 |
0.56 |
2.9 |
6.7 |
1976 |
118,225 |
1.2 |
5.9 |
8.9 |
1981 |
122,506 |
0.7 |
3.6 |
9.7 |
1986 |
126,640 |
0.67 |
3.4 |
7.1 |
1991 |
129,765 |
0.49 |
2.5 |
5.9 |
1996 |
134,557 |
0.73 |
3.7 |
6.3 |
2001 |
135,294 |
0.11 |
0.5 |
4.2 |
2006 |
135,851 |
NA |
0.4 |
NA |
Source: Statistics CanadaStatistics Canada is the Canadian federal government agency commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and culture. Its headquarters is in Ottawa....
Language
The
2006 Canadian censusThe Canada 2006 Census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population. Census day was May 16, 2006. The next census following will be the 2011 Census. Canada's total population enumerated by the 2006 census was 31,612,897...
showed a population of 135,851. Of the 133,570 singular responses to the census question concerning 'mother tongue' the most commonly reported languages were:
| Rank |
Language |
Number |
Percent |
| 1. |
English English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
|
125,265 |
93.8% |
| 2. |
FrenchFrench is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
|
5,345 |
4.0% |
| 3. |
DutchDutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
|
865 |
0.6% |
| 4. |
German German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
|
275 |
0.2% |
| 5. |
SpanishSpanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
|
220 |
0.2% |
| 6. |
ChineseThe Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
|
190 |
0.1% |
| 7. |
ArabicArabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
|
150 |
0.1% |
| 8. |
HungarianHungarian is a Uralic language, part of the Ugric group. With some 14 million speakers, it is one of the most widely spoken non-Indo-European languages in Europe....
|
120 |
0.1% |
| 9. |
Mi'kmaqThe Mi'kmaq language is an Eastern Algonquian language spoken by nearly 9,100 Mi'kmaq in Canada and the United States out of a total ethnic Mi'kmaq population of roughly 20,000. The word Mi'kmaq is a plural word meaning 'my friends' ; the adjectival form is Míkmaw...
|
90 |
0.1% |
| 10. |
Japaneseis a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
|
80 |
0.1% |
| 11. |
Polish Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
|
70 |
0.1% |
| 12. |
Korean Korean is the official language of the country Korea, in both South and North. It is also one of the two official languages in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in People's Republic of China. There are about 78 million Korean speakers worldwide. In the 15th century, a national writing...
|
65 |
In addition, there were also 105 responses of both English and a 'non-official language'; 25 of both French and a 'non-official language'; 495 of both English and French; 10 of English, French, and a 'non-official language'; and about 1,640 people who either did not respond to the question, or reported multiple non-official languages, or else gave another unenumerated response. (Figures shown are for the number of single language responses and the percentage of total single-language responses.)
Religion
Traditionally the population has been evenly divided between Catholic and Protestant affiliations. The 2001 census indicated number of adherents for the
Roman Catholic ChurchThe Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
with 63,240 (47%) and various Protestant churches with 57,805 (43%). This included the
United Church of CanadaThe United Church of Canada is a Protestant Christian denomination in Canada. It is the largest Protestant church and, after the Roman Catholic Church, the second-largest Christian church in Canada...
with 26,570 (20%); the Presbyterian Church with 7,885 (6%) and the
Anglican Church of CanadaThe Anglican Church of Canada is the Province of the Anglican Communion in Canada. The official French name is l'Église Anglicane du Canada. The ACC is the third largest church in Canada after the Roman Catholic Church and the United Church of Canada, consisting of 800,000 registered members...
with 6,525 (5%); those with no religion were among the lowest of the provinces with 8,705 (6.5%).
Economy
The provincial economy is dominated by the seasonal industries of agriculture, tourism, and the
fisheryGenerally, a fishery is an entity engaged in raising or harvesting fish which is determined by some authority to be a fishery. According to the FAO, a fishery is typically defined in terms of the "people involved, species or type of fish, area of water or seabed, method of fishing, class of boats,...
. The province is limited in terms of heavy industry and manufacturing. Although commercial deposits of minerals have not been found, exploration for
natural gasNatural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
beneath the eastern end of the province has resulted in the discovery of an undisclosed quantity of gas.
Agriculture remains the dominant industry in the provincial economy, as it has since colonial times. During the 20th century, potatoes replaced mixed farming as the leading
cash cropIn agriculture, a cash crop is a crop which is grown for profit.The term is used to differentiate from subsistence crops, which are those fed to the producer's own livestock or grown as food for the producer's family...
