Epekwikt was the name given to the small coastal island by its original Mi’qmak inhabitants. As Europeans arrived, the island name changed. Called Abegweit, (a European version of the native title), the land was dubbed Ile Saint-Jean by the French pioneers and St. John’s Island by the British settlers. Finally named Prince Edward Island, the colony in the Gulf of St. Lawrence hosted the Charlottetown Conference on September 1, 1864. The goal of the meeting held at the stately stone Provincial Building was to set terms for the uniting the colonies into a new country, the Dominion of Canada. But by the time of the auspicious occasion of Confederation on July 1, 1867, Prince Edward Island declined to join.
PEI Politicians Against Joining Confederation
“The colony of Prince Edward Island did not want to share the costs of railway construction on the Canadian mainland and so had stayed outside of Confederation,” said Natural Resources Canada’s “Atlas of Canada.” At the Conference in Quebec leading up to Confederation, PEI politicians also opposed the representation by population proposal. They themselves on the losing side. Being part of Canada did not suit the needs of the maritime colonists, but conditions soon changed.
Colonists Saddled with Problems
A problem causing the settlers great frustration was their inability to own much property on the island. “Landlords who lived in England owned most of the island,” said Library and Archives Canada’s Confederation for Kids: Provinces: Prince Edward Island. “This meant that settlers could not buy their own land and had to rent it at high cost.”
The construction of the rail lines on the island also gave colonists reason for upset. Desmond Morton, author of “A Short History of Canada” (McClelland and Stewart, Toronto 1997) said, “The fatal lure of railways had left the tiny colony $3 million in debt,” a massive amount of money in that era. Meanwhile, federal politicians were concerned that the island might end up in American hands, perhaps annexed to the United States.
PEI Negotiated with Federal Government
It was a desperate time for PEI residents. “Frightened island politicians turned to Ottawa and got terms they could not refuse,” said Morton. Ottawa offered “complete transfer of the provincial debt and hard cash to buy out the notorious ‘proprietors’” in England. The Canadian government also agreed to establish a communication network between the mainland and the small island. Prince Edward Island accepted the offer.
On July 1, 1873, the British colony of Prince Edward Island was welcomed by Prime Minister John A. Macdonald as a Province of the Dominion of Canada. On Confederation in 1867, Canada held only four provinces: Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Two more provinces and one territory joined the Dominion of Canada shortly thereafter: Manitoba and Northwest Territories in 1870, and British Columbia in 1871. Yukon Territory joined in 1898, Saskatchewan and Alberta in 1905, and Newfoundland in 1949, to become Newfoundland and Labrador in 2001. Nunavut was formed in 1999.
First PEI Premier James C. Pope
The first Premier of the new Province of Prince Edward Island was Conservative James Colledge Pope. Born on June 11, 1826 in Bedeque, PEI, the politician and businessman owned a store, and also participated in shipbuilding, land agency and trade. Appointed collector of customs when he was 26 years old, Pope entered politics at age 31; he was a part of both provincial and federal governments. Suffering poor health for several years, Pope died on May 18, 1885.
Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island is recognized as the “birthplace of Confederation,” and although uniting a little later with Canada, PEI has several prominent commemorative markers of the historic event, including Confederation Trail and the Confederation Bridge, linking the island across the Northumberland Strait to the New Brunswick mainland. With an area of 5,660 square kilometres, PEI is Canada's smallest province.
Sources:
- “Atlas of Canada,” Natural Resources Canada Accessed May 28, 2011
- “Confederation for Kids: Provinces: Prince Edward Island,” Library and Archives Canada Accessed May 28, 2011
- Morton, Desmond, “A Short History of Canada,” McClelland and Stewart, Toronto 1997, pg 95
Susanna McLeod - Intriguing Canadians, the art of cartoonists, and fascinating moments in Canada's history have kept Susanna McLeod writing for 16 years.
Join the Conversation