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Prince Edward Island is an island province of Canada. It is the smallest province by both land area and population, but has the highest population density in Canada. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", "Birthplace of Confederation" and "Cradle of Confederation". Its capital and largest city is Charlottetown. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces.
Historically, the island formed an integral part of the Mi'kmaw homeland, Mi'kma'ki, comprising one part of the district Epekwitk aq Piktuk (also spelled Epegwitg aq Pigtug, lit. 'PEI and Pictou'). In 1604, Epekwitk was colonized by the French as part of the colony of Acadia, where it became known as Isle St-Jean (St. John's Island). It was later ceded to the British at the conclusion of the Seven Years' War in 1763 and became part of the colony of Nova Scotia. In 1769, St. John's Island became its own British colony and its name was changed to Prince Edward Island (PEI) in 1798. PEI hosted the Charlottetown Conference in 1864 to discuss a union of the Maritime provinces; however, the conference became the first in a series of meetings which led to Canadian Confederation on July 1, 1867. Prince Edward Island initially balked at Confederation but, facing bankruptcy from the Land Question and construction of a railroad, joined as Canada's seventh province on July 1, 1873.
According to Statistics Canada, the province of Prince Edward Island had 182,989 residents in 2026. Farming is central to the island's economy; it produces 25% of Canada's potatoes. Other important industries include fisheries, tourism, aerospace, biotechnology, information technology and renewable energy. As Prince Edward Island is one of Canada's older settled areas, its population still reflects the origins of its earliest settlers, with Acadian, Scottish, Irish, and English surnames being dominant. Prince Edward Island is located in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, about ten kilometres (6.2 mi) across the Northumberland Strait from both Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.
It is about 200 kilometres (120 mi) north of Halifax and 600 kilometres (370 mi) east of Quebec City. It has a land area of 5,686.03 square kilometres (2,195.39 sq mi), and is the 104th-largest island in the world and Canada's 23rd-largest island. It is the only Canadian province consisting entirely of islands. However, according to the United States Geological Survey, Esri, and the United Nations Environment Programme – World Conservation Monitoring Centre, as of 2026, the area of the main island is 5,740.96 km2 (2,216.60 sq mi), making it the 105th largest island worldwide.
The island is known in Mi'kmawi'simk, the indigenous Mi'kmaw language, as Abegweit or Epekwitk, roughly translated as "land cradled on 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". 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.
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. 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.
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 island has a maritime climate, moderate and strongly influenced by the surrounding Gulf of St. Lawrence. 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. The climate is characterized by changeable weather throughout the year; in which specific weather conditions seldom last for long.
During July and August, the average daytime high in PEI is 23 °C (73 °F); however, the temperature can sometimes exceed 30 °C (86 °F) during these months. In the winter months of January and February, the average daytime high is −3.3 °C (26 °F). The Island receives an average yearly rainfall of 855 millimetres (33.7 in) and an average yearly snowfall of 2.85 metres (9.4 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 −7 °C (19 °F) 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. The following climate chart depicts the average conditions of Charlottetown, as an example of the province's climate.
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. 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.
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 Wintere River watershed provides about 92 per cent of the daily 18-thousand-cubic-metre (4.8-million-US-gallon) water supply for the city of Charlottetown, which had difficulty in each of 2011, 2012 and 2013 with its supply, 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. 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. 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.
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, 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. 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. 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), 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.
The Mi'kmaq are the Indigenous inhabitants of what is now Prince Edward Island. The island is part of a broader area known Mi'kma'ki, homeland of the Mi'kmaq, which overlaps with several Canadian provinces and has some legal autonomy and legal protections. The island's land base formed one part of the district Epekwitk aq Piktuk (also spelled Epegwitg aq Pigtug). Named "Epekwitk" (and rendered as "Abegweit" in English)—meaning "cradled on the waves"—the island was historically governed by Saqamaq, or community chiefs, a women's council (Saqama'sgw), and wampum keepers (Putu's). The district eventually fell under the jurisdiction of the Sante' (or Mi'kmawey) Mawio'mi and the Grand Chief, or Kji Sagamaw.
Today, Epekwitk (aq Piktuk), along with the other seven districts of Mi'kma'ki, are protected by the Peace and Friendship Treaties that the Mi'kmaq have with the Crown. However, rather than district-level governance, administration is currently overseen by band governments. On Epekwitk, the two communities are the Abegweit and Lennox Island First Nations.
The earliest stories of the Mi'kmaq go back to the time of Glooscap, a cultural hero and first human in Wabanaki mythology. Big in size and power, Mi'kmaw legend says that when Glooscap finished painting the splendour of the world, he dipped his brush into a blend of all the colours and created his favourite island of Epekwitk. When Glooscap slept, Enmigtaqamu'g (or mainland Nova Scotia) was his bed and Epekwitk his pillow. Another legend tells us that Minegoo—another name for the island, meaning, simply, "island" in Mi'kmawi'simk—was formed by the Great Spirit placing on the Blue Waters some dark red crescent-shaped clay. Mi'kmaw oral history recalls a time when the world was covered in water. It was then that the being Sebanees, arriving in kjiktu’lnu ("our great boat"), landed on the shores of Epekwitk. The boat, made of ice, carried all the animals and fish his family would need for survival, and it is said that Epekwitk's unique land formation was a result of the melting of the ice boat. Archaeological evidence, such as shell middens and campsite remains, corroborate Mi'kmaw stories which indicate an ancient presence in Epekwitk. Prior to European colonization of the Americas, Mi'kmaq engaged in varied relations with neighbouring nations, such as the Wolastoqiyik (Maliseet), Passamaquoddy, and Abenaki, with whom they formed the Wabanaki Confederacy in Dawnland.
French explorer Jacques Cartier was the first known European to see the island, in 1543. 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 in Mi'kma'ki. 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.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Prince Edward Island”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.