Prince Edward Island, Canada

Panmure Island Lighthouse, Prince Edward Island
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Panmure_island_lighthouse.JPG
Author: chensiyuan

Cities and Sights in Prince Edward Island

Prince Edward Island (PE) is the smallest of the Canadian provinces and territories. It covers 5,683.91 sq km (2,194.57 sq mi) and has a population of 140,000 people (2012 estimate). It is located off the coast of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, separated by the Northumberland Strait. The northern shore of Prince Edward Island faces the Gulf of St Lawrence.

Prince Edward Island was inhabited by the Mi'kmaq people before Europeans arrived. French explorer was the first European to arrive there in 1534. The island became part of the French colony of Acadia, and was called Île Saint-Jean.

Île Saint-Jean was captured by the British in King George's War in 1745. The French speaking residents refused to take an oath to the British Crown, and in 1755, the British ordered their expulsion. Some went to France, some to French Guiana, and some to New Orleans, where the name Acadien was corrupted and evolved into the word Cajun.

Charlottetown City Hall, Prince Edward Island
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Charlottetown_City_Hall.JPG
Author: Rohit Sud


The British initially renamed Île Saint-Jean to St John's Island or Island of St John's. In 1770, to attract Irish settlers, Governor Walter Patterson renamed it New Ireland. However the British Government promptly vetoed the governor's idea as over exceeding his authority, and renamed it Prince Edward Island, after Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn, fourth son of King George III and father of Queen Victoria.

Prince Edward Island has four seats of the Canadian House of Commons and four seats on the 105-seat Senate of Canada. Its capital and largest city is Charlottetown, the site of the historic Charlottetown Conference of 1864, where delegates from the different colonies of British North America met to discuss the forming of the Canadian Confederation.

Originally the Charlottetown Conference was intended as a meeting among representatives of the Maritime colonies of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward island. The Province of Canada (comprising present-day Ontario and Quebec) learned about the conference and asked to attend. Newfoundland was not notified in time, and was unable to attend.

Sandstone Arch, Prince Edward Island
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Prince_edward_island_sandstone_arch.jpg
Author: Vic Brincat


The Charlottetown Conference led to the formation of the Canada Confederation, which ironically did not include Prince Edward Island until 1 July, 1873, by which time Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba and Northwest Territories have already joined.

The economy of Prince Edward Island today is dependent on agriculture, tourism and fishery. It only has limited heavy industries and manufacturing.

Visiting Prince Edward Island

Towns in Prince Edward Island

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