, accounting for one-third of provincial farm income. The province currently accounts for a third of Canada's total potato production, producing approximately 1.3 billion kilograms annually. Comparatively, the state of
IdahoIdaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
produces approximately 6.2 billion kilograms annually, with a population approximately 9.5 times greater. The province is a major producer of seed potatoes, exporting to more than twenty countries around the world.
The island's economy has grown significantly over the last decade in key areas of innovation. Aerospace, Bioscience, ICT and Renewable energy have been a focus for growth and diversification. Aerospace alone now accounts for over 25% of the province's international exports and is the island's fourth largest industry at $355 million in annual sales.
As a legacy of the island's colonial history, the provincial government enforces extremely strict rules for non-resident land ownership. Residents and corporations are limited to maximum holdings of 400 and 1,200 hectares respectively. There are also restrictions on non-resident ownership of shorelines.
Many of the province's coastal communities rely upon shellfish harvesting, particularly
lobster fishingLobster fishing, sometimes called lobstering, is the commercial or recreational harvesting of marine lobsters, spiny lobsters or crayfish.-Lobster tools and technology:...
as well as
oysterThe word oyster is used as a common name for a number of distinct groups of bivalve molluscs which live in marine or brackish habitats. The valves are highly calcified....
fishing and
musselThe common name mussel is used for members of several families of clams or bivalvia mollusca, from saltwater and freshwater habitats. These groups have in common a shell whose outline is elongated and asymmetrical compared with other edible clams, which are often more or less rounded or oval.The...
farming.
The provincial government provides consumer protection in the form of regulation for certain items, ranging from apartment rent increases to petroleum products including
gasGasoline , or petrol , is a toxic, translucent, petroleum-derived liquid that is primarily used as a fuel in internal combustion engines. It consists mostly of organic compounds obtained by the fractional distillation of petroleum, enhanced with a variety of additives. Some gasolines also contain...
, diesel,
propanePropane is a three-carbon alkane with the molecular formula , normally a gas, but compressible to a transportable liquid. A by-product of natural gas processing and petroleum refining, it is commonly used as a fuel for engines, oxy-gas torches, barbecues, portable stoves, and residential central...
and
heating oilHeating oil, or oil heat, is a low viscosity, flammable liquid petroleum product used as a fuel for furnaces or boilers in buildings. Home heating oil is often abbreviated as HHO...
. These are regulated through the Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission (IRAC). IRAC is authorised to limit the number of companies who are permitted to sell petroleum products.
The sale of carbonated beverages such as
beerBeer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...
and
soft drinkA soft drink is a non-alcoholic beverage that typically contains water , a sweetener, and a flavoring agent...
s in non-refillable containers, such as aluminum cans or plastic bottles, was banned in 1976 as an environmental measure in response to public concerns over litter. Beer and soft drink companies opted to use refillable glass bottles for their products which were redeemable at stores and bottle depots. The introduction of recycling programs for cans and plastic bottles in neighbouring provinces in recent years (also using a redemption system) has seen the provincial government introduce legislation to reverse this ban with the restriction lifted on May 3, 2008.
Prince Edward Island has Canada's highest provincial retail
sales taxA sales tax is a tax, usually paid by the consumer at the point of purchase, itemized separately from the base price, for certain goods and services. The tax amount is usually calculated by applying a percentage rate to the taxable price of a sale....
rate, currently (2008) established at 10%. The tax is applied to almost all goods and services except some clothing, food and home heating fuel. The tax is also applied to the Federal
Goods and Services TaxThe Goods and Services Tax is a multi-level value added tax introduced in Canada on January 1, 1991, by then Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and his finance minister Michael Wilson. The GST replaced a hidden 13.5% Manufacturers' Sales Tax ; Mulroney claimed the GST was implemented because the MST...
.
At present, approximately fifteen percent of
electricityElectricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...
consumed on the island is generated from
renewable energyRenewable energy is energy which comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat, which are renewable . About 16% of global final energy consumption comes from renewables, with 10% coming from traditional biomass, which is mainly used for heating, and 3.4% from...
(largely
wind turbineA wind turbine is a device that converts kinetic energy from the wind into mechanical energy. If the mechanical energy is used to produce electricity, the device may be called a wind generator or wind charger. If the mechanical energy is used to drive machinery, such as for grinding grain or...
s); the provincial government has set renewable energy targets as high as 30-50% for electricity consumed by 2015. Until wind generation, the province relied entirely on electricity imports on a submarine cable from New Brunswick. A thermal oil-fired generating station in Charlottetown is also available.
Persons employed on Prince Edward Island earn a minimum wage of $9.00/hour as of October 1, 2010.
Transportation
Prince Edward Island's transportation network has traditionally revolved around its seaports of Charlottetown, Summerside, Borden,
GeorgetownGeorgetown is a Canadian town and the county seat of Kings County, Prince Edward Island. As of 2011, the population was 693.-Geography:Georgetown, Capital of Kings County, sits on an 8 kilometre long peninsula formed by the Cardigan and Brudenell Rivers, Along with Georgetown Harbour...
