Prince Edward Island#Economy

The island is known in the Mi'kmaq language of its historic indigenous occupants as Abegweit or Epekwitk, roughly translated as "land cradled in the waves".

When the island was part of Acadia, originally settled by French colonists, its French name was Île Saint-Jean (St. John's Island). In French, the island is today called Île-du-Prince-Édouard (ÎPÉ).

The island was split from the British colony of Nova Scotia in 1769, and renamed in 1798 after Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn (1767–1820), the fourth son of King George III and, in 1819, father of the future Queen Victoria. Thus, Prince Edward has been called "Father of the Canadian Crown".Tidridge, Nathan. Prince Edward, Duke of Kent: Father of the Canadian Crown. Toronto: Dundurn Press, 2013. The following island landmarks are also named after the Duke of Kent:

{{col div}}

• Prince Edward Battery, Victoria Park, Charlottetown
• Kent College, established in 1804 by Lieutenant Governor Edmund Fanning and his Legislative Council, the college would eventually become the University of Prince Edward Island
• Kent Street, Charlottetown
• West Kent Elementary School
• Kent Street, Georgetown

{{col div end}}

In Scottish Gaelic, the island's name is Eilean a' Phrionnsa (lit. "the Island of the Prince", the local form of the longer 'Eilean a' Phrionnsa Iomhair/Eideard'), or Eilean Eòin (literally, "John's Island" in reference to the island's former French name) for some Gaelic speakers in Nova Scotia, though not on PEI.

{{Main|Geography of Prince Edward Island}}

File:Prince Edward Island by Sentinel-2, 2020-09-05 (small version).jpg

Prince Edward Island is located in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, west of Cape Breton Island, north of the Nova Scotia peninsula, and northeast of New Brunswick. Its southern shore bounds the Northumberland Strait. The island has two urban areas, and in total, is the most densely populated province in Canada.

The larger urban area surrounds Charlottetown Harbour, situated centrally on the island's southern shore. It consists of the capital city Charlottetown, the suburban towns of Cornwall and Stratford, and a developing urban fringe. A much smaller urban area developed around Summerside Harbour, situated on the southern shore {{cvt|40|km|mi}} west of Charlottetown. This consists primarily of the city of Summerside. As with all natural harbours on the island, Charlottetown and Summerside harbours are created by rias.

File:Landscape of PEI.jpg

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 oxidizes upon exposure to the air. The geological properties of the 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". Large dune fields on the north shore can be found on barrier islands at the entrances to various bays and harbours. The sand dunes at Greenwich are of particular significance as the shifting, parabolic dune system is home to a variety of birds and rare plants, and it is also a site of significant archeological interest.

The climate of the island is a maritime climate considered to be moderate and strongly influenced by the surrounding Gulf of St. Lawrence.{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/prince-edward-island |title=Prince Edward Island |encyclopedia=The Canadian Encyclopedia |access-date=September 1, 2019 |archive-date=June 8, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190608204738/https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/prince-edward-island |url-status=live}}{{cite web |url=http://atlantic-web1.ns.ec.gc.ca/climatecentre/default.asp?lang=En&n=CACEE433-1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080920045822/http://atlantic-web1.ns.ec.gc.ca/climatecentre/default.asp?lang=En&n=CACEE433-1 |archive-date=September 20, 2008 |title=The Climate of Prince Edward Island |work=The Climates of Canada |publisher=Environment Canada |access-date=June 7, 2015}} As such, it is generally milder than many areas of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia due to the warmer waters of the Gulf of St. Lawrence.{{cite web |url=http://www.gov.pe.ca/infopei/index.php3?number=13495&lang=E |title=Climate and Weather |publisher=Government of Prince Edward Island |access-date=June 7, 2015 |archive-date=June 14, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150614165644/http://www.gov.pe.ca/infopei/index.php3?number=13495&lang=E |url-status=live}} The climate is characterized by changeable weather throughout the year; in which specific weather conditions seldom last for long.

File:Ice as far as the eye can see in the Gulf of St. Lawrence (39250866530).jpg freezes over, the island's climate is similar to a continental climate as opposed to an oceanic climate.]]

During July and August, the average daytime high in PEI is {{convert|23|C|0}}; however, the temperature can sometimes exceed {{convert|30|C|0}} during these months. In the winter months of January and February, the average daytime high is {{convert|-3.3|C|0}}. The Island receives an average yearly rainfall of {{convert|855|mm|in}} and an average yearly snowfall of {{convert|2.85|m|ft}}.

Winters are moderately cold and long but are milder than inland locations, with clashes of cold Arctic air and milder Atlantic air causing frequent temperature swings. The climate is considered to be more humid continental climate than oceanic since the Gulf of St. Lawrence freezes over, thus eliminating any moderation. The mean temperature is {{convert|-7|C|0}} in January. During the winter months, the island usually has many storms (which may produce rain as well as snow) and blizzards since during this time, storms originating from the North Atlantic or the Gulf of Mexico frequently pass through. Springtime temperatures typically remain cool until the sea ice has melted, usually in late April or early May.

Summers are moderately warm, with the daily maximum temperature only occasionally reaching as high as {{convert|30|C|0}}. Autumn is a pleasant season, as the moderating Gulf waters delay the onset of frost, although storm activity increases compared to the summer. There is ample precipitation throughout the year, although it is heaviest in the late autumn, early winter and mid spring.

The following climate chart depicts the average conditions of Charlottetown, as an example of the province's climate.

{{Weather box|location = Charlottetown Airport, 1981–2010 normals, extremes 1872–present{{efn|Extreme high and low temperatures in the table below are from Charlottetown (April 1872 to December 1934), Charlottetown CDA (January 1935 to March 1943), and Charlottetown Airport (April 1943 to present).}}

