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Originally named Abegweit, or Cradle on the Waves, by the Mi'kmaq people who believe the Great Spirit sculpted the crescent-shaped island out of red clay. The red sandstone of the island is rich and fertile, making the land an agricultural haven.
The Island was once colonized as French Acadia. The British took over after their victory in the Seven Year War, and the land was renamed Prince Edward Island. Although P.E.I. hosted the 1864 Charlottetown Conference that initiated Canada's confederacy, it did not join Canada until 1873, when Prime Minister John A. Macdonald
offered resolution to the colony's railway debts and absentee landlord problem.
With a population of 135,851 as of 2006, politics in P.E.I. are very personal. Each elected member represents about 5000 people; therefore almost everyone knows or has met their Member of Legislative Assembly. P.E.I.'s government has been split between the Liberals and Conservatives. The provincial Conservatives, strongly Red
Tories, were originally the more popular party. The province has now become a Liberal stronghold. The Island New Democrats have had only one person ever elected to legislature, while the provincial Green Party received more votes than the New Democrats in the most recent election. Currently Prince Edward Island is governed by
Robert Ghiz's Liberal party, which received over half of the province's vote. |
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