, and Souris —linked to its railway system, and the
two main airports,
CharlottetownCharlottetown Airport, , is located north of Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada. The airport is currently run by the Charlottetown Airport Authority, is owned by Transport Canada and forms part of the National Airports System....
and
SummersideSummerside Airport is located north-northwest of Summerside, Prince Edward Island, Canada.The airport is one of only two on Prince Edward Island with instrument approaches for bad-weather operations .-History:...
, for communication with mainland North America. The railway system was abandoned by CN in 1989 in favour of an agreement with the federal government to improve major highways.
Until 1997, the province was linked by two passenger-vehicle
ferryA ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
services to the mainland: one, provided by
Marine AtlanticMarine Atlantic Inc. is an independent Canadian Crown corporation offering ferry services between the provinces of Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia.Marine Atlantic's corporate headquarters are in St...
, operated year-round between
BordenBorden-Carleton is a Canadian village located on the south shore of Prince Edward Island, fronting on the Northumberland Strait.The village was created through a merger on April 12, 1995 of the original port town of Borden and the farming community of Carleton...
and
Cape Tormentine, New BrunswickCape Tormentine is a Canadian rural community in Westmorland County, New Brunswick.The community derives its name from a headland of the same name which extends into the Northumberland Strait, forming the easternmost point in the province.-Railway:...
; the other, provided by
Northumberland Ferries LimitedNorthumberland Ferries Limited is a ferry company operating in eastern Canada and headquartered in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island...
, operates seasonally between
Wood IslandsWood Islands is a Canadian rural farming and fishing community located in southeastern Queens County, Prince Edward Island on the Northumberland Strait....
and
Caribou, Nova ScotiaCaribou is a small Canadian rural community in Pictou County, Nova Scotia.Located on the Northumberland Strait northwest of the town of Pictou, Caribou is named after the Woodland Caribou which used to live in Nova Scotia until European settlers hunted the herds to extinction in the 19th century...
. A third ferry service provided by
CTMAThe Coopérative de Transport Maritime et Aérien is a Canadian transportation company operating in Quebec and Prince Edward Island.Labelling itself Groupe CTMA, the company operates the seasonal ferry service from Cap-aux-Meules, Quebec in the Magdalen Islands to Souris, Prince Edward Island using...
operates seasonally between
SourisSouris is a Canadian port town in northeastern Kings County, Prince Edward Island. It is located in an area famous for its beaches and potatoes, containing the majority of Prince Edward Island's potato manufacturers.-History:...
and
Cap-aux-Meules, QuebecCap-aux-Meules is an unincorporated Canadian community located on Île du Cap aux Meules in Quebec's Magdalen Islands...
, in the
Magdalen IslandsThe Magdalen Islands form a small archipelago in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence with a land area of . Though closer to Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia, the islands form part of the Canadian province of Quebec....
.
On June 1, 1997, the
Confederation BridgeThe Confederation Bridge is a bridge spanning the Abegweit Passage of Northumberland Strait, linking Prince Edward Island with mainland New Brunswick, Canada. It was commonly referred to as the "Fixed Link" by residents of Prince Edward Island prior to its official naming. Construction took place...
opened, connecting Borden-Carleton to
Cape JourimainCape Jourimain is a headland in the western part of the Northumberland Strait on its southern shore, 3 kilometres west of New Brunswick's easternmost point at Cape Tormentine....
, New Brunswick. The longest bridge over ice covered waters in the world, it replaced the Marine Atlantic ferry service. Since then, the Confederation Bridge's assured transportation link to the mainland has altered the province's tourism and agricultural and fisheries export economies.
The province has very strict laws regarding use of road-side signs.
BillboardA billboard is a large outdoor advertising structure , typically found in high traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertisements to passing pedestrians and drivers...
s and the use of portable signs are banned. There are standard direction information signs on roads in the province for various businesses and attractions in the immediate area. Some municipalities' by-laws also restrict the types of permanent signs that may be installed on private property.
There is an extensive bicycling / hiking trail that spans the island. The
Confederation TrailConfederation Trail is the name for a 470 kilometre recreational rail trail system in the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island.It was developed in the 1990s, following the December 31, 1989 abandonment of all railway lines in the province by Canadian National Railway .-Description and...
is a 470 kilometre recreational trail system. The land once was owned and used by Canadian National Railway (CN) as a rail line on the island.
Government
Prince Edward Island has a high level of political representation, with four
Members of ParliamentThe House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...
