Prince Edward Island
"The Small Under the Protection of the Great"
PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND ( P.E.I. or PEI) (the Garden Province) -P.E.I. is one of the Atlantic provinces on the east coast of Canada.
-It is the smallest province (224 km. long).
-Population- 138,000
-In width the Island ranges from 6 to 64 km.
-Nova Scotia is south and New Brunswick is west.
-The Northumberland Strait separates P.E.I. from N.B. and N.S.
-The capital city is Charlottetown.
-The Island was named "Prince Edward" in honour of the father of Queen Victoria in 1799.
-flower - Lady's Slipper, tree - Northern Red Oak, bird - Blue Jay
-motto : "the small under the protection of the great"
Flag
Royal Warrant of King Edward VII, May 30, 1905 assigning Arms and Banner
Act of Legislature assented to March 24, 1964
The People
-P.E.I. is the home of 138,100 people.(2005)
-Charlottetown is the largest city with about 39,000 people.
-The Island was the home of the Mi'kmaq (Micmac).
-About 75 percent are of Scottish and Irish origin.
Picture: Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
by Rob Garnet
www.trailcanada.com/.../charlottetown/
Land and Water
-The Confederation Bridge joins New Brunswick and PEI
-The bridge was opened in 1997 and is almost 13 km long.
-Ferry boats travel from Nova Scotia to P.E.I.
-Prince Edward Island National Park has a large beach with reddish sand.
-There are over 90 sandy beaches for swimming and boating.
-The soil is red because it is made of red sandstone.
Picture: Prince Edward Island National Park
www.trailcanada.com/.../charlottetown/
Places
-Charlottetown is the "birthplace of Canada" where leaders met in 1864 to discuss the information of our country
-Tourists come from around the world to visit Green Gables House. It is a museum about L.M. Montgomery, author of the Anne of Green Gables books.
Photo of the House of Green Gables in Prince Edward Island where L.M. Montgomery grew up and was inspired to write a book.
Resources/Industry
-Agriculture is the largest industry.
-About thirty percent of Canada's potatoes are grown in P.E.I.
-Other crops include fruits and vegetables (apples, strawberries, blueberries, carrots, onions, tomatoes) and cereal crops.
-There are over 2000 farms.
-Factories bottle, can and freeze food products.
-The second-largest industry is tourism.
-Fishing is the third-largest industry.
-Fishermen catch herring, tuna, cod and mackerel. Lobsters are caught in traps.
-Clams, scallops, and mussels, and oysters are farmed (in underwater hatcheries)
-About 10 million oysters a year are harvested for Canada and the world.
-Irish moss (a seaweed) is harvested by pulling a special rake along the rocks. It is used to thicken ice cream, cheese and toothpaste.
Picture: Potato Farm on Prince Edward Island
winchester.smugmug.com/.../1/171746330_vNeox
History
-The first people to live on the Island were the Micmac .
-They moved from place to place living in huts of skin and bark.
-In the winter they hunted deer, in the summer they fished.
-Jacques Cartier discovered the island in 1534.
-In 1719 a French colony was formed.
-The English took over the island and drove the French farmers out.
-Loyalists from the U.S. came in the 1780s.
-P.E.I. became the seventh province in 1873.
Picture:
Jacques Cartier, coloured engraving; in the Granger Collection, New York City.
The Granger Collection, New York
www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic-art/97444/...