The backbone of the Island economy is farming; it produces 25% of Canada’s potatoes. Other important industries include the fisheries, tourism, aerospace, bio-science, IT, and renewable energy.<\/p>\n
The island has several informal names: “Garden of the Gulf”, referring to the pastoral scenery and lush agricultural lands throughout the province; and “Birthplace of Confederation” or “Cradle of Confederation”, referring to the Charlottetown Conference in 186<\/a>4, although PEI did not join Confederation until 1873, when it became the seventh Canadian province. Historically, PEI is one of Canada’s older settlements and demographically still reflects older immigration to the country, with Scottish, Irish, English and French surnames being dominant to this day.<\/p>\n PEI is located about 120 miles north of Halifax, Nova Scotia<\/a>, and 370 miles east of Quebec City<\/a> and has a land area of 2,195.39 square miles. The main island is 2,170 square miles in size. It is the 104th-largest island in the world and Canada’s 23rd-largest island.<\/p>\n In 1798, the British named the island colony for Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn<\/a>, the fourth son of King George III<\/a> and the father of Queen Victoria<\/a>. Prince Edward has been called “Father of the Canadian Crown”. The following island landmarks are also named after the Duke of Kent:<\/p>\n In French, the island is today called \u00cele-du-Prince-\u00c9douard, but its former French name, as part of Acadia, was \u00cele Saint-Jean (St. John’s Island). 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 E\u00f2in for some Gaelic speakers in Nova Scotia though not on PEI (lit. “John’s Island” in reference to the island’s former name). The island is known in the Mi’kmaq language<\/a> as Abegweit or Epekwitk roughly translated as “land cradled in the waves”.<\/p>\n Prince Edward Island is located in the Gulf of St. Lawrence<\/a>, west of Cape Breton Island<\/a>, north of the Nova Scotia peninsula<\/a>, and east of New Brunswick<\/a>. Its southern shore bounds the Northumberland Strait<\/a>. The island has two urban areas. The larger surrounds Charlottetown Harbour, situated centrally on the island’s southern shore, and consists of the capital city Charlottetown, and suburban towns Cornwall<\/a> and Stratford<\/a> and a developing urban fringe. A much smaller urban area surrounds Summerside Harbour<\/a>, situated on the southern shore 25 miles west of Charlottetown Harbour, and consists primarily of the city of Summerside. As with all natural harbours on the island, Charlottetown and Summerside harbours are created by rias.<\/p>\n The island’s landscape is pastoral. 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.<\/p>\n The island’s lush landscape has a strong bearing on its economy and culture. The author Lucy Maud Montgomery<\/a> drew inspiration from the land during the late Victorian Era<\/a> for the setting of her classic novel Anne of Green Gables (1908)<\/a>. 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 courses, eco-tourism adventures, touring the countryside, and enjoying cultural events in local communities around the island.<\/p>\n The smaller, rural communities as well as the towns and villages throughout the province retain a slower-pace. Prince Edward Island has become popular as a tourist destination for relaxation. The economy of most rural communities on the island is based on small-scale agriculture. Industrial farming has increased as businesses buy and consolidate older farm properties.<\/p>\n The coastline has a combination of long beaches, dunes, red sandstone cliffs, salt water marshes, and numerous bays and harbours. 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 Head are unique in the province; the sand grains cause a scrubbing noise as they rub against each other when walked on, and have been called the “singing sands”.<\/p>\n Large dune fields on the north shore can be found on barrier islands at the entrances to various bays and harbours. The magnificent sand dunes at Greenwich<\/a> are of particular significance. The shifting, parabolic dune system is home to a variety of birds and rare plants; it is also a site of significant archeological interest.<\/p>\n Despite Prince Edward Island’s small size and reputation as a largely rural province, it is the most densely populated province in Canada.<\/p>\n Since before the influx of Europeans, the Mi’kmaq First Nations have inhabited Prince Edward Island as part of the region of Mi’kma’ki<\/a>. They named the Island Epekwitk, meaning “cradled on the waves”; Europeans represented the pronunciation as Abegweit. Another name is Minegoo. The Mi’kmaq’s legend is that the island was formed by the Great Spirit placing on the Blue Waters some dark red crescent-shaped clay. There are two Mi’kmaq First Nation communities on Epekwitk today.