The smallest province in Canada is Prince Edward Island, at 5.6 thousand square kilometers and a mere 140,000 residents. It is known as the Birthplace of the Confederation as a conference took place in its capital; Charlottetown, to discuss uniting the areas of what are now New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Ontario and Quebec. Ironically, Prince Edward Island decided not to join Confederation until 1873. Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick united to form Canada in 1867. The last province to join Canada was Newfoundland in 1949.
Prince Edward Island is well known for having the largest bridge span over icy water, the Confederation Bridge that connects New Brunswick on the Canadian mainland to Prince Edward Island. It is over 12 kilometers long and was completed in 1997. PEI is better known for Lucy Maud Montgomery’s book series Anne of Green Gables. Thousands of tourists flock to PEI every year to see the places that inspired Anne of Green Gables. The series was especially cherished in Japan and many Japanese couples come to PEI to get married on the grounds of Green Gables. The book has been published in 36 different languages.
PEI’s main industry is agriculture; specifically in potatoes and it accounts for 1/3 of Canada’s potato production and exports potato seeds to over 20 countries.