|metric first = Y

|single line = Y

|Jan record high C = 15.1

|Feb record high C = 13.3

|Mar record high C = 24.5

|Apr record high C = 26.7

|May record high C = 31.7

|Jun record high C = 32.2

|Jul record high C = 33.9

|Aug record high C = 36.7

|Sep record high C = 31.5

|Oct record high C = 27.8

|Nov record high C = 21.3

|Dec record high C = 16.7

|year record high C = 36.7

|Jan high C = -3.4

|Feb high C = -2.9

|Mar high C = 0.9

|Apr high C = 7.2

|May high C = 14.3

|Jun high C = 19.4

|Jul high C = 23.3

|Aug high C = 22.8

|Sep high C = 18.6

|Oct high C = 12.3

|Nov high C = 6.3

|Dec high C = 0.5

|year high C = 9.9

|Jan mean C = −7.7

|Feb mean C = −7.3

|Mar mean C = -3.1

|Apr mean C = 3.1

|May mean C = 9.2

|Jun mean C = 14.5

|Jul mean C = 18.7

|Aug mean C = 18.3

|Sep mean C = 14.1

|Oct mean C = 8.3

|Nov mean C = 2.9

|Dec mean C = -3.3

|year mean C = 5.7

|Jan low C = -12.1

|Feb low C = -11.7

|Mar low C = -7.0

|Apr low C = -1.2

|May low C = 4.1

|Jun low C = 9.6

|Jul low C = 14.1

|Aug low C = 13.7

|Sep low C = 9.6

|Oct low C = 4.4

|Nov low C = -0.5

|Dec low C = -7.0

|year low C = 1.3

|Jan record low C = -32.8

|Feb record low C = -30.6

|Mar record low C = -27.2

|Apr record low C = -16.1

|May record low C = -6.7

|Jun record low C = -1.1

|Jul record low C = 2.8

|Aug record low C = 2.0

|Sep record low C = -0.6

|Oct record low C = -6.7

|Nov record low C = -17.2

|Dec record low C = -28.1

|year record low C = -32.8

|precipitation colour = green

|Jan precipitation mm = 101.0

|Feb precipitation mm = 83.2

|Mar precipitation mm = 86.3

|Apr precipitation mm = 83.7

|May precipitation mm = 91.0

|Jun precipitation mm = 98.8

|Jul precipitation mm = 79.9

|Aug precipitation mm = 95.7

|Sep precipitation mm = 95.9

|Oct precipitation mm = 112.2

|Nov precipitation mm = 112.5

|Dec precipitation mm = 118.1

|year precipitation mm = 1158.2

|rain colour = green

|Jan rain mm = 34.1

|Feb rain mm = 29.8

|Mar rain mm = 44.1

|Apr rain mm = 59.7

|May rain mm = 87.2

|Jun rain mm = 98.8

|Jul rain mm = 79.9

|Aug rain mm = 95.7

|Sep rain mm = 95.9

|Oct rain mm = 110.3

|Nov rain mm = 93.0

|Dec rain mm = 58.6

|year rain mm = 887.1

|snow colour = green

|Jan snow cm = 73.3

|Feb snow cm = 58.3

|Mar snow cm = 44.1

|Apr snow cm = 24.4

|May snow cm = 3.7

|Jun snow cm = 0.0

|Jul snow cm = 0.0

|Aug snow cm = 0.0

|Sep snow cm = 0.0

|Oct snow cm = 1.7

|Nov snow cm = 19.2

|Dec snow cm = 65.6

|year snow cm = 290.4

|unit precipitation days = 0.2 mm

|Jan precipitation days = 19.3

|Feb precipitation days = 15.7

|Mar precipitation days = 15.9

|Apr precipitation days = 15.3

|May precipitation days = 14.1

|Jun precipitation days = 13.2

|Jul precipitation days = 12.6

|Aug precipitation days = 11.7

|Sep precipitation days = 12.8

|Oct precipitation days = 15.0

|Nov precipitation days = 16.9

|Dec precipitation days = 19.8

|year precipitation days = 182.4

|unit rain days = 0.2 mm

|Jan rain days = 6.3

|Feb rain days = 5.0

|Mar rain days = 7.5

|Apr rain days = 11.6

|May rain days = 13.8

|Jun rain days = 13.2

|Jul rain days = 12.6

|Aug rain days = 11.7

|Sep rain days = 12.8

|Oct rain days = 14.6

|Nov rain days = 13.0

|Dec rain days = 8.6

|year rain days = 130.8

|unit snow days = 0.2 cm

|Jan snow days = 17.3

|Feb snow days = 13.7

|Mar snow days = 12.2

|Apr snow days = 6.4

|May snow days = 0.93

|Jun snow days = 0.0

|Jul snow days = 0.0

|Aug snow days = 0.0

|Sep snow days = 0.03

|Oct snow days = 1.0

|Nov snow days = 6.4

|Dec snow days = 15.3

|year snow days = 73.2

|Jan sun = 108.9

|Feb sun = 109.1

|Mar sun = 141.3

|Apr sun = 148.2

|May sun = 197.1

|Jun sun = 219.8

|Jul sun = 253.6

|Aug sun = 219.0

|Sep sun = 181.0

|Oct sun = 123.9

|Nov sun = 62.9

|Dec sun = 75.8

|year sun = 1840.5

|Jan percentsun = 38.8

|Feb percentsun = 37.6

|Mar percentsun = 38.3

|Apr percentsun = 36.5

|May percentsun = 42.5

|Jun percentsun = 46.6

|Jul percentsun = 53.2

|Aug percentsun = 49.9

|Sep percentsun = 47.9

|Oct percentsun = 36.5

|Nov percentsun = 22.1

|Dec percentsun = 28.1

|year percentsun = 39.8

|source 1 = Environment Canada{{cite web |url=http://www.climate.weatheroffice.gc.ca/climate_normals/results_e.html?stnID=6526&lang=e&dCode=1&province=PEI&provBut=Search&month1=0&month2=12 |title=Canadian Climate Normals 1971-2000 |publisher=Environment Canada |access-date=October 5, 2012 |archive-date=May 13, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130513093616/http://www.climate.weatheroffice.gc.ca/climate_normals/results_e.html?stnID=6526&lang=e&dCode=1&province=PEI&provBut=Search&month1=0&month2=12 |url-status=dead}}{{cite web |publisher=Environment Canada |url=http://climate.weather.gc.ca/climate_normals/results_1981_2010_e.html?stnID=6526&lang=e&StationName=charlottetown&SearchType=Contains&stnNameSubmit=go&dCode=1&dispBack=1 |title=Charlottetown A |work=Canadian Climate Normals 1981–2010 |date=September 25, 2013 |access-date=April 9, 2016 |archive-date=July 28, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190728023841/http://climate.weather.gc.ca/climate_normals/results_1981_2010_e.html?stnID=6526&lang=e&StationName=Charlottetown&SearchType=Contains&stnNameSubmit=go&dCode=1&dispBack=1 |url-status=live}}{{cite web |publisher=Environment Canada |url=http://climate.weather.gc.ca/historical_data/search_historic_data_stations_e.html?searchType=stnName&timeframe=1&txtStationName=charlottetown&searchMethod=contains&optLimit=yearRange&StartYear=1840&EndYear=1900&Year=2016&Month=6&Day=9&selRowPerPage=25 |title=Charlottetown |work=Canadian Climate Data |date=October 31, 2011 |access-date=February 29, 2016 |archive-date=October 14, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181014165117/http://climate.weather.gc.ca/historical_data/search_historic_data_stations_e.html?searchType=stnName&timeframe=1&txtStationName=charlottetown&searchMethod=contains&optLimit=yearRange&StartYear=1840&EndYear=1900&Year=2016&Month=6&Day=9&selRowPerPage=25 |url-status=live}}{{cite web |publisher=Environment Canada |url=http://climate.weather.gc.ca/climate_normals/results_e.html?stnID=6527&lang=e&StationName=charlottetown&SearchType=Contains&stnNameSubmit=go&dCode=0 |title=Charlottetown CDA |work=Canadian Climate Normals 1971–2000 |date=October 31, 2011 |access-date=April 9, 2016 |archive-date=April 20, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160420235257/http://climate.weather.gc.ca/climate_normals/results_e.html?stnID=6527&lang=e&StationName=charlottetown&SearchType=Contains&stnNameSubmit=go&dCode=0 |url-status=live}}{{cite web |publisher=Environment Canada |url=http://climate.weather.gc.ca/climate_data/daily_data_e.html?hlyRange=1953-01-01%7C2012-09-13&dlyRange=1943-04-01%7C2012-09-12&mlyRange=1943-01-01%7C2012-09-01&StationID=6526&Prov=PE&urlExtension=_e.html&searchType=stnName&optLimit=yearRange&StartYear=1840&EndYear=2016&selRowPerPage=25&Line=1&searchMethod=contains&Month=3&Day=9&txtStationName=charlottetown&timeframe=2&Year=2012 |title=March 2012 |work=Canadian Climate Data |date=October 31, 2011 |access-date=June 9, 2016 |archive-date=October 14, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181014165215/http://climate.weather.gc.ca/climate_data/daily_data_e.html?hlyRange=1953-01-01 |url-status=live}}

|date= August 2010

}}

File:Prince Edward Island topographic map-blank.svg

Between 250 and 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 basin, and make up the island's bedrock. When the Pleistocene glaciers receded about 15,000 years ago, glacial debris such as till were 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 farther from the surrounding water.Russel, F. The Atlantic Coast. The Illustrated Natural History of Canada. Natural Science of Canada Ltd. Toronto. 1970. pp. 30–31. LCCCN 70109048.[http://www.pc.gc.ca/apprendre-learn/prof/itm2-crp-trc/htm/fprinceedward_e.asp Parks Canada, Teacher Resource Centre, Prince Edward Island National Park of Canada] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110919155811/http://www.pc.gc.ca/apprendre-learn/prof/itm2-crp-trc/htm/fprinceedward_e.asp |date=September 19, 2011 }} Retrieved: April 6, 2011.

Most of the bedrock in Prince Edward Island is composed of red sandstone, part of the Permian age Pictou Group.{{cite web |url=http://cgkn1.cgkn.net/weblex/weblex_litho_detail_e.pl?00053:011818 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130618033247/http://cgkn1.cgkn.net/weblex/weblex_litho_detail_e.pl?00053:011818 |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 18, 2013 |author=Lexicon of Canadian Geological Units |title=Pictou Group |access-date=June 16, 2013}}

Although commercial deposits of minerals have not been found, exploration in the 1940s for natural gas beneath the northeastern end of the province resulted in the discovery of an undisclosed quantity of gas. The Island was reported by government to have only 0.08 tcf of "technically recoverable" natural gas. Twenty exploration wells for hydrocarbon resources have been drilled on Prince Edward Island and offshore. The first reported well was Hillsborough No.#1, drilled in Charlottetown Harbour in 1944 (the world's first offshore well), and the most recent was New Harmony No.#1 in 2007. Since the resurgence of exploration in the mid-1990s, all wells that have shown promising gas deposits have been stimulated through hydraulic fracture or "fracking". All oil and natural gas exploration and exploitation activities on the Island are governed by the Oil and Natural Gas Act R.S.P.E.I. 1988, Cap. 0-5 and its associated regulations and orders.{{cite web |url=https://www.nrcan.gc.ca/our-natural-resources/energy-sources-distribution/clean-fossil-fuels/natural-gas/shale-and-tight-resources-canada/prince-edward-islands-shale-and-tight-resources/17712 |title=Prince Edward Island's Shale and Tight Resources |first=Natural Resources |last=Canada |date=July 16, 2015 |website=Nrcan.gc.ca |access-date=April 17, 2021 |archive-date=April 17, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210417145026/https://www.nrcan.gc.ca/our-natural-resources/energy-sources-distribution/clean-fossil-fuels/natural-gas/shale-and-tight-resources-canada/prince-edward-islands-shale-and-tight-resources/17712 |url-status=live}}

The Province of Prince Edward Island is completely dependent on groundwater for its source of drinking water, with approximately 305 high capacity wells in use as of December 2018.{{cite web |title=High Capacity Wells |url=https://www.princeedwardisland.ca/en/service/high-capacity-wells |website=Princeedwardisland.ca |date=January 9, 2017 |access-date=December 16, 2018 |archive-date=December 16, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181216212543/https://www.princeedwardisland.ca/en/service/high-capacity-wells |url-status=live}} As groundwater flows through an aquifer, it is naturally filtered. The water for the city of Charlottetown is extracted from thirteen wells in three wellfields and distributed to customers. The water removed is replenished by precipitation.{{cite web |title=The Province of Prince Edward Island is totally dependent on groundwater |url=https://www.city.charlottetown.pe.ca/waterutility.php |website=City.charlottetown.pe.ca |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091012175822/https://www.city.charlottetown.pe.ca/waterutility.php |archive-date=October 12, 2009}}

File:Winter River, PEI (6913968185).jpg's water supply.]]

Infrastructure in Charlottetown that was installed in 1888 is still in existence. With the age of the system in the older part of Charlottetown, concern has been raised regarding lead pipes. The Utility has been working with its residents on a lead-replacement program. A plebiscite in 1967 was held in Charlottetown over fluoridation, and residents voted in favour. Under provincial legislation, the Utility is required to report to its residents on an annual basis. It is also required to do regular sampling of the water and an overview is included in each annual report. The Winter River watershed provides about 92 per cent of the {{convert|18|e6L|e6usgal|adj=mid|abbr=off}} water supply for the city of Charlottetown, which had difficulty in each of 2011, 2012 and 2013 with its supply,[http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/water-supply-worries-prompt-charlottetown-meeting-1.1110790 cbc.ca: "Water supply worries prompt Charlottetown meeting"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150914042840/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/water-supply-worries-prompt-charlottetown-meeting-1.1110790 |date=September 14, 2015 }}, November 30, 2011.[http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/charlottetown-opens-emergency-water-supply-1.1251325 cbc.ca: "Charlottetown opens emergency water supply"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150913234242/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/charlottetown-opens-emergency-water-supply-1.1251325 |date=September 13, 2015 }}, July 10, 2012.[http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/charlottetown-relies-on-secondary-water-source-1.1317498 cbc.ca: "Charlottetown relies on secondary water source"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150914042838/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/charlottetown-relies-on-secondary-water-source-1.1317498 |date=September 14, 2015 }}, August 14, 2013. until water meters were installed.

Government tabled a discussion paper on the proposed Water Act for the province on July 8, 2015. The use of groundwater came under scrutiny as the potato industry, which accounts for $1 billion every year and 50% of farm receipts, has pressed the government to lift a moratorium on high-capacity water wells for irrigation. The release of the discussion paper was to set off a consultation process in the autumn of 2015.[http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/water-act-white-paper-tabled-by-p-e-i-government-1.3143741 cbc.ca: "Water Act white paper tabled by P.E.I. government"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150710092609/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/water-act-white-paper-tabled-by-p-e-i-government-1.3143741 |date=July 10, 2015 }}, July 8, 2015.