<\/p>\n In 1534, Jacques Cartier<\/a> was the first European to see the island. In 1604, the Kingdom of France laid claim to the lands of the Maritimes, including Prince Edward Island, establishing the French colony of Acadia<\/a>. The island was named \u00cele Saint-Jean by the French. The Mi’kmaq never recognized the claim but welcomed the French as trading partners and allies.<\/p>\n During the 18th century, the French were engaged in a series of conflicts with the Kingdom of Great Britain<\/a> and its colonies. Several battles between the two belligerents occurred on Prince Edward Island during this period. Following the British capture of Louisbourg<\/a> during the War of the Austrian Succession<\/a>, New Englanders launched an attack on \u00cele Saint-Jean (Prince Edward Island); with a British detachment landed at Port-la-Joye<\/a>. The island’s capital had a garrison of 20 French soldiers under the command of Joseph du Pont Duvivier<\/a>. The troops fled the settlement, and the New Englanders burned the settlement to the ground. Duvivier and the twenty men retreated up the Northeast River (Hillsborough River), pursued by the New Englanders until the French troops were reinforced with the arrival of 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 were 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 \u00cele Royale were deported to France, with the remaining Acadians of \u00cele Saint-Jean lived under the threat of deportation for the remainder of the war.<\/p>\n New Englanders had a force of 200 soldiers stationed at Port-La-Joye, as well as two warships boarding supplies for its journey of Louisbourg. To regain Acadia, Ramezay was sent from Quebec to the region to join forces with the Duc d’Anville expedition<\/a>. Upon arriving at Chignecto, he sent Boishebert to \u00cele Saint-Jean to ascertain 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. Hostilities between the British and French was ended in 1748 with the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1748<\/a>.<\/p>\n Roughly one thousand Acadians lived on the island prior to the Acadian Exodus<\/a> from Nova Scotia. The population grew to nearly 5,000 the late 1740s and early 1750s, as Acadians from Nova Scotia fled to the island during the Acadian Exodus, and the subsequent British-ordered expulsions<\/a> beginning in 1755.<\/p>\n Hostilities between British and French colonial forces resumed in 1754, although formal declarations of war were not issued until 1756. After French forces were defeated at the siege of Louisbourg<\/a>, the British performed a military campaign on Ile Saint-Jean<\/a> to secure the island. The campaign was led by Colonel Andrew Rollo<\/a> under orders from General Jeffery Amherst<\/a>. The following campaigns saw the deportation of the most Acadians from the island. Many Acadians died in the expulsion en route to France; on December 13, 1758, the transport ship Duke William<\/a> sank and 364 died. A day earlier the Violet<\/a> sank and 280 died; several days later Ruby<\/a> sank with 213 on board. The French formally ceded the island, and most of New France to the British in the Treaty of Paris of 1763.<\/p>\n Initially named St. John’s Island by the British, the island was administered as part of the colony of Nova Scotia, until it was split into a separate colony in 1769. In the mid-1760s, a survey team divided the Island into 67 lots. On July 1, 1767, these properties were allocated to supporters of King George III by means of a lottery. Ownership of the land remained in the hands of landlords in England, angering Island settlers who were unable to gain title to land on which they worked and lived. Significant rent charges (to absentee landlords) created further anger. The land had been given to the absentee landlords with a number of conditions attached regarding upkeep and settlement terms; many of these conditions were not satisfied. Islanders spent decades trying to convince the Crown to confiscate the lots, however the descendants of the original owners were generally well connected to the British government and refused to give up the land.<\/p>\n After becoming a separate colony from Nova Scotia, Walter Patterson<\/a> was appointed the first British governor of St. John’s Island in 1769. Assuming the 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.<\/p>\n During the American Revolutionary War<\/a> Charlottetown was raided in 1775 by a pair of American-employed privateers. Two armed schooners, Franklin and Hancock, from Beverly, Massachusetts<\/a>, 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 Straight of Canso<\/a>.