, four
SenatorsThe Senate of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the House of Commons, and the monarch . The Senate consists of 105 members appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister...
, 27
Members of the Legislative AssemblyThe Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island, along with the Lieutenant-Governor, forms the parliament of the province. The General Assembly meets at Province House, which is located at the intersection of Richmond and Great George Streets in Charlottetown....
and two cities, seven towns and sixty incorporated rural communities yielding over five hundred municipal councilors and mayors. This gives a total of 566 elected officials for a population (as of 2006) of 135,851.
Communities
Ten largest Communities by population
| Community | 2011 | 2001 |
CharlottetownCharlottetown is a Canadian city. It is both the largest city on and the provincial capital of Prince Edward Island, and the county seat of Queens County. Named after Queen Charlotte, the wife of George III, Charlottetown was first incorporated as a town in 1855 and designated as a city in 1885...
|
32,545a |
32,455 |
SummersideSummerside is a Canadian city in Prince County, Prince Edward Island. It is the second largest city in the province and the principal municipality for the western part of the island.- History :...
|
15,654b |
14,433 |
Stratford Stratford is a Canadian suburban town located in central Prince Edward Island.It is situated on a peninsula formed by the Hillsborough River estuary, Charlottetown Harbour, and Hillsborough Bay - a sub-basin of the Northumberland Strait....
|
8,043 |
6,314 |
Cornwall Cornwall is a Canadian suburban town located in Queens County, Prince Edward Island.The town is located immediately west of the provincial capital Charlottetown and functions as a bedroom community.-History:...
|
5,375 |
4,412 |
MontagueMontague is a Canadian town and the largest population centre in Kings County, Prince Edward Island.The town straddles the Montague River which is the dividing line between the townships of Lot 52 and Lot 59. The town functions as a regional service centre for a rural population of 20,000...
|
5,134 |
2,014 |
Kensington Kensington is a town located 15 kilometres northeast of Summerside in Prince County, Prince Edward Island, Canada; As of 2001, the population was 1,385....
|
1,385 |
1,379 |
SourisSouris is a Canadian port town in northeastern Kings County, Prince Edward Island. It is located in an area famous for its beaches and potatoes, containing the majority of Prince Edward Island's potato manufacturers.-History:...
|
1,232 |
1,238 |
Alberton Alberton is a Canadian town located in the western part of Prince County, Prince Edward Island. It is situated in the township of Lot 5....
|
1,081 |
975 |
Tignish |
998 |
846 |
Georgetown Georgetown is a Canadian town and the county seat of Kings County, Prince Edward Island. As of 2011, the population was 693.-Geography:Georgetown, Capital of Kings County, sits on an 8 kilometre long peninsula formed by the Cardigan and Brudenell Rivers, Along with Georgetown Harbour...
|
678 |
680 |
aCensus agglomeration population: 58,358.
bCensus agglomeration population: 16,200. |
Education
Prince Edward Island is home to one university, the
University of Prince Edward IslandThe University of Prince Edward Island is a public liberal arts university in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada, and the sole university in the province. Founded in 1969, it traces its roots back to its two earlier predecessor organizations, St. Dunstan's University and Prince of Wales...
(UPEI), located in the city of
CharlottetownCharlottetown is a Canadian city. It is both the largest city on and the provincial capital of Prince Edward Island, and the county seat of Queens County. Named after Queen Charlotte, the wife of George III, Charlottetown was first incorporated as a town in 1855 and designated as a city in 1885...
. The university was created by the Island legislature to replace
Prince of Wales CollegePrince of Wales College is a former university college, which was located in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada. PWC merged with St. Dunstan's University in 1969 to form the University of Prince Edward Island....
and St. Dunstan's University. UPEI is also home to the
Atlantic Veterinary CollegeThe Atlantic Veterinary College is a well accredited and worldwide recognized veterinary school at University of Prince Edward Island, located in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada.- History :...
, which offers the region's only veterinary medicine program.
Holland CollegeHolland College is the provincial community college for the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island. It is named after British Army engineer and surveyor Captain Samuel Holland...
is the provincial
community collegeA community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries.-Australia:Community colleges carry on the tradition of adult education, which was established in Australia around mid 19th century when evening classes were held to help adults...
, with campuses across the province, including specialised facilities such as the Atlantic Police Academy, Marine Training Centre, and the Culinary Institute of Canada.
Prince Edward Island's public school system has two English language school districts,
EasternThe Eastern School District is a Canadian school district in Prince Edward Island.The Eastern School District is an Anglophone district operating 43 public schools in Queens and Kings Counties with its headquarters in Stratford...
and
WesternThe Western School Board is a Canadian school district in Prince Edward Island.It is an Anglophone district operating 21 public schools in Prince County. It maintains offices in Summerside and Elmsdale....