Detailed information about the quality of drinking water in PEI communities and watersheds can be found on the provincial government's official website. It provides a summary of the ongoing testing of drinking water done by the Prince Edward Island Analytical Laboratories. Average drinking-water quality results are available, and information on the following parameters are provided: alkalinity; cadmium; calcium; chloride; chromium; iron; magnesium; manganese; nickel; nitrate; pH; phosphorus; potassium; sodium; and sulfate, as well as the presence of pesticides.{{cite web |url=http://www.gov.pe.ca/environment/drinking-water-quality |title=gov.pe.ca: "Environment - Drinking Water Quality" |access-date=July 11, 2015 |archive-date=July 13, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150713014442/http://www.gov.pe.ca/environment/drinking-water-quality |url-status=live}} Water-testing services are provided for a variety of clients through the PEI Analytical Laboratories which assesses according to the recommendations of the Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality published by Health Canada.{{cite web |url=http://www.gov.pe.ca/environment/watertest |title=gov.pe.ca: "Getting your water tested" |access-date=July 11, 2015 |archive-date=July 13, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150713015907/http://www.gov.pe.ca/environment/watertest |url-status=live}}

Prince Edward Island used to have native moose, bear, caribou, wolf, and other larger species. Due to hunting and habitat disruption these species are no longer found on the island. Some species common to P.E.I. are red foxes, coyote,{{cite web |url=http://macphailwoods.org/forestry/watersheds/ |title=Macphail Woods: Watersheds |website=macphailwoods.org |access-date=December 11, 2016 |archive-date=December 20, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220201415/http://macphailwoods.org/forestry/watersheds/ |url-status=dead }} blue jays, and robins. Skunks and raccoons are common non-native species. Species at risk in P.E.I. include piping plovers, American eel, bobolinks, little brown bat, and beach pinweed.{{cite web |url=http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/pn-np/pe/pei-ipe/natcul/especesenperil-speciesatrisk.aspx |title=Prince Edward Island National Park of Canada: Species at Risk |website=Parks Canada |access-date=December 11, 2016 |archive-date=December 20, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220193846/http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/pn-np/pe/pei-ipe/natcul/especesenperil-speciesatrisk.aspx}}

Some species are unique to the province. In 2008, a new ascomycete species, Jahnula apiospora (Jahnulales, Dothideomycetes), was collected from submerged wood in a freshwater creek on Prince Edward Island.{{cite journal |last1=Raja |first1=Huzefa A. |last2=Shearer |first2=Carol A. |last3=Carter |first3=Adrian |last4=Platt |first4=Harold W. |title=Freshwater ascomycetes: Jahnula apiospora (Jahnulales, Dothideomycetes), a new species from Prince Edward Island, Canada |journal=Mycoscience |volume=49 |issue=5 |pages=326–328 |doi=10.1007/S10267-008-0428-2 |date=October 2008 |s2cid=84899319}}

North Atlantic right whales, one of the rarest whale species, once thought to be rare visitors into St. Lawrence regions until 1994, have been showing dramatic increases (annual concentrations were discovered off Percé in 1995 and gradual increases across the regions since 1998),{{cite web |title=Une baleine noire en vue! Merci d'appeler Urgences Mammifères Marins! |url=https://baleinesendirect.org/une-baleine-noire-en-vue-merci-dappeler-urgences-mammiferes-marins/ |website=Baleines en direct |language=fr-FR |date=July 12, 2013 |access-date=January 23, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190913000459/https://baleinesendirect.org/une-baleine-noire-en-vue-merci-dappeler-urgences-mammiferes-marins/ |archive-date=September 13, 2019 |url-status=dead}} and since 2014, notable numbers of whales have been recorded around Cape Breton to Prince Edward Island as 35 to 40 whales were seen in these areas in 2015.{{cite web |title=Right whales off Cape Breton going the wrong way for shipping, fishing |url=https://www.thechronicleherald.ca/novascotia/1312707-right-whales-off-cape-breton-going-the-wrong-way-for-shipping-fishing/ |website=thechronicleherald.ca |date=September 22, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151029142914/https://www.thechronicleherald.ca/novascotia/1312707-right-whales-off-cape-breton-going-the-wrong-way-for-shipping-fishing/ |archive-date=October 29, 2015}}

{{Main|History of Prince Edward Island}}

{{Further|Monarchy in Prince Edward Island#History}}

Before the influx of Europeans, the Mi'kmaq First Nations have inhabited Prince Edward Island as part of the region of Mi'kma'ki. They named the Island Epekwitk, meaning "cradled on the waves"; Europeans represented the pronunciation as Abegweit.[http://www.gov.pe.ca/infopei/index.php3?number=40581&lang=E Island Information: Quick Facts] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111021110805/http://www.gov.pe.ca/infopei/index.php3?number=40581&lang=E |date=October 21, 2011 }}, website of the Government of Prince Edward Island, April 27, 2010. Retrieved on October 25, 2010. Another name is Minegoo.{{cite book |title=Micmac Legends of Prince Edward Island |publisher=Lennox Island Band Council & Ragwee Press |year=1988 |last=Sark |first=John Joe |isbn=978-0920304914 |page=6}} 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. The two Mi'kmaq First Nation communities of Prince Edward Island today are Abegweit First Nation and Lennox Island First Nation.{{cite news |last1=Fraser |first1=Sara |title='It's all Mi'kmaq land': Why First Nations claim P.E.I. as their own |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/pei-mi-kmaq-native-aboriginal-land-rights-1.4008521 |access-date=September 10, 2017 |agency=CBC News |date=March 7, 2017 |archive-date=September 17, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170917053559/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/pei-mi-kmaq-native-aboriginal-land-rights-1.4008521 |url-status=live}}[https://lnuey.ca/about-us]{{cite web |title=About Us |url=https://lnuey.ca/about-us/ |access-date=June 18, 2024 |website=L'nuey}}

In 1534, Jacques Cartier was the first European to see the island. In 1604, the Kingdom of France laid claim to the lands of the Maritimes under the discovery doctrine, including Prince Edward Island, establishing the French colony of Acadia. The island was named Île Saint-Jean (St. John's Island) by the French. The Mi'kmaq never recognized the claim but welcomed the French as trading partners and allies.

File:Acadie1744 IPE.jpg

During the 18th century, the French were engaged in a series of conflicts with the Kingdom of Great Britain and its colonies. Several battles between the two belligerents occurred on Prince Edward Island during this period. Following the British capture of Louisbourg during the War of the Austrian Succession, New Englanders launched an attack on Île Saint-Jean (now Prince Edward Island); with a British detachment landed at Port-la-Joye. The island's capital had a garrison of 20 French soldiers under the command of Joseph du Pont Duvivier.Harvey, p. 110. 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.Harvey, p. 111. 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 Île Royale (now Cape Breton Island) were deported to France, with the remaining Acadians of Île Saint-Jean living under the threat of deportation for the remainder of the war.Harvey, p. 112.

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. Upon arriving at Chignecto, he sent Boishebert to Île Saint-Jean to ascertain the size of the New England force.Boishebert Canadian Biography On Line. 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.John Clarence Webster's, "Memorial on Behalf of Sieur de Boishebert" (Saint John: Historical Studies No. 4, Publications of the New Brunswick Museum, 1942) at p. 11. In July 1746, the battle happened near York River.{{cite web |url=http://www.muiniskw.org/pgHistory2.htm |title=Mi'kmaw History – Timeline (Post-Contact) |publisher=Muiniskw.org |date=August 4, 2011 |access-date=May 19, 2012 |archive-date=May 1, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190501171953/http://www.muiniskw.org/pgHistory2.htm |url-status=live}} Montesson and his troops killed forty New Englanders and captured the rest. Montesson was commended for having distinguished himself in his first independent command.{{cite web |url=http://www.biographi.ca/009004-119.01-e.php?BioId=36129 |title=LEGARDEUR DE CROISILLE ET DE MONTESSON, JOSEPH-MICHEL - Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online |publisher=Biographi.ca |date=October 18, 2007 |access-date=May 19, 2012 |archive-date=October 25, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121025120834/http://www.biographi.ca/009004-119.01-e.php?BioId=36129 |url-status=live}} Hostilities between the British and French were ended in 1748 with the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1748.

File:Deportation of the Acadians (22289143685).jpg in Prince Edward Island. A large number of Acadians were forcibly removed from the island in the mid 18th century.]]

Roughly one thousand Acadians lived on the island prior to the Acadian Exodus 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 beginning in 1755.[https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/the-deportation-of-the-acadians-feature Acadian Expulsion (the Great Upheaval)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190809191748/https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/the-deportation-of-the-acadians-feature |date=August 9, 2019 }} at The Canadian Encyclopedia, accessed September 1, 2019{{cite book |last=Johnston |first=A. J. B. |title=Endgame 1758: The Promise, the Glory and the Despair of Louisbourg's Last Decade |year=2007 |publisher=University of Nebraska Press |page=366}}

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, the British performed a military campaign on Ile Saint-Jean (now Prince Edward Island) to secure the island. The campaign was led by Colonel Andrew Rollo under orders from General Jeffery Amherst. The following campaigns saw the deportation of most Acadians from the island. Many Acadians died in the expulsion en route 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 {{ship||Ruby|1758 ship|2}} sank with 213 on board.Earl Lockerby. The Deportation of the Acadians from Prince Edward Island. The French formally ceded the island, and most of New France to the British in the Treaty of Paris of 1763.

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 led by Samuel Holland 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 which 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.

After the island was detached from Nova Scotia to become a separate colony, Walter Patterson 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. 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 it exceeded the authority vested in the colonial government; only the Privy Council in London could change the name of a colony.Brendan O'Grady, Exiles and Islanders: The Irish Settlers of Prince Edward Island, p. 15.

File:Prince Edward Island map 1775.jpg

During the American Revolutionary War Charlottetown was raided in 1775 by a pair of American-employed privateers.{{cite web |url=http://www.gov.pe.ca/infopei/index.php3?number=12183&lang=E |author=PEI Provincial Government |title=Historical Milestones |access-date=August 17, 2007 |archive-date=September 29, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929083324/http://www.gov.pe.ca/infopei/index.php3?number=12183&lang=E |url-status=live}} Two armed schooners, Franklin and Hancock, from Beverly, Massachusetts, 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.Julian Gwyn. Frigates and Foremasts. University of British Columbia, 2003, p. 58.

During and after the American Revolutionary War, from 1776 to 1783, the colony's efforts to attract exiled Loyalist refugees from the rebellious North 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, also a Loyalist exiled by the Revolution, took over as the second governor, serving until 1804. His tenure was more successful than Patterson's.{{citation needed|date=December 2010}} A large 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.

On November 29, 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, such as the cities of Saint John in New Brunswick and St. John's in Newfoundland. The colony's new name honoured the fourth son of King George III, Prince Edward Augustus, the Duke of Kent (1767–1820), who subsequently led the British military forces on the continent as Commander-in-Chief, North America (1799–1800), with his headquarters in Halifax.

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.

File:Charlottetown Conference Delegates, September 1864.JPG in 1864. Although PEI hosted a conference, it did not join the Confederation until 1873.]]

From September 1 to 7, 1864, Prince Edward Island hosted the Charlottetown Conference, which was the first meeting in the process leading to the Quebec Resolutions and the creation of Canada in 1867. Prince Edward Island found the terms of union unfavourable 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.{{cite web |url=https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/politics-government/canadian-confederation/Pages/prince-edward-island-1873.aspx |title=Prince Edward Island (1873) |first=Library and Archives |last=Canada |date=September 17, 2014 |website=Bac-lac.gc.ca |access-date=April 17, 2021 |archive-date=May 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210511235020/https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/politics-government/canadian-confederation/Pages/prince-edward-island-1873.aspx |url-status=dead}}

In 1871, the colony began construction of the Prince Edward Island Railway (PEIR) and, frustrated by Great Britain's Colonial Office, began negotiations with the United States.{{Cite book |last=MacKinnon |first=Frank |title=The Government of Prince Edward Island |publisher=University of Toronto Press |year=1951 |location=Toronto |pages=131–136 |language=en |doi=10.3138/9781487583101 |isbn=9781487583101}} In 1873, Canadian Prime Minister John A. Macdonald, anxious to thwart American expansionism and facing the distraction of the Pacific Scandal, 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).{{cite web |title=Assembly Timeline |url=http://www.gov.pe.ca/photos/original/assemblytimelin.pdf |work=Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island |publisher=Government of Prince Edward Island |access-date=October 22, 2011 |archive-date=June 10, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110610151443/http://www.gov.pe.ca/photos/original/assemblytimelin.pdf |url-status=live}} Prince Edward Island entered Confederation on July 1, 1873.{{cite web |url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/confederation/023001-3110-e.html#h |author=Library and Archives Canada |title=Canadian Confederation, Provinces and Territories, Prince Edward Island |access-date=December 27, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100401180333/http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/confederation/023001-3110-e.html#h |archive-date=April 1, 2010 |url-status=dead}}

File:Confederation Centre of the Arts.jpg was completed in 1964, and commemorates the centenary of Confederation.]]