<\/p>\n During and after the American Revolutionary War, from 1776 to 1783, the colony’s efforts to attract exiled Loyalist refugees<\/a> 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. Governor Patterson dismissal in 1787, and his recall to London in 1789 dampened his brother’s efforts, leading John to focus on his interests in the United States. Edmund Fanning<\/a>, also a Loyalist exiled by the Revolution, took over as the second governor, serving until 1804. His tenure was more successful than Patterson’s. A high influx of Scottish Highlanders in the late 1700s also resulted in St. John’s Island having the highest proportion of Scottish immigrants in Canada. This led to a higher proportion of Scottish Gaelic speakers and thriving culture surviving on the island than in Scotland itself, as the settlers could more easily avoid English influence overseas.<\/p>\n On 29 November 1798, during Fanning’s administration, the British government granted approval to change the colony’s name from St. John’s Island to Prince Edward Island to distinguish it from areas with similar names in what is now Atlantic Canada<\/a>, such as the cities of Saint John<\/a> in New Brunswick and St. John’s<\/a> in Newfoundland. The colony’s new name honoured the fourth son of King George III, Prince Edward Augustus, the Duke of Kent (1767\u20131820), who subsequently led the British military forces on the continent as Commander-in-Chief, North America (1799\u20131800), with his headquarters in Halifax.<\/p>\n In 1853, the Island government passed the Land Purchase Act which empowered them to purchase lands from those owners who were willing to sell, and then resell the land to settlers for low prices. This scheme collapsed when the Island ran short of money to continue with the purchases. Many of these lands also were fertile, and were some of the key factors to sustaining Prince Edward Island’s economy.<\/p>\n In September 1864, Prince Edward Island hosted the Charlottetown Conference, which was the first meeting in the process leading to the Quebec Resolutions<\/a> and the creation of Canada in 1867. Prince Edward Island did not find the terms of union favorable and balked at joining in 1867, choosing to remain a colony of the United Kingdom. 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 States, who were interested in Prince Edward Island joining the United States.<\/p>\n In 1871, the colony began construction of a railway and, frustrated by Great Britain’s Colonial Office, began negotiations with the United States. In 1873, Canadian Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald<\/a>, anxious to thwart American expansionism and facing the distraction of the Pacific Scandal<\/a>, 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, 1875<\/a>). Prince Edward Island entered Confederation on July 1, 1873.<\/p>\n As a result of having hosted the inaugural meeting of Confederation, the Charlottetown Conference, Prince Edward Island presents itself as the “Birthplace of Confederation” and this is commemorated through several buildings, a ferry vessel, and the Confederation Bridge<\/a> (constructed 1993 to 1997). The most prominent building in the province honoring this event is the Confederation Centre of the Arts<\/a>, 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<\/a>“. The Centre is one of the 22 National Historic Sites of Canada<\/a> located in Prince Edward Island.<\/p>\n The provincial economy is dominated by the seasonal industries of agriculture, tourism, and the fishery. The province is limited in terms of heavy industry and manufacturing, though Cavendish Farms runs extensive food manufacturing operations on PEI.<\/p>\n Agriculture remains the dominant industry in the provincial economy, as it has since colonial times. The Island has a total land area of 1.4 million acres with approximately 594,000 acres cleared for agricultural use. In 2006, the Census of Agriculture counted 1700 farms on the Island. During the 20th century, potatoes replaced mixed farming as the leading cash crop, accounting for one-third of provincial farm income. The number of acres under potato production in 2010 was 88,000, while soy accounted for 55,000. There are approximately 330 potato growers on PEI, with the grand majority of these being family farms, often with multiple generations working together. The province currently accounts for a third of Canada’s total potato production, producing approximately 1.3 billion kilograms annually. Comparatively, the state of Idaho<\/a> 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 processing of frozen fried potatoes, green vegetables, and berries is a leading business activity.<\/p>\n Many of the province’s coastal communities rely upon shellfish harvesting, particularly lobster fishing as well as oyster fishing and mussel farming.