Facts & Figures About PEI

Prince Edward Island was named for Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathern (1767–1820), the fourth son of King George III and the father of Queen Victoria. Home to approximately 141 000 inhabitants, PEI boasts green rolling hills, red sand beaches and the famous red dirt; a result of the high iron content oxidizing in the soil.

The island is divided into five touring regions: North  Cape Coastal Drive, Green Gables Shore, Red Sands Shore, Charlottetown & Points East Coastal Drive. Each region has something unique and interesting to offer the visitor; to find out more, click on the regions listed to the left of the page.

Prince Edward Island is off the east coast of mainland  Canada and has a landmass of 5,660 square kilometers. It is a mere 224 kilometers long and between 6 and 64 kilometers wide, with its highest altitude point being 152 meters above sea level. Incredibly, no point on the island is more than 16km from the coastline, so you are always close to the sea no matter where you are on the island. Geographically speaking, PEI is tucked into the Gulf of St. Lawrence to the west of Cape Breton Island, north of  the Nova Scotia Peninsula, and east of New Brunswick. Its southern shore bounds the Northumberland Strait. The island has two cities, Charlottetown and Summerside; with several smaller centres; the largest of those beingStratford, Cornwall and Montegue.

The provincial economy is comprised primarily by the seasonal industries of agriculture, tourism, and fisheries. Agriculture remains the dominant industry in the provincial economy, as it has since colonial times. Potatoes lead the way as the cash crop of choice, however, there is a thriving organic food industry on the island, offering an abundance of produce, beef, poultry and pork organically grown. The province currently accounts for a third of Canada's total potato production, producing approximately 1.3 billion kilograms annually. The province is a major producer of seed potatoes, exporting to more than twenty countries around the world. Many of the province's coastal communities rely upon shellfish harvesting, particularly lobster fishing as well as oyster fishing and PEI is home to some of the best mussels in the world. No visit to PEI would be complete without taking in a traditional Lobster Supper. See our dining page for more information.

Be sure to spend some time browsing our local markets or roadside stands, where farmers sell the best produce PEI has to offer in season. Though PEI’s population is the smallest outside of the Northern Territories, we are well represented in the post secondary category; home to the University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI) as well as Holland College, the provincial community college, with campuses across the province, including specialized facilities such as the Atlantic Police Academy, Marine Training Centre, Canadian Golf Academy and the Culinary Institute of Canada. UPEI is also home to the Atlantic Veterinary College, which offers the region's only veterinary medicine program.