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 (constructed 1993 to 1997). The most prominent building in the province honouring this event is the Confederation Centre of the Arts, 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.{{cite web |title=Prince Edward Island |url=http://www.pc.gc.ca/apps/lhn-nhs/page3_E.asp?locateinp=&nhsprov=Prince+Edward+Island&nhschoice=nhsdesig&list4=Generate+List |work=Directory of Designations of National Historic Significance of Canada |publisher=Parks Canada |access-date=October 23, 2011}}{{Dead link|date=July 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}{{CRHP|7735|Confederation Centre of the Arts National Historic Site of Canada|October 23, 2011}}

{{Main|Demographics of Prince Edward Island}}

File:Canada Prince Edward Island Density 2016.png borders shown.]]

{{Graph:Chart

| width = 200

| height= 130

| type = line

| interpolate =

| xType = date

| xAxisAngle = -40

| yAxisTitle = Population

| yGrid = yes

| linewidth = 2

| x = 1851, 1861, 1871, 1881, 1891, 1901, 1911, 1921, 1931, 1941, 1951, 1956, 1961, 1966, 1971, 1975, 1981, 1986, 1991, 1996, 2001, 2006, 2011, 2016, 2021

| y = 62678, 80857, 94021, 108891, 109078, 103259, 93728, 88615, 88038, 95047, 98429, 99285, 104629, 108535, 111635, 118225, 122506, 126640, 126640, 134557, 135294, 138581, 140204, 142907, 154331

| colors = #068774

}}

{{Historical populations

|title = Historical populations

|type = Canada

|align = right

|width =

|state =

|shading =

|percentages =

|footnote = Source: Statistics Canada{{cite web |url=http://www40.statcan.ca/l01/cst01/demo62f.htm |title=Population urban and rural, by province and territory |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080501112831/http://www40.statcan.ca/l01/cst01/demo62f.htm |archive-date=May 1, 2008}}{{cite web |url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2006/dp-pd/hlt/97-550/Index.cfm?TPL=P3C&Page=INDX&LANG=Eng |title=Population and Dwelling Count Highlight Tables, 2006 Census |website=12.statcan.gc.ca |access-date=April 17, 2021 |archive-date=December 16, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191216105454/https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2006/dp-pd/hlt/97-550/Index.cfm?TPL=P3C&Page=INDX&LANG=Eng |url-status=live}}

|1851|62678

|1861|80857

|1871|94021

|1881|108891

|1891|109078

|1901|103259

|1911|93728

|1921|88615

|1931|88038

|1941|95047

|1951|98429

|1956|99285

|1961|104629

|1966|108535

|1971|111635

|1976|118225

|1981|122506

|1986|126640

|1991|129765

|1996|134557

|2001|135294

|2006|135851

|2011|140204

|2016|142907

|2021|154331

}}

{{Main|Demographics of Prince Edward Island#Ethnic Origins}}

File:Ethnic origin of the population of Prince Edward Island.png

According to the 2016 Canadian Census{{cite web |url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=ER&Code1=1110&Geo2=PR&Code2=01&SearchText=1110&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=Ethnic%20origin&TABID=3&type=0 |title=2016 Canadian Census |access-date=August 28, 2020 |archive-date=July 16, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220716200105/https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=ER&Code1=1110&Geo2=PR&Code2=01&SearchText=1110&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=Ethnic+origin&TABID=3&type=0 |url-status=live}} of the 139,690 people who self-identified with an ethnic origin, 98,615 were of European origins and 85,145 chose British Isles Origins. The largest ethnic group consists of people of Scottish descent (36%), followed by English (29%), Irish (28%), French (21%), German (5%), and Dutch (3%) descent.

Prince Edward Island's population is largely white; there are few visible minorities. Chinese Canadians are the largest visible minority group of Prince Edward Island, comprising 1.3% of the province's population. Almost half of respondents identified their ethnicity as "Canadian".

{{Smaller|* among provinces.
† Preliminary 2006 census estimate.}}

Source: Statistics Canada[http://www40.statcan.ca/l01/cst01/demo62c.htm PEI population trend] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070221175619/http://www40.statcan.ca/l01/cst01/demo62c.htm |date=February 21, 2007 }} (Statistics Canada).[http://www40.statcan.ca/l01/cst01/demo62d.htm Population urban and rural, by province and territory] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061121014755/http://www40.statcan.ca/l01/cst01/demo62d.htm |date=November 21, 2006 }} (Statistics Canada, 2005).

{{Main|Demographics of Prince Edward Island#Languages}}

{{See also|Acadian French}}

File:Ile-du-Prince-Edouard langues.png is the only Francophone majority area on the island.]]

As of the 2021 Canadian Census, the ten most spoken languages in the province included English (149,525 or 99.36%), French (19,445 or 12.92%), Mandarin (2,940 or 1.95%), Hindi (1,660 or 1.1%), Tagalog (1,630 or 1.08%), Punjabi (1,550 or 1.03%), Spanish (1,425 or 0.95%), Arabic (1,165 or 0.77%), German (1,040 or 0.69%), and Vietnamese (785 or 0.52%).{{Cite web |last=Government of Canada |date=August 17, 2022 |title=Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population Profile table Prince Edward Island [Province] |url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?LANG=E&GENDERlist=1,2,3&STATISTIClist=1,4&DGUIDlist=2021A000211&HEADERlist=,15,13,18,12,16,14,17&SearchText=Prince%20Edward%20Island |access-date=August 12, 2022 |website=Statistics Canada |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220818005559/https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?LANG=E&GENDERlist=1,2,3&STATISTIClist=1,4&DGUIDlist=2021A000211&HEADERlist=,15,13,18,12,16,14,17&SearchText=Prince%20Edward%20Island |archive-date=August 18, 2022}} The question on knowledge of languages allows for multiple responses.

The Canada 2016 Census showed a population of 142,910. Of the 140,020 singular responses to the census question concerning mother tongue, the most commonly reported languages were as follows:

In addition, there were 460 responses of both English and a "non-official language"; 30 of both French and a "non-official language"; 485 of both English and French; and 20 of English, French, and a "non-official language". (Figures shown are for the number of single language responses and the percentage of total single-language responses.){{cite web |url=http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=ER&Code1=1110&Geo2=PR&Code2=01&Data=Count&SearchText=1110&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=All&Custom=&TABID=3 |title=Prince Edward Island [Economic region], Prince Edward Island and Canada [Country] (table). Census Profile. |publisher=Statistics Canada |location=Ottawa |date=September 13, 2017 |access-date=October 13, 2017 |archive-date=October 14, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171014034328/http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=ER&Code1=1110&Geo2=PR&Code2=01&Data=Count&SearchText=1110&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=All&Custom=&TABID=3 |url-status=live}}

{{Main|Demographics of Prince Edward Island#Religion}}

According to the 2021 census, religious groups in Prince Edward Island included:{{Cite web |last=Government of Canada |first=Statistics Canada |date=October 26, 2022 |title=Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population |url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&SearchText=Prince%20Edward%20Island&DGUIDlist=2021A000211&GENDERlist=1,2,3&STATISTIClist=1&HEADERlist=0 |access-date=November 9, 2022 |website=www12.statcan.gc.ca |archive-date=October 26, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221026201743/https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&SearchText=Prince%20Edward%20Island&DGUIDlist=2021A000211&GENDERlist=1,2,3&STATISTIClist=1&HEADERlist=0 |url-status=live }}

• Christianity (101,755 persons or 67.6%)
• Irreligion (42,830 persons or 28.5%)
• Islam (1,720 persons or 1.1%)
• Hinduism (1,245 persons or 0.8%)
• Sikhism (1,165 persons or 0.8%)
• Buddhism (755 persons or 0.5%)
• Judaism (165 persons or 0.1%)
• Indigenous Spirituality (75 persons or <0.1%)
• Other (765 persons or 0.5%)

Traditionally, the population has been evenly divided between Catholic and Protestant affiliations. The 2001 census indicated number of adherents for the Roman Catholic Church with 63,240 (47%) and various Protestant churches with 57,805 (43%). This included the United Church of Canada with 26,570 (20%); the Presbyterian Church with 7,885 (6%) and the Anglican Church of Canada with 6,525 (5%); those with no religion were among the lowest of the provinces with 8,705 (6.5%).{{cite web |url=http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census01/products/highlight/Religion/Page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo=PR&View=1a&Code=11&Table=1&StartRec=1&Sort=2&B1=11&B2=All |title=Religions in Canada |publisher=2.statcan.ca |access-date=February 23, 2011 |archive-date=December 20, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081220135856/http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census01/products/highlight/Religion/Page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo=PR&View=1a&Code=11&Table=1&StartRec=1&Sort=2&B1=11&B2=All |url-status=dead }} If one considers that the founders of the United Church of Canada were largely Presbyterians in Prince Edward Island, the Island has one of the highest percentages of Presbyterians in the country. Since 2016 there are two Amish settlements on Prince Edward Island.[https://web.archive.org/web/20160129063243/http://amishamerica.com/prince-edward-island-to-become-3rd-canadian-province-with-an-amish-population Prince Edward Island to Become 3rd Canadian Province with an Amish Population] at amishamerica.com.

The provincial economy is dominated by the seasonal industries of agriculture, tourism, and the fishery. The island also has tourists who visit year-round. Tourists engage in a variety of leisure activities, including the beaches, various golf courses, eco-tourism adventures, touring the countryside, and varied cultural events in local communities around the island. 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. The province is limited in terms of heavy industry and manufacturing, though Cavendish Farms runs extensive food manufacturing operations on PEI.