, as well as a Francophone district, the
Commission scolaire de langue françaiseThe Commission scolaire de langue française is a Canadian school district in Prince Edward Island.The Commission scolaire de langue française is a Francophone district operating 6 public schools across the province.Current enrollment is approximately 673 students and ? teachers...
. The English language districts have a total of 10 secondary schools and 54 intermediate and elementary schools while the Francophone district has 6 schools covering all grades.
Prince Edward Island, along with most rural regions in North America, is experiencing an accelerated rate of youth emigration. The provincial government has projected that public school enrollment will decline by 40% during the 2010s.
Health care
The province has a single health administrative region (or district health authority called Health PEI. Health PEI receives funding for its operations and is regulated by the Department of Health and Wellness. There are eight hospitals in the province.
- Queen Elizabeth Hospital
The Queen Elizabeth Hospital is a 274 bed acute care hospital located in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada, making it the largest hospital in the province....
(CharlottetownCharlottetown is a Canadian city. It is both the largest city on and the provincial capital of Prince Edward Island, and the county seat of Queens County. Named after Queen Charlotte, the wife of George III, Charlottetown was first incorporated as a town in 1855 and designated as a city in 1885...
)
- Prince County Hospital (Summerside
Summerside is a Canadian city in Prince County, Prince Edward Island. It is the second largest city in the province and the principal municipality for the western part of the island.- History :...
)
- Kings County Memorial Hospital (Montague
Montague is a Canadian town and the largest population centre in Kings County, Prince Edward Island.The town straddles the Montague River which is the dividing line between the townships of Lot 52 and Lot 59. The town functions as a regional service centre for a rural population of 20,000...
)
- Community Hospital (O'Leary
-References:*...
)
- Souris Hospital (Souris
Souris is a Canadian port town in northeastern Kings County, Prince Edward Island. It is located in an area famous for its beaches and potatoes, containing the majority of Prince Edward Island's potato manufacturers.-History:...
)
- Stewart Memorial Hospital (Tyne Valley
Tyne Valley is a Canadian village in Prince County, Prince Edward Island.Incorporated in 1966, the community is located in the township of Lot 13 at the intersection of Routes 12 and 167.- History :...
)
- Western Hospital (Alberton
Alberton is a Canadian town located in the western part of Prince County, Prince Edward Island. It is situated in the township of Lot 5....
)
- Hillsborough Hospital
The Hillsborough Hospital is a psychiatric hospital in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. It is the province's only mental health facility.It is a 75-bed facility providing 24 hr/day, 7 day/week medical services for individuals who are facing acute or enduring mental illnesses.-Mission:As the...
(Charlottetown) - the province's only psychiatric hospital
Due to its small tax base and population, Prince Edward Island does not offer all specialist services that are available in many Canadian provinces. Consequently, patients requiring specialist services are referred to clinics and specialists in neighbouring provinces. Specialist operations and treatments are also provided at larger tertiary referral hospitals in neighbouring provinces such as the
IWK Health CentreThe IWK Health Centre is a hospital in Halifax, Nova Scotia that provides care to women, children, and youth from Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.-Location:The IWK Health Centre is located in the south end of Halifax...
and
Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences CentreQueen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, is a large teaching hospital affiliated with Dalhousie University. Administratively it is part of the Capital District Health Authority.-History:...
in Nova Scotia or the
Saint John Regional HospitalSaint John Regional Hospital is a Canadian hospital in Saint John, New Brunswick.Saint John Regional Hospital is the largest tertiary care referral hospital in New Brunswick and specializes in cardiac and trauma care services....
,
Moncton HospitalMoncton Hospital is a Canadian hospital in Moncton, New Brunswick.Moncton Hospital operates as a tertiary care referral hospital and specializes in neurosurgery and trauma care services.Other services include:* trauma/emergency medicine...
, and
Dr. Georges-L.-Dumont University Hospital CentreDr. Georges-L.-Dumont University Hospital Centre is a Canadian hospital in Moncton, New Brunswick.Dr. Georges-L.-Dumont University Hospital Centre operates as a tertiary care referral hospital and specializes in oncology and trauma care services....
in
New BrunswickNew Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
.
Ground ambulance service in Prince Edward Island is provided under contract by Island EMS. Air ambulance service is provided under contract by
LifeFlightLifeFlight is an air ambulance service that operates in the Canadian provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.It is delivered under contract to the Government of Nova Scotia's Department of Health by EMC Emergency Care Inc.. EMC Emergency Medical Care Inc...
.
