Moving to Prince Edward Island

Trivia

• Prince Edward Island is one of the Atlantic provinces on the east coast of Canada.
• It is the smallest province.
• The island lies in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
• The Northumberland Strait separates Prince Edward Island from New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.
• The capital city is Charlottetown.
• The Island was named “Prince Edward” in honour of the father of Queen Victoria in 1799.
• It is called “the Garden Province” because half of the land is cultivated.
• flower – Lady’s Slipper, tree – Northern Red Oak, bird – Blue Jay
• motto : “the small under the protection of the great”

The people

• Prince Edward Island is the home of 138,600 people.(2007 estimate)
• Over 75 percent are of Scottish, Irish and English descent.
• About 15 % are of French origin.
• Charlottetown is the largest city with about 32, 174 people in 2006.
• Summerside is the only other city.
• There are seven incorporated towns.

History

• The first people to live on the Island were the Mi’kmaq (Micmac).
• They moved from place to place living in dwellings called wigwams.
• In the winter they hunted and in the summer they fished.
• Jacques Cartier, a French explorer, discovered the island in 1534.
• In 1603 Champlain, another French explorer, came to the island.
• In 1719 a French colony was formed.
• In 1745 the English took over the island.
• The French farmers were expelled.
• The land was divided into large lots and given to British citizens.
• Loyalists from the U.S. came in the 1780s.
• Prince Edward Island became the seventh Canadian province in 1873.

Land and water

• The province is about 224 km long and from 6 to 64 km wide.
• Almost all of the soil is made up of red-coloured sandstone.
• Most of the island consists of gently rolling hills.
• There are no major lakes or rivers, just ponds, small brooks and streams.
• Prince Edward Island National Park has a large beach with reddish sand, sand dunes, salt marshes and red sandstone cliffs.
• There are over 90 sandy beaches for swimming and boating.
• The northern coast is lined with sand dunes and sand bars.

Climate

• mild climate
• temperature in July ranges from high of 23°C to a low of 14°C (average is 18°C)
• In January, temperatures range from a high of -3°C to a low of -12°C (average is -7°C).
• There are frequent winter storms with an average yearly snowfall of 300 cm.
• It is also very windy on the island.

Resources / industries

• Agriculture is the largest industry.
• About thirty percent of Canada’s potatoes are grown in Prince Edward Island.
• Other crops include fruits and vegetables (apples, strawberries, blueberries, carrots, onions, tomatoes) and cereal crops.
• Almost half of the land is used for farming.
• Food processing is an important industy (bottling, canning, freezing).
• The second largest industry is tourism.
• Fishing is the third largest industry.
• Fishermen catch herring, tuna, cod and mackerel.
• Lobsters are caught in traps.
• Clams, scallops, mussels and oysters are farmed (in underwater hatcheries)
• Oysters are harvested for Canada and the world.
• Irish moss (a seaweed) is harvested by pulling a special rake along the rocks or on the sea floor.
• It is used to thicken ice cream, cheese and toothpaste.

Transportation

• The Confederation Bridge joins New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.
• The bridge was opened in 1997 and is almost 13 km long.
• It takes 12 minutes to cross the bridge.
• The bridge was built to withstand harsh wind and weather conditions, including ice floes.
• Ferry boats travel from Nova Scotia to Prince Edward Island.
• There are two airports.

People and places

• Charlottetown is the “birthplace of Canada” where leaders met in 1864 to discuss the formation of our country
• Tourists come from around the world to visit Green Gables House. It is a museum about L.M. Montgomery, author of the Anne of Green Gables books.
• The Robert Harris Collection at the Confederation Centre of the Arts (in Charlottetown) consists of some 5,000 works of art.