File:Harvesting soybeans on Prince Edward Island.jpg

Agriculture remains the dominant industry in the provincial economy, as it has since colonial times. In 2015, agriculture and agri-food manufacturing was responsible for 7.6% of the province's GDP.{{cite web |url=https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/190730/dq190730a-eng.htm |title=Agriculture and Agri-Food Economic Account, 2015 |date=July 30, 2019 |website=Statistics Canada |access-date=September 23, 2019 |archive-date=September 23, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190923194545/https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/190730/dq190730a-eng.htm |url-status=live}} The Island has a total land area of {{convert|1.4|e6acres|lk=out|abbr=off}} with approximately {{convert|594,000|acres|0|abbr=off}} cleared for agricultural use.{{cite web |url=http://www.gov.pe.ca/agriculture/AgonPEI |title=gov.pe.ca: "Agriculture on Prince Edward Island" |access-date=July 13, 2015 |archive-date=July 14, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150714033114/http://www.gov.pe.ca/agriculture/AgonPEI |url-status=live}} In 2016, the Census of Agriculture counted 1,353 farms on the Island, which is a 9.5% decrease from the previous census (2011).{{cite web |url=https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/170510/dq170510a-eng.htm?indid=10441-1&indgeo=4 |title=2016 Census of Agriculture |date=2016 |website=Statistics Canada |access-date=September 23, 2019 |archive-date=April 16, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190416104922/https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/170510/dq170510a-eng.htm?indid=10441-1&indgeo=4 |url-status=live}} During the 20th century, potatoes were grown as a cash crop across more than a million acres of farmland. Traditionally, crops were grown on a rotational basis: common examples would be either potatoes, hay, clover, or oats being grown on a piece of land at any given time.{{cite report|last1=MacKinnon|first1=Wayne|last2=Vass|first2=Elinor|title=The Best of the Past: Traditional, Sustainable Agirculture In Prince Edward Island Department of Agriculture|publisher=Institute of Island Studies for the Prince Edward|year=1989|pages=4, 5, 36|url=https://islandstudies.com/files/2014/04/The-Best-of-the-Past.pdf}} More recently, the total amount of farms used for potatoes has decreased, but the province is still Canada's largest supplier of the crop.{{cite web |last1=Holman |first1=H.T. |last2=Robb |first2=Andrew |title=Prince Edward Island |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/prince-edward-island |website=The Canadian Encyclopedia |access-date=5 June 2024}} The number of acres under potato production in 2010 was 88,000, while soy accounted for 55,000.[http://maisonneuve.org/article/2013/06/18/when-monks-come-town/ maisonneuve.org: "When the Monks Come to Town"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150712095253/http://maisonneuve.org/article/2013/06/18/when-monks-come-town/ |date=July 12, 2015 }}, June 18, 2013. 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 quarter of Canada's total potato production, producing approximately {{convert|1.3|e9kg|short ton|lk=out|abbr=off}} annually.{{cite web |url=http://www.peipotato.org/why-pei-potatoes |title=Why PEI Potato |publisher=PEI Potato |access-date=July 11, 2015 |archive-date=July 13, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150713023038/http://www.peipotato.org/why-pei-potatoes |url-status=dead }}{{cite web|url=https://www.peipotato.org/potato-industry/|title=PEI Potato Industry|publisher=PEI Potato|access-date=April 30, 2024|archive-date=April 30, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240430122247/https://www.peipotato.org/potato-industry/|url-status=live}} Comparatively, the state of Idaho produces approximately {{convert|6.2|e9kg|short ton|abbr=off}} annually, with a population approximately 9.5 times greater.{{cite web |url=http://www.potatopro.com/Newsletters/20081112.htm |title=Idaho Potato Production |publisher=Potatopro.com |date=November 12, 2008 |access-date=February 23, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110715110733/http://www.potatopro.com/Newsletters/20081112.htm |archive-date=July 15, 2011 |url-status=dead }} The province is a major producer of seed potatoes, exporting to more than twenty countries around the world. An estimated total of 70% of the land is cultivated and 25% of all potatoes grown in Canada originate from P.E.I.{{cite book |last=Weihs |first=Jean |title=Facts about Canada, its provinces and territories |year=1995 |publisher=H.W. Wilson Co. |location=New York |isbn=9780824208646 |page=[https://archive.org/details/factsaboutcanada00weih/page/159 159] |url=https://archive.org/details/factsaboutcanada00weih/page/159}} The processing of frozen fried potatoes, green vegetables, and berries is a leading business activity.{{cite book |title=Prince Edward Island (P.E.I.) |year=2013 |publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica Inc |url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/476641/Prince-Edward-Island-PEI/ |access-date=September 30, 2013 |archive-date=October 3, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131003135352/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/476641/Prince-Edward-Island-PEI/ |url-status=live}}

As a legacy of the island's colonial history, the provincial government enforces extremely strict rules for non-resident land ownership, especially since the PEI Lands Protection Act of 1982. 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.{{cite web |url=http://www.irac.pe.ca/ |title=Regulatory and Appeals Commission (IRAC), Prince Edward Island, Canada |website=Irac.pe.ca |access-date=April 17, 2021 |archive-date=December 20, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081220124732/http://www.irac.pe.ca/ |url-status=live}}

File:Naufrage, PEI (1159079555).jpgs at the harbour of Naufrage. Lobster fishing continues to be a major economic sector for coastal communities.]]

Many of the province's coastal communities rely upon shellfish harvesting, particularly lobster fishing{{cite web |url=https://www.internetworks.ca/?sid= |title=InternetWorks | Web Design and Development Experts | Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island |website=Internetworks.ca |access-date=April 17, 2021 |archive-date=April 17, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210417145016/https://www.internetworks.ca/?sid= |url-status=live}} as well as oyster fishing and mussel farming.

The island's economy has grown significantly over the last decade in key areas of innovation. Aerospace, bioscience, 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 bioscience industry employs over 1,300 people and generates over $150 million in sales.{{cite web |url=http://peibioalliance.com/overview.php |title=PEI BioScience Cluster - Prince Edward Island BioAlliance - Overview |website=peibioalliance.com |access-date=December 11, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220103431/http://peibioalliance.com/overview.php |archive-date=December 20, 2016 |url-status=dead }}

The sale of carbonated beverages such as beer and soft drinks 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.

Though often environmental and economic agendas may be at odds, the ‘ban the can’ legislation, along with being environmentally driven, was also economically motivated as it protected jobs. Seaman's Beverages, a bottling company and carbonated beverage manufacturer, was established in 1939 and a major employer in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.{{cite web |title=Government of Prince Edward Island |url=http://www.gov.pe.ca/fae/env/nocans.php3 |access-date=December 11, 2013 |archive-date=August 11, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130811121035/http://www.gov.pe.ca/fae/env/nocans.php3 |url-status=live}} Making it illegal to retail cans led to a bigger share of the carbonated beverage market for Seamans. Seamans Beverages was eventually acquired by Pepsi Bottling Group Inc in 2002 prior to the lifting of the legislation.{{cite web |url=http://www.smartbrief.com/04/03/02/pepsi-bottling-group-acquire-seamans-beverages#.UqiBBZHsqlI |title=Pepsi Bottling Group To Acquire Seaman's Beverages |publisher=SmartBrief |date=April 3, 2002 |access-date=January 14, 2014 |archive-date=July 28, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728043809/https://www.smartbrief.com/s/2002/04/pepsi-bottling-group-acquire-seamans-beverages#.UqiBBZHsqlI |url-status=dead }}

File:Bye Bye PEI (208645591).jpg

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.{{cite web |url=http://www.gov.pe.ca/infopei/onelisting.php3?number=43924 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060107005612/http://www.gov.pe.ca/infopei/onelisting.php3?number=43924 |archive-date=January 7, 2006 |author=Government of PEI |title=PEI Bans the Can |access-date=April 3, 2007}}{{cite news |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/end-to-can-ban-receives-full-support-of-legislature-1.660811 |author=CBC |title=End to can ban receives full support of legislature |access-date=April 27, 2007 |work=CBC News |date=April 26, 2007 |archive-date=April 29, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070429191604/http://www.cbc.ca/canada/prince-edward-island/story/2007/04/26/canban-legislature.html |url-status=live}}{{cite web |url=http://www.gov.pe.ca/news/getrelease.php3?number=5670 |author=Government of PEI |title=Government to lift "can-ban" May 3 beverage container management system encourages returns and recycling |access-date=April 26, 2008 |archive-date=December 11, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081211132214/http://www.gov.pe.ca/news/getrelease.php3?number=5670 |url-status=live}}

Prior to harmonization in 2013, Prince Edward Island had one of Canada's highest provincial retail sales tax rates at 10%. On April 1, 2013, the provincial tax was harmonized with the federal Goods and Services Tax, and became known as the harmonized sales tax.{{cite web |url=http://thechronicleherald.ca/canada/88240-pei-to-introduce-hst-by-next-april |title=P.E.I. to introduce HST by next April |date=April 19, 2012 |access-date=April 19, 2012 |publisher=The Canadian Press |archive-date=May 17, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130517051347/http://thechronicleherald.ca/canada/88240-pei-to-introduce-hst-by-next-april |url-status=live}} The 15% tax is applied to almost all goods and services except some clothing, food and home heating fuel. This rate is the same as the neighbouring Atlantic provinces.

The provincial government provides consumer protection in the form of regulation for certain items, ranging from apartment rent increases to petroleum products including gas, diesel, propane and heating oil. These are regulated through the Prince Edward Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission (IRAC).[http://www.irac.pe.ca/ Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081220124732/http://www.irac.pe.ca/ |date=December 20, 2008 }} (PEI Government). IRAC is authorized to limit the number of companies who are permitted to sell petroleum products.

{{as of|2015}}, the median family income on Prince Edward Island is $76,607/year.{{cite web |title=Census Profile, 2016 Census - Prince Edward Island Economic Region |url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=ER&Code1=1110&Geo2=PR&Code2=11&Data=Count&SearchText=Prince%20Edward%20Island&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=All&GeoLevel=PR&GeoCode=1110&TABID=1 |publisher=Statistics Canada |access-date=June 26, 2019 |archive-date=September 10, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180910071617/https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=ER&Code1=1110&Geo2=PR&Code2=11&Data=Count&SearchText=Prince%20Edward%20Island&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=All&GeoLevel=PR&GeoCode=1110&TABID=1 |url-status=live}} The minimum wage is $16.00/hour {{as of|2024|10|1|lc=yes|df=US}}.{{cite web |title=Island Economy |publisher=Government of PEI |url=https://www.princeedwardisland.ca/en/information/executive-council-office/island-economy |date=February 21, 2025}}

File:Black Marsh Trail, North Cape, PEI (34995507134).jpg at North Cape]]{{See also|List of generating stations in Prince Edward Island}}