In recent decades, Prince Edward Island's population has shown statistically significant and abnormally high rates of diagnosed rare cancers, particularly in rural areas. Health officials, ecologists and environmental activists point to the use of pesticides for industrial
potatoThe potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae family . The word potato may refer to the plant itself as well as the edible tuber. In the region of the Andes, there are some other closely related cultivated potato species...
farming as a primary contaminant.
Prince Edward Island is the only province in Canada that does not provide
abortionAbortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
services through its hospitals. The last abortion was performed in the province in 1982 prior to the opening of the
Queen Elizabeth HospitalThe Queen Elizabeth Hospital is a 274 bed acute care hospital located in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada, making it the largest hospital in the province....
which saw the closure of the Roman Catholic-affiliated
Charlottetown HospitalThe Charlottetown Hospital is a former acute care hospital that was located in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. It was the first public hospital established in the province....
and the non-denominational
Prince Edward Island HospitalThe Prince Edward Island Hospital is a former acute care hospital that was located in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. It was the first public general hospital established in the province and the largest such facility throughout its history....
; a condition of the "merger" being that abortions not be performed in the province. In 1988 following the court decision
R. v. MorgentalerR. v. Morgentaler [1988] 1 S.C.R. 30 was a decision of the Supreme Court of Canada wherein the abortion provision in the Criminal Code of Canada was found to be unconstitutional, as it violated a woman's right under section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms to "security of person"...
, the then-opposition Progressive Conservative Party of Prince Edward Island tabled a motion demanding that the ban on abortions be upheld at the province's hospitals; the then-governing
Prince Edward Island Liberal PartyThe Prince Edward Island Liberal Party is a major political party in the province of Prince Edward Island, Canada. The PEI Liberals are aligned with the federal Liberal Party of Canada. The party is led by Robert Ghiz, a former member of the staff of the Prime Minister's Office under Prime Minister...
under Premier
Joe GhizJoseph Atallah "Joe" Ghiz was the 27th Premier of Prince Edward Island from 1986 to 1993, an educator of law and a justice of the Supreme Court of Prince Edward Island. He was the father of Robert Ghiz, the current Premier of Prince Edward Island...
acquiesced and the ban was upheld. The Government of Prince Edward Island will fund abortions for women who travel to another province. However, most hospitals in neighbouring
New BrunswickNew Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
and
Nova ScotiaNova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
will not perform abortions on women who are not residents of those provinces. Women desiring an abortion in Prince Edward Island must have two Prince Edward Island physicians assess the situation as being medically necessary and if they qualify, travel to the nearest hospital in
OntarioOntario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
or
QuebecQuebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
. Otherwise, women from Prince Edward Island may travel to the nearest private user-pay
Morgentaler ClinicHenry Morgentaler, CM is a Canadian physician and prominent pro-choice advocate who has fought numerous legal battles for that cause.-Early life:...
in Fredericton, New Brunswick where they must pay for the procedure using their own funds.
Culture
The island's cultural traditions of art, music and creative writing are supported through the public education system. There is an annual arts festival, the
Charlottetown FestivalThe Charlottetown Festival is a seasonal Canadian musical theatre festival which runs from late May to mid-October every year since 1965.Named after its host city, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, since its inception the festival has showcased Canada's most popular and longest-running musical,...
, hosted at the
Confederation Centre of the ArtsThe Confederation Centre of the Arts is a cultural centre dedicated to the visual and performing arts located in the city of Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada.-History:...
.
Lucy Maud MontgomeryLucy Maud Montgomery OBE , called "Maud" by family and friends and publicly known as L.M. Montgomery, was a Canadian author best known for a series of novels beginning with Anne of Green Gables, published in 1908. Anne of Green Gables was an immediate success...
, who was born in Clifton (now New London) in 1874, wrote some 20 novels and numerous collections and anthologies. Her first
Anne book
Anne of Green GablesAnne of Green Gables is a bestselling novel by Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery published in 1908. Set in 1878, it was written as fiction for readers of all ages, but in recent decades has been considered a children's book...
was published in 1908. The musical play
Anne of Green GablesAnne Of Green Gables - The Musical is a musical based on the novel, Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery. The book is by Don Harron, the music is by Norman Campbell and the lyrics by Don Harron, Norman Campbell, Elaine Campbell and Mavor Moore...
has run every year at the Charlottetown festival for more than four decades. The sequel,
Anne & GilbertAnne & Gilbert is a musical based on the Anne of Green Gables series of books by Lucy Maud Montgomery. The show was based on the books Anne of Avonlea and Anne of the Island, and adapted by Jeff Hochhauser, Nancy White, and Bob Johnston....
