Prince Edward Island (Charlottetown, Canada)

Prince Edward Island (aka Ile-du-Prince-Edouard) is a Canadian province that consists of the main island plus 231 smaller isles. Island's largest (principal) seaport is Charlottetown (on its south-central coast).

The island has a total land area (no internal waterways) of 2190 ml2 (5660 km2) and total population around 150,000. The province's entire land area (including all islands) is 5696 km2 (2195 ml2). By area, Prince Edward Island is Canada's 13th largest and the world's 104th largest island. The island is located approx 200 km (125 ml) north of Halifax NS and approx 600 km (370 ml) east of Quebec City.

Informally, the island is called "Garden of the Gulf" and "Cradle of Confederation" (Cunabula Foederis), the latter referring to the Charlottetown Conference (1864). This province is part of Canada since 1873, joining the independent country as its 7th province.

Local economy is largely based on farming (producing 25% of the country's potatoes) but also on short-break vacation travel and tourism.

The list of "Canada top 10" largest islands (world rank in brackets) includes: Baffin Island (5), Victoria Island (8), Ellesmere Island (10), Newfoundland (16), Banks Island (24), Devon Island (27), Axel Heiberg Island (32), Melville Island (33), Southampton Island (34) and Prince of Wales Island (40). All of them (excepting Newfoundland - in Newfoundland-Labrador) are located in the Nunavut- Northwest Territories of Arctic Canada.

Prince Edward Island is in the Gulf of St Lawrence and neighbouring with Cape Breton Island (to the east), with Nova Scotia peninsula (to the south), with New Brunswick (to the west) and with Northumberland Strait (to the south). There two urban areas on the island:

• Charlottetown Harbour (centrally on the southern coast) consists of Charlottetown City and the towns Cornwall and Stratford.
• Summerside Harbour (on the southern coast) is approx 40 km (25 ml) west of Charlottetown. It consists of Summerside City.

Island's coastline features long beaches, red sandstone cliffs, large sand dunes, marshes, numerous bays and natural harbours.

Charlottetown has population around 35,000 (metro around 65,000). It is province's capital and Queens County's seat. It is named after the British queen Sophia Charlotte (Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, 1744-1818), wife of King George III. The modern-day Charlottetown was created as a merger with the following towns and villages (now neighbourhoods) - Brighton, East Royalty (with Hillsborough Park), Parkdale, Sherwood, West Royalty, Winsloe and Spring Park.

Summerside (population around 15,000) is island's second largest town located on the western shore. It was first incorporated in April 1877 (as a town) and as a city - in April 1995. Just like the capital Charlottetown, Summerside is a merger of the main city with the towns of Sherbrooke, St Eleanors and Wilmot. Among the city's attractions is the Summerside Raceway (harness racing track) - Canada's oldest, operating since 1886. [It is located next to the Credit Union Place and has capacity of around 4,000 seats, plus a bowling alley, a large swimming pool, fitness, meeting rooms.

Around 94% of the locals speak English, and around 4% - French. As demographics (ethnic origin), around 42% are Scottish, 36% Canadian, 33% English, 33% Irish, 19% French, 6% German.

Port Charlottetown's cruising season runs early May through early November. Charlottetown has a new cruise ship terminal (opened in September 2007), which made the city an attractive travel destination for New England cruise liners in Gulf of St Lawrence.

In 2018, the cruise port had a record year with scheduled 92 ship calls (28% increase over 2017) and expected around 117,000 passengers plus 51,000 crew. However, the season ended with handled nearly 98,000 passengers plus around 44,000 crew. Most berth booking cancellations were due to weather. Port's cruising business generated around USD 19,5 million impact to the Canadian economy.

During season 2018, maiden calls were booked for 7 liners, of which docked only 5 (Adventure of the Seas, Norwegian Gem, Royal Princess, Star Pride, Silver Wind). October 2 was the port's ever first 4-ship day (Black Watch, Norwegian Dawn, Royal Princess, MS Rotterdam).

Projections for 2019 were for around 146,000 cruise ship tourists plus 63,000 crew. Season's highlight was the newbuild liner MSC Meraviglia (2017-built, length 315 m, capacity 5400 passengers plus 1400 crew). The season started on May 1 (with MS Zaandam) and ended on November 1 (with Oceania Riviera). Cruise port's estimated economic impact in 2019 was nearly USD 25 million.

Prince Edward Island cruise terminal