Since 1918, Maritime Electric has delivered electricity to customers on the Island. The utility is currently owned and operated by Fortis Inc.{{cite web |url=https://www.maritimeelectric.com/about-us/ |title=Maritime Electric - About Us |website=Maritimeelectric.com |access-date=April 17, 2021 |archive-date=April 17, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210417145016/https://www.maritimeelectric.com/about-us/ |url-status=live}} Approximately twenty-five percent of electricity consumed on the island is generated from renewable energy (largely wind turbines); the provincial government had set a renewable energy target for 30–50% for electricity consumed by 2015, though this goal has not been met. The total capacity of wind power on the island is 204 MW from 89 turbines.{{cite web |url=https://www.princeedwardisland.ca/en/information/transportation-infrastructure-and-energy/wind-energy-prince-edward-island |title=Wind Energy in Prince Edward Island |last=Toolkit |first=Web Experience |date=August 31, 2015 |website=Princeedwardisland.ca |access-date=June 22, 2019 |archive-date=June 21, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190621130455/https://www.princeedwardisland.ca/en/information/transportation-infrastructure-and-energy/wind-energy-prince-edward-island |url-status=live}} There are eight wind farms on the island, the largest being West Cape Wind Park with a capacity of 99 MW from 55 turbines. All of the turbines have been manufactured by Vestas: the Vestas V-80, Vestas V90, and Vestas V-47.{{cite web |url=https://www.maritimesenergy.com/page.asp?ID=61 |title=The Maritimes Energy Association {{!}} Prince Edward Island |website=Maritimesenergy.com |access-date=June 22, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161129015635/http://www.maritimesenergy.com/page.asp?ID=61 |archive-date=November 29, 2016 |url-status=dead}} A thermal oil-fired generating station, the Charlottetown Thermal Generating Station, is used sometimes for emergencies. It is being decommissioned.{{Cite news |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/charlottetown-smoke-stacks-waterfront-maritime-electric-1.4141706 |title=Charlottetown smoke stacks to be torn down |last=Campbell |first=Kerry |date=June 1, 2017 |work=CBC |access-date=June 22, 2019 |archive-date=October 1, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201001065337/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/charlottetown-smoke-stacks-waterfront-maritime-electric-1.4141706 |url-status=live}} A second thermal generation station exists in Borden, the Borden Generating Station.{{cite web |url=https://www.industryabout.com/country-territories-3/2099-canada/fossil-fuels-energy/32151-borden-oil-power-plant |title=Borden Oil Power Plant |website=Industryabout.com |access-date=June 23, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190623000931/https://www.industryabout.com/country-territories-3/2099-canada/fossil-fuels-energy/32151-borden-oil-power-plant |archive-date=June 23, 2019 |url-status=usurped}} The majority of electricity consumed on Prince Edward Island comes from New Brunswick through undersea cables.{{cite web |url=https://www.neb-one.gc.ca/nrg/ntgrtd/mrkt/nrgsstmprfls/pe-eng.html?=undefined&wbdisable=true |title=NEB – Provincial and Territorial Energy Profiles – Prince Edward Island |last=Government of Canada |first=National Energy Board |date=March 12, 2019 |website=Neb-one.gc.ca |access-date=June 23, 2019 |archive-date=June 23, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190623000935/https://www.neb-one.gc.ca/nrg/ntgrtd/mrkt/nrgsstmprfls/pe-eng.html%3F%3Dundefined%26wbdisable%3Dtrue |url-status=live}} A recent $140M upgrade brought the capacity of the cable system from 200 MW to 560 MW.{{Cite news |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/pei-electrical-cable-complete-1.4113419 |title=P.E.I.'s underwater electric cable project complete |last=Ross |first=Shane |date=May 17, 2017 |work=CBC |access-date=June 22, 2019 |archive-date=May 19, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180519114138/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/pei-electrical-cable-complete-1.4113419 |url-status=live}}

The Point Lepreau nuclear plant in New Brunswick was closed for refurbishments from 2008 to 2012, resulting in a steep price hike of about 25 per cent, but the province later subsidized rates.[http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/electricity-in-prince-edward-island-1.1097211 cbc.ca: "Electricity in Prince Edward Island"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150913000457/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/electricity-in-prince-edward-island-1.1097211 |date=September 13, 2015 }}, March 30, 2011. Residents were to pay 11.2 per cent more for electricity when the harmonized sales tax was adopted in April 2013, according to the P.E.I. Energy Accord that was tabled in the legislature on December 7, 2012.[http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/electricity-rates-rising-11-2-next-year-1.1197622 cbc.ca: "Electricity rates rising 11.2% next year"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150913164127/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/electricity-rates-rising-11-2-next-year-1.1197622 |date=September 13, 2015 }}, December 7, 2012. and passed as the Electric Power (Energy Accord Continuation) Amendment Act, which establishes electric pricing from April 1, 2013, to March 1, 2016. Regulatory powers are derived for IRAC from the Electric Power Act.

Prince Edward Island's public school system has an English school district named the Public Schools Branch (previously the English Language School Board),{{cite news |title=New School Board |url=http://www.gov.pe.ca/eecd/index.php3?number=news&dept=&newsnumber=8407&lang=E |access-date=September 5, 2012 |archive-date=October 6, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121006015703/http://www.gov.pe.ca/eecd/index.php3?number=news&dept=&newsnumber=8407&lang=E |url-status=live}} as well as a Francophone district, the Commission scolaire de langue française. The English language district has a total of 10 secondary schools and 54 intermediate and elementary schools while the Francophone district has 6 schools covering all grades. 22 per cent of the student population is enrolled in French immersion. This is one of the highest levels in the country.

File:Main Building in Autumn (4117130577).jpg, the only university on the island]]

Three public post-secondary institutions operate in the province, including one university, and two colleges. The University of Prince Edward Island is the province's only public university, and is located in the city of Charlottetown. The university was created by the Island legislature to replace Prince of Wales College and St. Dunstan's University. UPEI is also home to the Atlantic Veterinary College, which offers the region's only veterinary medicine program.

Collège de l'Île, and Holland College are two public colleges that operate in the province; the former being a French first language institution, while the latter is an English first language institution. Holland College includes specialized facilities such as the Atlantic Police Academy, Marine Training Centre, and the Culinary Institute of Canada. In addition to public post-secondary institutions, Prince Edward Island is also home to a private post-secondary institution, Maritime Christian College.

Today{{when?|date=December 2024}} 23.5 per cent of residents aged 15 to 19 have bilingual skills, an increase of 100 per cent in a decade. Prince Edward Island, along with most rural regions in North America, is experiencing an accelerated rate of youth emigration. The provincial government {{update span|has projected that public school enrollment will decline by 40% during the 2010s|date=December 2024|reason=the 2010s have been over for a while now; did this happen or not?}}.

{{Main|Government of Prince Edward Island|Politics of Prince Edward Island}}

The provincial government is responsible for such areas as health and social services, education, economic development, labour legislation and civil law. These matters of government are overseen in the provincial capital, Charlottetown.

Prince Edward Island is governed by a parliamentary government within the construct of constitutional monarchy; the monarchy in Prince Edward Island is the foundation of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches.{{Cite book |author=Canadian Heritage |title=Department of Canadian Heritage Portfolio |publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada |date=February 2009 |edition=2nd |url=http://www.pch.gc.ca/pc-ch/publctn/gp-pg/ppc-chp/ppc-chp-eng.pdf |pages=3–4 |isbn=978-1-100-11529-0 |access-date=May 23, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110611162155/http://www.pch.gc.ca/pc-ch/publctn/gp-pg/ppc-chp/ppc-chp-eng.pdf |archive-date=June 11, 2011 }} The sovereign is King Charles III, who also serves as head of state of 14 other Commonwealth countries, each of Canada's nine other provinces, and the Canadian federal realm, and resides in the United Kingdom. As such, the King's representative, the Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Island (presently Wassim Salamoun), carries out most of the royal duties in Prince Edward Island.{{cite web |last=Office of the Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Island |title=Role > Role and Responsibilities |url=http://www.gov.pe.ca/olg/index.php?number=1022327&lang=E |publisher=Queen's Printer for Prince Edward Island |access-date=September 13, 2012 |archive-date=June 10, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110610200802/http://www.gov.pe.ca/olg/index.php?number=1022327&lang=E |url-status=live}}

File:Rear of Province House , Charlottetown, PEI (19000152484).jpg, meeting place for the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island]]

The direct participation of the royal and viceroyal figures in any of these areas of governance is limited; in practice, their use of the executive powers is directed by the Executive Council, a committee of ministers of the Crown responsible to the unicameral, elected Legislative Assembly and chosen and headed by the Premier of Prince Edward Island (presently Rob Lantz), the head of government. To ensure the stability of government, the lieutenant governor will usually appoint as premier the person who is the current leader of the political party that can obtain the confidence of a plurality in the Legislative Assembly. The leader of the party with the second-most seats usually becomes the Leader of His Majesty's Loyal Opposition (presently Hal Perry) and is part of an adversarial parliamentary system intended to keep the government in check.{{cite web |last=Library of Parliament |title=The Opposition in a Parliamentary System |url=http://www.parl.gc.ca/Content/LOP/researchpublications/bp47-e.htm |publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada |access-date=May 23, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101125122354/http://www2.parl.gc.ca/content/lop/researchpublications/bp47-e.htm |archive-date=November 25, 2010 |url-status=dead }}

Each of the 27 Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is elected by simple plurality in an electoral district. General elections are called by the lieutenant governor for the first Monday in October four years after the previous election, or may be called earlier on the advice of the premier.{{cite web |url=http://www.gov.pe.ca/law/statutes/pdf/e-01_1.pdf |last=Elizabeth II |author-link=Elizabeth II |title=Election Act |year=2008 |publisher=Queen's Printer for Prince Edward Island |at=4.1(2)(b) |access-date=September 13, 2012 |archive-date=September 24, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924023346/http://www.gov.pe.ca/law/statutes/pdf/e-01_1.pdf}} Historically, politics in the province have been dominated by the Liberal and the Progressive Conservative Parties since the province joined Confederation. From the 2015 election, the Green Party of Prince Edward Island gained a small representation in the Legislative Assembly, and in the 2019 election gained an additional six seats to form the Official Opposition.

The Mi'kmaq Confederacy of PEI is the tribal council and provincial-territorial organization in the province that represents both the Lennox Island and Abegweit First Nations.

{{See also|List of counties of Prince Edward Island|List of parishes in Prince Edward Island}}

Prince Edward Island is divided into three counties that have historically been used as administrative divisions for the provincial government, and prior to Confederation (in 1873), the colonial government.

Today, the counties are no longer used as administrative boundaries for the provincial government, though they continue to be used as census divisions by Statistics Canada for statistical purposes in administering the Canadian census.{{cite web |url=http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/hlt-fst/pd-pl/Table.cfm?Lang=Eng&T=701&SR=1&S=3&O=D&RPP=25 |title=Population and dwelling count highlight tables, 2016 Census |publisher=Statistics Canada |date=February 8, 2017 |access-date=March 9, 2017 |archive-date=March 4, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210304232636/https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/hlt-fst/pd-pl/Table.cfm?Lang=Eng&T=701&SR=1&S=3&O=D&RPP=25 |url-status=live}}

{{See also|List of municipalities in Prince Edward Island}}

{{#section:List of municipalities in Prince Edward Island|overview}}

File:Prince Edward Island municipalities.png

|align="left"| Charlottetown

|align="left"| Summerside

|align="left"| Stratford

|align="left"| Cornwall

|align="left"| Montague

|align="left"| Kensington

|align="left"| Souris

|align="left"| Alberton

|align="left"| Tignish

|align="left"| Georgetown

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. As a result, the provincial government has enacted laws to preserve the landscape through regulation, although there is a lack of consistent enforcement.