<\/p>\n The island’s economy has grown significantly over the last decade in key areas of innovation. Aerospace, bio-science, information and communications technology, 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. The bio-science industry employs over 1,300 people and generates over $150 million in sales.<\/p>\n Prince Edward Island’s transportation network has traditionally revolved around its seaports of Charlottetown, Summerside, Borden, Georgetown<\/a>, and Souris \u2014linked to its railway system, and the two main airports in Charlottetown and Summerside, for communication with mainland North America. The railway system was abandoned by CN<\/a> in 1989 in favor of an agreement with the federal government to improve major highways.<\/p>\n Until May 1997, the province was linked by two passenger-vehicle ferry services to the mainland: one, provided by Marine Atlantic<\/a>, operated year-round between Borden<\/a> and Cape Tormentine<\/a>, New Brunswick; the other, provided by Northumberland Ferries Limited<\/a>, operates seasonally between Wood Islands<\/a> and Caribou, Nova Scotia<\/a>. A third ferry service provided by CTMA<\/a> operates all year round with seasonal times between Souris<\/a> and Cap-aux-Meules, Quebec<\/a>, in the Magdalen Islands<\/a>. In May 1997, the Confederation Bridge opened, connecting Borden-Carleton to Cape Jourimain, New Brunswick<\/a>. The world’s longest bridge over ice-covered waters, 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.<\/p>\n The Island has the highest concentration of roadways in Canada. The provincially managed portion of the network consists of 2,376 miles of paved roadways and 968 miles of non-paved or clay roads. The province has very strict laws regarding use of roadside signs. Billboards 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. The by-laws of some municipalities also restrict the types of permanent signs that may be installed on private property.<\/p>\n Several airlines service the Charlottetown Airport (CYYG)<\/a>; the Summerside Airport (CYSU)<\/a> is an additional option for general aviation.<\/p>\n There is an extensive bicycling and hiking trail that spans the island. The Confederation Trail<\/a> is a 290 mile recreational trail system. The land was once owned and used by Canadian National Railway (CN) as a rail line on the island.<\/p>\n The flag of Prince Edward Island, Canada, is a banner modeled after the provincial arms<\/a>. The flag has the proportions 2:3; the three sides away from the mast are bordered by alternating bands of red and white.<\/p>\n The upper third of the flag features the English heraldic lion which appeared both on the coat of arms of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent<\/a>, for whom the province is named, and on that of King Edward VII<\/a>. The lower two-thirds show an island on which appear three small oak saplings (on the left) \u2013 representing the three counties of PEI (Prince, Queens, and Kings) \u2013 under the protection of a great oak tree which represents Great Britain. This symbolism is also reflected in the provincial motto, Parva sub ingenti (the small under the protection of the great).<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/12\/Prince-Edward-Island-in-Canada-300x255.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Etymology:<\/h2>\n
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Geography:<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/12\/Island-Landscape-300x225.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>History:<\/h2>\n
French Colony:<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/12\/1744-French-Map-300x192.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
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<\/a>British Colony:<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/12\/Map-of-Lot-Boundaries-1775-300x158.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Confederation:<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/12\/Delegates-of-the-Charlottetown-Conference-300x206.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Economy:<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/12\/Soybean-Harvest-300x200.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/12\/Lobster-Traps-300x200.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Transportation:<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/12\/Confederation-Bridge-300x205.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Flag of Prince Edward Island:<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/12\/Flag-of-Prince-Edward-Island-300x200.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>