, premiered in the Playhouse in
VictoriaVictoria is a Canadian village located in central Prince Edward Island.A historic seaport, the community is situated at the extreme southwestern edge of Queens County in the township of Lot 29....
in 2005. The fictional location of
Green GablesGreen Gables is the name of a circa-19th century farm in Cavendish, Prince Edward Island, Canada. It is one of the most notable literary landmarks in Canada. The Green Gables farm and its surroundings are the setting for the popular Anne of Green Gables novels by Lucy Maud Montgomery. The site is...
, the house featured in Montgomery's
Anne books, is in
CavendishCavendish is a Canadian unincorporated rural area in the township of Lot 23, Queens County, Prince Edward Island. Its primary industries are tourism and agriculture. Cavendish is the largest seasonal resort area on Prince Edward Island...
, on the north shore of PEI.
Elmer Blaney HarrisElmer Blaney Harris was an American author, dramatist, and playwright.- Biography :He was born in Chicago, Illinois, the youngest of eight children. He moved with his family to Oakland, California, after his father's broom factory burned to the ground...
founded an artists colony at
Fortune BridgeFortune Bridge is a small unincorporated area on Lot 43, East Parish, King County, Prince Edward Island, Canada. It is located west of the Town of Souris....
and set his famous play
Johnny BelindaJohnny Belinda is a 1948 American drama film based on the play of the same name by Elmer Blaney Harris. The movie was adapted to the screen by Allen Vincent and Irma von Cube, and directed by Jean Negulesco....
on the island.
Robert HarrisRobert Harris was a Welsh-born Canadian painter most noted for his portrait of the Fathers of Confederation....
was a well-known artist.
Prince Edward Island's documented music history begins in the 19th century with religious music, some written by the local pump and block maker and organ-importer, Watson Duchemin. Several big bands including the Sons of Temperance Band and the Charlottetown Brass Band were active. Today, Acadian, Celtic, folk, and rock music prevail, with exponents including
Gene MacLellanGene MacLellan was a Canadian singer-songwriter from Prince Edward Island.Among his notable compositions were "Snowbird", made famous by Anne Murray, "Put Your Hand in the Hand, "The Call", "Pages of Time" and "Thorn in My Shoe"...
, his daughter
Catherine MacLellanCatherine MacLellan is a Canadian folk singer-songwriter, currently based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The daughter of Canadian songwriter Gene MacLellan, she was born and raised in Summerside, Prince Edward Island....
,
Al TuckAl Tuck , is a Canadian songwriter and folksinger, originally from Prince Edward Island. He has spent much of his career based out of Halifax, Nova Scotia.-Biography:...
,
Lennie GallantLennie Gallant, CM is a Canadian singer-songwriter. His music crosses into the folk, Celtic, rock and country music genres...
and
Two Hours TrafficTwo Hours Traffic is a Canadian indie rock band, based in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. They are named after a line in the prologue to Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Although often described as the band that Halifax guitarist Joel Plaskett took "under his wing", they have increasingly...
. The celebrated singer-songwriter
Stompin' Tom ConnorsCharles Thomas "Stompin' Tom" Connors, OC is one of Canada's most prolific and well-known country and folk singers.He lives in Wellington County, Ontario.- Early life :...
spent his formative years in
Skinners PondSkinners Pond is a rural community in Prince County, Prince Edward Island.It is located northwest of the village of Tignish in the township of Lot 1, near the northwestern tip of the province. The primary industries for the area are agriculture and fishing....
. A 4/4 March for bagpipes was composed in honour of Prince Edward Island.
There is also an annual jazzfestival, the P.E.I. Jazz and Blues Festival. The one week long series of concerts takes place at a multitude of venues including Murphy's Community Center, outdoor stages and churches at Charlotteville. The moving of its date to mid August caused in 2011 a serious loss in funding from Ottawa's regional development agency ACOA. The musician's line up in 2011 included Oliver Jones,
Sophie MilmanSophie Milman is a Russian-born jazz vocalist who currently lives in Canada.After emigrating from Russia in the early 1990s, Milman, who is of Jewish heritage, spent most of her childhood years in Israel where she listened extensively to jazz...
,
Matt DuskMatthew-Aaron Dusk is a Canadian jazz musician / vocalist. He currently has two certified gold albums: Two Shots and Good News, and three number one radio hits: "Back in Town," "All About Me", and "Good News."-Biography:From an early age, Matt Dusk wanted to become a performer. At the age of...
,
Jack de KeyzerJack de Keyzer is a two-time Juno Award winner and a seven-time Maple Blues award winning artist, blues guitarist, singer, song writer and producer. Jack has received numerous awards including Maple Blues Awards for Best Blues Album, and the 2001 Lifetime Achievement Award...
,
Jack Semple-History:Semple grew up on a farm north of Regina, Saskatchewan. He started his musical career playing with various Regina-based bands, and later relocated to Toronto in the late 1980s to become the lead guitarist of The Lincolns, a popular funk and rhythm and blues band...