There is no province-wide zoning and land-use planning. Under the Planning Act of the province, municipalities have the option to assume responsibility for land-use planning through the development and adoption of official plans and land use bylaws. Thirty-one municipalities have taken responsibility for planning.{{citation needed|date=March 2024}} In areas where municipalities have not assumed responsibility for planning, the Province remains responsible for development control.Prince Edward Island. (1988). Planning Act, RSPEI 1988, c P-8. Retrieved from https://www.princeedwardisland.ca/en/legislation/planning-act

{{See also|Health care in Canada}}

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.

Many PEI homes and businesses are served by central sewage collection and treatment systems. These are operated either by a municipality or a private utility. Many industrial operations have their own wastewater treatment facilities. Staff members with the Department of Environment, Water and Climate Change provide advice to operators, as needed, on proper system maintenance.{{cite web |url=http://www.gov.pe.ca/environment/index.php3?number=1015757&lang=E |title=gov.pe.ca: "Central Wastewater Systems" |access-date=July 11, 2015 |archive-date=July 13, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150713022359/http://www.gov.pe.ca/environment/index.php3?number=1015757&lang=E |url-status=live}} The IRAC regulates municipal water and sewer in the province, now under the Environmental Protection Act. Since around 1900, the residents of the City of Charlottetown have benefited from a central sanitary sewer service. Early disposal practices, while advanced for their time, eventually were found to compromise the ecological integrity of the nearby Hillsborough River and the Charlottetown Harbour. By 1974, the commission had spearheaded the development of a primary wastewater treatment plant, known as the Charlottetown Pollution Control Plant, together with the construction of several pumping stations along the city's waterfront, and outfall piping deep into the Hillsborough River.[http://www.city.charlottetown.pe.ca/pdfs/WWTPOverview.pdf charlottetown.pe.ca: "City of Charlottetown Wastewater Treatment Expansion & Upgrading"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150712195439/http://www.city.charlottetown.pe.ca/pdfs/WWTPOverview.pdf |date=July 12, 2015 }} (ca 2001).

There are eight hospitals in the province.

File:Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Prince Edward Island.jpg, the largest hospital in the province]]

{{col div}}

• Queen Elizabeth Hospital (Charlottetown)
• Prince County Hospital (Summerside)
• Kings County Memorial Hospital (Montague)
• Community Hospital (O'Leary)
• Souris Hospital (Souris)
• Western Hospital (Alberton)
• Hillsborough Hospital (Charlottetown) - the province's only psychiatric hospital

{{col div end}}

Prince Edward Island offers programs and services in areas such as acute care, primary care, home care, palliative care, public health, chronic disease prevention, and mental health and addictions, to name a few. The provincial government has opened several family health centres in recent years in various rural and urban communities. A provincial cancer treatment centre at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital provides support to those dealing with various types of cancer-related illnesses. A family medicine residency program was established in 2009 with the Dalhousie University Faculty of Medicine as a means to encourage new physicians to work in Prince Edward Island.

Long-term-care services are also available with several programs in place to support seniors wishing to remain independent in their communities. Many medications for seniors are subsidized through a provincial pharmaceutical plan.

The provincial government has several programs for early illness detection, including mammography and pap screening clinics. There are also asthma education and diabetes education programs, as well as prenatal programs, immunization programs and dental health risk prevention programs for children. The government is also attempting to implement a comprehensive integrated Electronic Health Record system.

The provincial government has recently committed to enhancing primary care and home care services and has invested in health care facilities in recent capital budgets; mostly replacements and upgrades to provincial government operated nursing homes and hospitals.

Some specialist services require patients to be 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 Centre and Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre in Nova Scotia or the Saint John Regional Hospital, Moncton Hospital, and Dr. Georges-L.-Dumont University Hospital Centre in New Brunswick.

Ground ambulance service in Prince Edward Island is provided under contract by Island EMS. Air ambulance service is provided under contract by LifeFlight.

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 potato farming as a primary contaminant.{{cite news |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20061206.wxcancerenviro06/BNStory/cancer/Atlantic/ |work=The Globe and Mail |title=Pesticides are what's killing our kids |first=Martin |last=Mittelstaedt |date=December 6, 2006 |access-date=April 3, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930064805/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20061206.wxcancerenviro06/BNStory/cancer/Atlantic/ |archive-date=September 30, 2007}}

Until 2016, Prince Edward Island was the only province in Canada that did not provide abortion services through its hospitals. Until that time, the last abortion that had been performed in the province was in 1982 prior to the opening of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital which saw the closure of the Roman Catholic-affiliated Charlottetown Hospital and the non-denominational Prince Edward Island Hospital; a condition of the "merger" being that abortions not be performed in the province. In 1988, following the court decision R. v. Morgentaler, 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 Party under Premier Joe Ghiz acquiesced and the ban was upheld.{{cite news |url=https://nationalpost.com/news/status+life+sanctuary+challenged/5716723/story.html |work=National Post |title=P.E.I. to 'stay with status quo' on abortions |first=Sarah |last=Boesveld |date=December 23, 2011 |access-date=August 25, 2012}}{{Dead link|date=July 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} Until more local access was guaranteed, the Government of Prince Edward Island funded abortions for women who travelled to another province. Women from Prince Edward Island also travelled to the nearest private user-pay clinic, where they were required pay for the procedure using their own funds. Formerly this was the Morgentaler Clinic in Fredericton, New Brunswick{{cite news |url=http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/index.cfm?sid=150146&sc=98 |work=The Guardian |location=Charlottetown, PUI |title=Abortion policy to remain same: Ghiz |date=July 7, 2008 |first=Teresa |last=Wright |access-date=May 13, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180719233230/http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/index.cfm?sid=150146&sc=98 |archive-date=July 19, 2018 |url-status=dead}}{{cite news |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/p-e-i-won-t-change-abortion-policy-1.220645 |publisher=CBC News |title=P.E.I. won't change abortion policy |date=July 19, 2000 |access-date=May 13, 2010 |archive-date=August 31, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110831231339/http://www.cbc.ca/news/story/2000/07/19/abortion19jul00.html |url-status=live}}{{cite news |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/abortion-information-line-disconnected-1.740248 |publisher=CBC News |title=Abortion information line disconnected |access-date=May 13, 2010 |date=January 29, 2008 |archive-date=June 2, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080602031530/http://www.cbc.ca/canada/prince-edward-island/story/2008/01/29/abortion-line.html |url-status=live}}{{cite web |url=http://www.prochoiceactionnetwork-canada.org/articles/healthact.shtml |publisher=Pro-Choice Action Network |title=Canada Health Act Violates Abortion Services: Five Basic Principles Not Met |first=Joyce |last=Arthur |date=November 2000 |access-date=May 13, 2010 |archive-date=January 27, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100127221410/http://www.prochoiceactionnetwork-canada.org/articles/healthact.shtml |url-status=live}}{{cite web |url=http://www.lifecanada.org/html/defunded%20abortion/province.html |publisher=Life Canada Inc. |title=Your province and tax-funded abortions |year=2003 |access-date=May 13, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081006164646/http://www.lifecanada.org/html/defunded%20abortion/province.html |archive-date=October 6, 2008 }} until this clinic closed due to lack of funds in July 2014.{{Cite news |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/morgentaler-abortion-clinic-in-fredericton-to-close-1.2604535 |title=Morgentaler clinic in N.B. to close, citing no provincial funding |newspaper=CBC News |access-date=December 11, 2016 |archive-date=December 20, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220210021/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/morgentaler-abortion-clinic-in-fredericton-to-close-1.2604535 |url-status=live}} The clinic was reopened under new ownership in 2016 as Clinic 554 with expanded services.{{Cite news |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/morgentaler-s-old-fredericton-clinic-to-reopen-as-private-abortion-facility-1.2912283 |title=New health centre in old Morgentaler clinic in N.B. to provide abortions |newspaper=CBC News |access-date=December 11, 2016 |archive-date=December 20, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220210029/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/morgentaler-s-old-fredericton-clinic-to-reopen-as-private-abortion-facility-1.2912283 |url-status=live}} During that gap, women had to travel to Halifax or further. In 2016, the Liberal government led by Premier Wade MacLauchlan announced they would open a women's reproductive health clinic to provide abortions within the province.{{Cite news |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/pei-abortion-reproductive-rights-1.3514334 |title=P.E.I. moves to provide abortion services on the Island |newspaper=CBC News |access-date=December 11, 2016 |archive-date=December 20, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220210003/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/pei-abortion-reproductive-rights-1.3514334 |url-status=live}} Abortions are now provided in Prince Edward Island.{{Cite news |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/pei-history-abortion-access-1.6507176 |title=The history of abortion access on Prince Edward Island |newspaper=CBC News |access-date=August 9, 2022 |archive-date=July 3, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220703103748/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/pei-history-abortion-access-1.6507176}}

Prince Edward Island's transportation network has traditionally revolved around its seaports of Charlottetown, Summerside, Borden, Georgetown, and Souris —linked to its railway system, and the two main airports in Charlottetown and Summerside, for communication with mainland North America. The Prince Edward Island Railway system was abandoned by CN in 1989 in favour of an agreement with the federal government to improve major highways.

File:Pano Confederation Bridge.jpg was opened, providing a fixed link between the island and the mainland.]]

Until May 1997, the province was linked by two passenger-vehicle ferry services to the mainland: one, provided by Marine Atlantic, operated year-round between Borden and Cape Tormentine, New Brunswick; the other, provided by Northumberland Ferries Limited, operates seasonally between Wood Islands and Caribou, Nova Scotia. A third ferry service provided by CTMA operates all year round with seasonal times between Souris and Cap-aux-Meules, Quebec, in the Magdalen Islands. In May 1997, the Confederation Bridge opened, connecting Borden-Carleton to Cape Jourimain, New Brunswick. The world's longest bridge over ice-covered waters,{{cite web |title=Confederation Bridge |url=http://www.confederationbridge.com/about/confederation-bridge.html |date=September 2009 |access-date=October 24, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151112235705/http://www.confederationbridge.com/about/confederation-bridge.html |archive-date=November 12, 2015 |url-status=dead }} (official website). 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 Island has the highest concentration of roadways in Canada. The provincially managed portion of the network consists of {{convert|3824|km|mi}} of paved roadways and {{convert|1558|km|mi}} 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.

Several airlines service the Charlottetown Airport (CYYG); the Summerside Airport (CYSU) is an additional option for general aviation.

There is an extensive bicycling and hiking trail that spans the island. The Confederation Trail is a {{convert|470|km|mi}} recreational trail system. The land was once owned and used by Canadian National Railway (CN) as a rail line on the island.

==Culture==

{{See also|Music of Prince Edward Island}}

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 Festival, hosted at the Confederation Centre of the Arts.

File:Green Gables.jpg in Cavendish was a farm featured in Anne of Green Gables.]]

