PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND

LOCATION AND COMMUNICATION LINKS

Prince Edward Island has the distinction of being the smallest political unit in one of the world’s largest countries, Canada. "The Island," as it is known affectionately by its inhabitants, is situated in the Gulf of St. Lawrence off the Atlantic coast of North America. At 46° North latitude, it is about half-way between the Equator and the North Pole.

Despite its location some 15km from the nearest point on the adjacent mainland, Prince Edward Island will soon be connected by "the Fixed Link," a bridge, due to open in 1997, a prospect welcomed by half of the inhabitants and viewed with misgivings by the rest. In the meantime, there is a year-round ferry service, as well as excellent air links through the modern airport at Charlottetown.

GEOGRAPHY

First-time visitors to Prince Edward Island are often struck by the vivid red of the soil and the beauty of the gently rolling landscape, much of it under cultivation in potatoes and grain. Because of this rather intense agricultural activity, the island has come to be called the ‘Garden of the Gulf’.

The typical red is caused by the high content of oxidized iron (rust!) in the island sandstone, itself part of a great plain of sedimentary rocks, formed in Permo Carboniferous times and now mostly submerged under the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Oddly enough, the island did not exist as a distinct geographical entity until about 5,000 years ago, when rising waters eroded away the last of the land bridge to the continent.

The island is crescent-shaped, about 200km long, and 5,657km2 in area. The highest point is 152m above sea level. A characteristic feature is the deeply indented coastline, so that, in the words of island poet, Milton Acorn, no point is far from the sea and one can readily walk "to the wave-lined edge of home."

The climate is continental, although moderated by the maritime setting, with warm summers and long, cold winters. At least three and a half months are frost-free, sufficient for growing root and forage crops. In winter, there exists ample evidence in support of the local wag’s definition of an island as "a body of land surrounded by ice."

POPULATION AND MAJOR CENTRES

Out-migration has been a fact of life in Prince Edward Island for more than a hundred years. The population remained at about 100,000 for much of this period; however, over the past several decades it has grown relatively quickly to the present all-time high of 137,000.

Settlement is fairly evenly divided between urban and rural dwellers. The major centres are Charlottetown, the capital, and Summerside in the west.

HISTORY

There is evidence of human habitation on Prince Edward Island going back about 10,000 years. The Mi’kmaq Indians called it Abegweit, popularly translated as ‘cradled in the waves’.

French settlement of Isle St. Jean, as it was then called, began in 1719. This phase of history came to an abrupt end in 1758 when the island fell to the British and about 4,000 of the inhabitants were deported.

The island’s existence as a separate political entity dates from 1769 when it was granted its own colonial administration by the British Government. In 1799 the colony was renamed Prince Edward Island after Edward, Duke of Kent, famous in history as the father of Queen Victoria.

The historic first gathering of the Fathers of Confederation, the founders of Canada, took place in Charlottetown, in 1864. Because of the public’s strong anti-Confederate bias, however, Prince Edward Island remained out of the Union when it occurred in 1867. But large debts arising from an ambitious programme of railway construction soon forced a change of heart, and Prince Edward Island became a province of Canada on July 1, 1873.

GOVERNMENT

The Prince Edward Island Government has been called ‘a big engine in a little body.’ As one of the ten provinces which make up the Canadian federation, the island possesses substantial powers of self government, including authority over education, health and social services, economic development, and natural resources.

The system of government is based on the British parliamentary system. The Executive Council is chosen from the 27 members of the elected Legislative Assembly, with the leader of the largest political party serving as Premier.

Prince Edward islanders elect four members to the federal Parliament, the House of Commons. The Queen is represented on the island by the Lieutenant Governor.

LANGUAGE AND CULTURE

Most residents of the island are descendants of early settlers from the British Isles and France. The Celtic strain — Highland Scots and Irish — is particularly strong.

The dominant language is English, although a few thousand Acadians in the Evangéline area of the province continue to speak French.

Traditional music and dancing flourish on the island, with several Scottish, Irish, and Acadian folk festivals held every year. Charlottetown’s Confederation Centre of the Arts is home to Anne of Green Gables, the hit musical based on local writer Lucy Maud Montgomery’s novel of the same name (1908). Montgomery is the most widely translated and read of all Canadian authors.

Among the institutions of higher education are the University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI) and Holland College (applied arts and technology). UPEI is home to the Institute of Island Studies, an organisation dedicated to the study of small islands, including some which are members of the International Island Games Association.

ECONOMY

The potato, the lobster, and the tourist are the heroes of the Prince Edward Island economy. While the traditional industries of farming and fishing continue to be strong, tourism has shown a dramatic increase in the past several decades. Visitors are attracted by the beautiful landscape and the finest saltwater beaches in eastern Canada. Manufacturing has also emerged as an important and growing economic sector.

While the standard of living is high — per capita income in 1994 was $17,667 (CAN), 79.8% of the national average — there remain at least three serious economic problems. One is a high rate of dependency on transfers from the Federal Government, another is the high unemployment rate (14.7% in 1995), and a third is the predominantly seasonal nature of the economy. On a more positive note, the growth of the provincial economy over the past couple of years has been among the highest in the country.

SPORT AND LEISURE ACTIVITIES

The recreational activities of Prince Edward Islanders reflect both the European heritage of the people and the island’s location in North America. As might be expected in a province of Canada, ice hockey and curling are winter sporting passions; while proximity to the United States assures that baseball and softball are played in the summer. A more indigenous sporting pursuit is horse racing, prominent because of the island’s rich agricultural legacy. In recent years, soccer (football in Europe) has grown rapidly in popularity, particularly among youth.

The emerging link between sport and the promotion of tourism is perhaps most evident in the proliferation of first-class golf courses, of which there are now close to a dozen in the province. The island Government has also been assisting with the development of an island-wide network of hiking and cycling trails, primarily along the now-abandoned lines of the railroad which once carried Prince Edward Island into Confederation.

The official, province-wide organisation with the mandate for developing and promoting amateur sport in the island is called Sport P.E.I., essentially a federation of more than 40 sports governing bodies.

Leadership and funding support come from the Provincial Government’s Department of Education, Culture, Heritage and Recreation.

Because of an excellent cross-section of sport and recreation facilities, including the new UPEI Sport Centre, the island has become increasingly active in hosting major athletic and recreational events. These include the Canada Winter Games, the Canadian Badminton Championships, and the Canadian Gymnastic Championships.

The principal venue for off-island competition is the Canada Games, in which athletes compete as members of the Prince Edward Island team. Like the Olympics, these Games are held every two years, winter games alternating with summer games.

Prince Edward Island has the distinction of being the first island this side of the Atlantic to become a member of the International Island Games Association, with a team of 22 athletes competing at Aland in 1991. We now aspire to host the Games, the first to be held in the Americas.