,
Meaghan SmithMeaghan Smith is a Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist. While her independently-recorded debut album, The Cricket's Orchestra was picked up by Sire Records/Warner Music Canada and released in early 2010, she received a great deal of exposure by contributing a cover of alternative rock group...
, Meaghan Blanchard, Hupman Brothers, Alex Dean, Charlie A'Court, Sean Ferris, Jimmy Bowskill, West End Blues Band, Bad Habits, Brian McConnell and Mellotones.
Sports
- In 2009, Prince Edward Island hosted the Jeux Du Canada Summer Games.
- Prince Edward Island Rocket
The P.E.I. Rocket are a junior ice hockey team in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. The franchise was granted in 1999, however the Rocket were originally located in Montreal, Quebec and called the Montreal Rocket. In 2003 they were relocated to Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island...
play in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey LeagueThe Quebec Major Junior Hockey League is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League...
.
- In 2008, and 2009 Prince Edward Island Hosted the "Tour Du PEI" a province wide cycling race consisting of women from around the world.
Notable people and residents
- Milton Acorn
Milton James Rhode Acorn , nicknamed The People's Poet by his peers, was a Canadian poet, writer, and playwright. He was born in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island....
- 20th century poet, Named by his peers 'The People's Poet'
- Alex Campbell
Alexander Bradshaw Campbell, PC is a former politician of Prince Edward Island, Canada. He is the son of former premier Thane A. Campbell and Cecilia L. Bradshaw. He entered politics by winning a seat in the legislature through a 1965 by-election in 5th Prince...
– 20th century politician, the longest serving premier of the province.
- Amber MacArthur
Amber Dawn MacArthur is a Canadian television and netcasting personality. MacArthur is currently the co-host of BNN's App Central....
- television and Internet broadcasting personality, author
- David (Eli) MacEachern – world-champion bobsledder and Olympic gold medalist at 1998 games in Nagano, Japan
- Martha MacIsaac
Martha MacIsaac is a Canadian television and film actress and former child actress....
– actress most notable for her role in SuperbadSuperbad may refer to:* Superbad ** Superbad * Superbad * "Super Bad" , by James Brown* Super Bad , by Terminator X* Superbad: The Return of Boosie Bad Azz, an album by Lil Boosie...
- Adam McQuaid
Adam McQuaid is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman currently playing for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League...
– professional ice hockey player, defenceman for the Boston BruinsThe Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The team has been in existence since 1924, and is the league's third-oldest team and its oldest in the...
of the National Hockey LeagueThe National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
(NHL), 2009–present
- Brad Richards
Bradley Glenn Richards is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre and alternate captain for the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League .-Early career:Born and raised in Murray Harbour, Prince Edward Island...
– professional ice hockey player, Centre for the New York RangersThe New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the borough of Manhattan in New York, New York, USA. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . Playing their home games at Madison Square Garden, the Rangers are one of the...
of the National Hockey LeagueThe National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
(NHL), 2000–present
- James Jeffrey Roche
James Jeffrey Roche was an Irish-American poet, journalist and diplomat. Roche was taken to the United States as a young child, and grew up in Prince Edward Island...
– 19th century Irish-American poet and diplomat
- Jacob Gould Schurman – American educator and diplomat, who served as President of Cornell University and U.S. Ambassador to Germany.
- Mark Strand
Mark Strand is an American poet, essayist, and translator. He was appointed Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress in 1990. Since 2005, he has been a professor of English at Columbia University.- Biography :...
- poet, former U.S. Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry
- Jonathan Torrens
Jonathan Ormond Torrens is a Canadian actor and television personality best known for his co-hosting of Street Cents, his talk show Jonovision, and his role as "J-Roc" in the popular Canadian mockumentary Trailer Park Boys...
– actor and star of the Canadian TV series, The Trailer Park Boys
See also
- Higher education in Prince Edward Island
Higher education in Prince Edward Island refers to education provided by higher education institutions in the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island. In Canada, education is the responsibility of the provinces and there is no Canadian federal ministry governing education...
- Petroleum pricing in Prince Edward Island
Petroleum pricing in Prince Edward Island is regulated by theIsland Regulatory and Appeals Commission of Prince Edward Island.-Price Make up :...
- Scouting and Guiding in Prince Edward Island
- Symbols of Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island is one of Canada's provinces, and has established several provincial symbols.-Symbols:...
Lists:
- List of counties of Prince Edward Island
- List of lieutenant governors of Prince Edward Island
- List of premiers of Prince Edward Island
Further reading
Also under A very broad look at the historical geography of P.E.I.
External links