Lucy Maud Montgomery, who was born in Clifton (now New London) in 1874, drew inspiration from the land during the late Victorian Era for the setting of her classic novel Anne of Green Gables (1908). The musical play Anne of Green Gables has run every year at the Charlottetown festival for more than four decades. The sequel, Anne & Gilbert, premiered in the Playhouse in Victoria in 2005. The actual location of Green Gables, the house featured in Montgomery's Anne books, is in Cavendish, on the north shore of PEI.

Elmer Blaney Harris founded an artists colony at Fortune Bridge and set his famous play Johnny Belinda on the island. Robert Harris 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 MacLellan, his daughter Catherine MacLellan, Al Tuck, Lennie Gallant, Two Hours Traffic and Paper Lions. The celebrated singer-songwriter Stompin' Tom Connors spent his formative years in Skinners Pond. Celtic music is certainly the most common traditional music on the island, with fiddling and step dancing being very common. This tradition, largely Scottish, Irish and Acadian in origin is very similar to the music of Cape Breton and to a lesser extent, Newfoundland and is unique to the region. Due to the Islands influence as a former Highlander Clans Scottish colony, a March 4/4 for bagpipes was composed in honour of Prince Edward Island.Archie Cairns - Book 1 Pipe Music 'Prince Edward Island' March 4/4, 1995.

{{See also|Category:Festivals in Prince Edward Island}}

File:TaraOramCavendish2010.png is an annual music festival held in mid-July.]]

There is an annual arts festival, the Charlottetown Festival, hosted at the Confederation Centre of the Arts as well as the Island Fringe Festival that takes place around Charlottetown.{{cite web |title=About the Island Fringe Festival |url=http://www.islandfringe.com/about |website=Island Fringe Festival |access-date=January 27, 2017 |archive-date=February 2, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202034506/http://www.islandfringe.com/about |url-status=live}} An annual jazz festival, the P.E.I. Jazz and Blues Festival.{{cite web |url=http://www.jazzandblues.ca/ |title=P.E.I. Jazz and Blues Festival |access-date=August 10, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110820043715/http://www.jazzandblues.ca/ |archive-date=August 20, 2011 |url-status=dead }} is a week-long series of concerts taking place at several venues including Murphy's Community Centre, outdoor stages, and churches in Charlottetown. The moving of its date to mid-August caused in 2011 a serious loss in funding from Ottawa's regional development agency ACOA.{{cite news |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/jazz-festival-loses-acoa-funding-1.1095060 |title=Jazz festival loses ACOA funding |publisher=cbc.ca |work=CBC news |date=August 9, 2011 |access-date=August 10, 2011 |archive-date=August 10, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110810112848/http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/story/2011/08/09/pei-jazz-festival-acoa-funding-584.html |url-status=live}} The musician's line up in 2011 included Oliver Jones, Sophie Milman, Matt Dusk, Jack de Keyzer, Jack Semple, Meaghan Smith and Jimmy Bowskill.{{citation needed|date=November 2016}} There is also Canada Rocks, and the Cavendish Beach Music Festival. With agriculture and fishery playing a large role in the economy, P.E.I. has been marketed as a food tourism destination.{{Cite news |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/p-e-i-to-become-canada-s-food-island-1.2994344 |title=P.E.I. to become 'Canada's Food Island' |newspaper=CBC News |access-date=December 11, 2016 |archive-date=December 20, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220210024/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/p-e-i-to-become-canada-s-food-island-1.2994344 |url-status=live}} Several food festivals have become popular such as the Fall Flavours festival and the Shellfish Festival.

The most common sports played on the Island are hockey, curling, golf, horse racing, baseball, soccer, rugby, football and basketball. Water sports are also popular on Prince Edward Island during the summer.

The province is home to a major junior ice hockey team, the Charlottetown Islanders of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League, and a Junior A ice hockey team, the Summerside Western Capitals, which play in the Maritime Junior A Hockey League. The Prince Edward Island Senators played in the American Hockey League from 1993 to 1996. Relocated from New Haven, Connecticut, the team was affiliated with the Ottawa Senators. The team eventually ended up in Binghamton, New York and became the Binghamton Senators in 2002.

The Island Storm were a professional basketball team that played in the National Basketball League of Canada. The team was founded in 2011 as the Summerside Storm for the league's inaugural season and became the Island Storm in 2013. The team was granted a one-year leave of absence in 2021 but have not returned since.

In 2008 and 2009, Prince Edward Island hosted the Tour de PEI, a province-wide cycling race consisting of women from around the world.

Prince Edward Island has also hosted three Canada Games: two winter editions in 1991 and 2023; and a summer edition in 2009.

The two major indoor arenas in the province are: the Eastlink Centre (formerly the Civic Centre) in Charlottetown, home to the Charlottetown Islanders; and the Consolidated Credit Union Place in Summerside, home to the Summerside Western Capitals. The Credit Union Place was built to replace Cahill Stadium.

The UPEI Panthers represent the University of Prince Edward Island in the Atlantic University Sport conference of U Sports. The Holland Hurricanes represent Holland College in the Atlantic Collegiate Athletic Association conference of the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association.

Hainan, China, has been the sister province of Prince Edward Island since 2001. This came about after Vice-Governor Lin Fanglue stayed for two days to hold discussions about partnership opportunities and trade.{{cite web |url=http://www.gov.pe.ca/news/getrelease.php3?headerLanguage=F&number=6642 |title=Ilê-du-Prince-Edouard: Communiqué (Vice-Governor from Chinese Sister Province Visits Prince Edward Island) |publisher=Gov.pe.ca |access-date=May 19, 2012 |archive-date=November 12, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131112223954/http://www.gov.pe.ca/news/getrelease.php3?headerLanguage=F&number=6642 |url-status=live}}

{{portal|border=no|Canada}}

• Outline of Prince Edward Island
• Index of Canada-related articles
• List of people from Prince Edward Island

{{notelist}}

{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

{{refbegin|30em}}

• {{cite book |title=The Island Acadians, 1720–1980 |last=Arsenault |first=Georges |year=1989 |publisher=Ragweed Press |location=Charlottetown |isbn=978-0-920304-81-5 |oclc=42887917}}
• {{cite book |title=Exploring Island History: A Guide to the Historical Resources of Prince Edward Island |last=Baglole |first=Harry |year=1977 |publisher=Ragweed Press |location=Belfast, P.E.I. |isbn=978-0-920304-01-3 |oclc=4114534 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/exploringislandh0000unse }}
• {{cite book |title=Canada's Smallest Province: A History of Prince Edward Island |last=Bolger |first=Francis |year=1973 |publisher=Prince Edward Island 1973 Centennial Commission |location=Charlottetown |oclc=1031515}} Also under {{OCLC|223434609}}
• {{cite book |title=Prince Edward Island : an (un)authorized history |last=Beck |first=E. Boyde |author2=Burden, P. John |year=1996 |publisher=Acorn Press |location=Charlottetown |isbn=978-0-9698606-1-7 |oclc=36817364 |url=https://archive.org/details/princeedwardisla00beck }}
• {{cite book |title=Land, settlement, and politics on eighteenth-century Prince Edward Island |last=Bumsted |first=J. M. |year=1987 |publisher=McGill-Queen's University Press |location=Kingston, ON |isbn=978-0-7735-0566-7 |oclc=17199722 |url=https://archive.org/details/landsettlementpo0000bums |url-access=registration |access-date=September 16, 2009 }}
• {{cite book |title=Three Centuries and the Island. A Historical Geography of Settlement and Agriculture in Prince Edward Island, Canada |last=Clark |first=Andrew Hill |year=1959 |publisher=University of Toronto Press |location=Toronto |oclc=203962}} A very broad look at the historical geography of P.E.I.
• {{cite EB1922 |wstitle=Prince Edward Island |last1= Griffith |first1= William L. |last2= |first2= }}
• {{cite book |title=Drive Dull Care Away: Folksongs from Prince Edward Island |last=Ives |first=Edward D. |year=1999 |publisher=Institute of Island Studies |location=Charlottetown |isbn=978-0-919013-34-6 |oclc=123276052 |url=https://archive.org/details/drivedullcareawa0000ives |url-access=registration |access-date=September 16, 2009 }}
• {{cite book |last1=Johnston |first1=A. J. B. |last2=Francis |first2=Jesse |title=Ni'n na L'nu: The Mi'kmaq of Prince Edward Island |year=2013 |location=Charlottetown |publisher=Acorn Press |isbn=978-1-894838-93-1}}
• {{cite book |title=Church politics and education in Canada : the P.E.I. experience |last=MacKinnon |first=Frank |year=1995 |publisher=Detselig Enterprises |location=Calgary |isbn=978-1-55059-104-0 |oclc=35292426 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/churchpoliticsed0000mack }}
• {{cite book |title=The Life of the Party: A History of the Liberal Party in Prince Edward Island |last=MacKinnon |first=Wayne |year=1973 |publisher=Prince Edward Island Liberal Party |location=Summerside, P.E.I.}}
• {{cite book |title=A people's history of Prince Edward Island |last=Sharpe |first=Errol |year=1976 |publisher=Steel Rail |location=Toronto |isbn=978-0-88791-003-6 |oclc=2893908}}
• {{cite book |title=The Garden transformed: Prince Edward Island, 1945-1980 |author1=Verner Smitheram |author2=David Milne |author3=Satadal Dasgupta |year=1982 |publisher=Ragweed Press |location=Charlottetown |isbn=978-0-920304-10-5 |oclc=9469420 |url=https://archive.org/details/gardentransforme0000unse }}
• {{cite book |title=Responsible Government in Prince Edward Island: A Triumph of Self-Government under the Crown |last=Livingston |first=Walter Ross |year=1931 |publisher=University of Iowa Press |location=Iowa City, IA |oclc=1678512 |url=https://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=29232556 |access-date=September 16, 2009 |archive-date=October 18, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091018175134/http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=29232556 |url-status=dead }}
• {{cite book |title=The Island and Confederation: the end of an era |last=Weale |first=David |author2=Baglole, Harry |year=1973 |publisher=Williams and Crue |location=Summerside, P.E.I. |oclc=1340051}}

{{refend}}

{{Commons category|Prince Edward Island}}

{{Wikivoyage}}

• {{Official website|name=Official website of the Government of Prince Edward Island}}
• [http://islandarchives.ca/ University of Prince Edward Island Digital Historical Archives]
• [https://www.tourismpei.com/ The Government Prince Edward Island Visitor's Guide]
• [http://www.peiinfo.com/ PEI info]
• [http://www.mcpei.ca/ Mi'kmaq Confederacy home page]

{{Subdivisions of Prince Edward Island}}

{{Provinces and territories of Canada}}

{{Canada topics}}

{{Acadia}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:1873 establishments in Canada

Category:Atlantic Canada

Category:British North America

Category:Former British colonies and protectorates in the Americas

Category:The Maritimes

Category:States and territories established in 1873

Category:Provinces and territories of Canada

Prince