Prince Edward Island Flashcards

The Charlottetown Conference of 1864 is celebrated as the 'Birthplace of Confederation,' but it was originally convened for a different purpose. What was the intended agenda before Canadian delegates redirected discussions?

Answer: To establish a Maritime union among New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island

The 1864 Charlottetown Conference was originally organized to discuss Maritime Union — the merging of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and PEI into a single colony. Canadian delegates from the Province of Canada arrived uninvited and persuaded the Maritime leaders to consider a broader British North American confederation instead, fundamentally changing the course of Canadian history.

Prince Edward Island refused to join Confederation in 1867 and held out until 1873. Which combination of factors most accurately explains why PEI finally agreed to enter Confederation?

Answer: The federal government agreed to assume PEI's railway debt and guarantee year-round communication with the mainland

PEI had accumulated crippling debt building its island railway and could not repay it. In 1873, Ottawa agreed to assume that railway debt and pledged to maintain continuous communication (ferry/steamer service) with the mainland — the two key terms that finally convinced PEI to join Confederation, 6 years after the other founding provinces.

Under Canada's Constitution, the 'senatorial floor' clause guarantees that no province can have fewer Members of Parliament than it has Senators. How many Senate seats does Prince Edward Island hold, making this floor particularly significant for the island?

Answer: 4

PEI holds 4 Senate seats — part of the Maritime provinces' bloc of 24 senators (PEI: 4, New Brunswick: 10, Nova Scotia: 10). The senatorial floor clause guarantees PEI at least 4 seats in the House of Commons regardless of population, giving this small province significantly more electoral representation per capita than its population alone would warrant.

Prince Edward Island's legislature became unicameral (single-chamber) after it abolished its upper house, the Legislative Council. In what year did this happen, making PEI one of the first provinces to take this step?

Answer: 1893

PEI abolished its Legislative Council (upper house) in 1893, years before most other Canadian provinces did the same. The move was driven by the cost of maintaining a second chamber for such a small population and growing democratic sentiment that the appointed body lacked legitimacy. Today, PEI's Legislative Assembly remains the country's smallest provincial legislature.

The 'land question' dominated Prince Edward Island politics for over a century and was a major reason PEI was reluctant to join Confederation. What was the root cause of this crisis?

Answer: A 1767 London lottery divided the island into 67 lots granted to absentee British proprietors who rarely fulfilled their obligations to settlers

After Britain took control of Île Saint-Jean (PEI) from France, the island was surveyed and its 67 townships were allocated by lottery in London in 1767 to British proprietors — mostly military officers and political favourites. These absentee landlords collected rents but rarely invested in the land or honoured their settlement obligations, leaving tenant farmers in perpetual economic insecurity. Resolving this issue was one of PEI's core demands before and after Confederation.

Prince Edward Island's provincial motto is 'Parva sub ingenti,' a Latin phrase that reflects both its geographic reality and its relationship within Confederation. What does this motto mean in English?

Answer: The small under the protection of the great

Parva sub ingenti translates to 'The small under the protection of the great,' a fitting motto for Canada's smallest province. It reflects PEI's geographic vulnerability as an island and its political reality as the least populous province operating within a federation of much larger partners. The phrase appears on PEI's coat of arms, where a large oak tree shelters three smaller oaks — symbolizing Britain protecting the three counties of the island.