PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND

rince Edward Island also         There is a population of 135,294
known as PEI or just The        people (2001 census). The
Island is one of the three      Province is divided into three
Maritime Provinces. The crescent      counties; in the middle is Queens
shaped island is separated from       County, to the east Kings County
the mainland by the                   and to the west Prince County.
Northumberland Strait. Its            The Provincial capital of
neighbours are the Provinces of       Charlottetown is located in
New Brunswick and Nova Scotia         Queens County and the second city
both on Canada's mainland. Its        of PEI is Summerside located in
total size is 2184 square miles       Prince County.
making it Canada's smallest
province. No place in the             There are many smaller
Province is more than 16 km (10       communities throughout the
mi) from the sea.                     Province. The terrain is mostly
                                      gently rolling hills, there are
The 9 mile long Confederation         no mountains on the Island, the
Bridge, which opened in 1997,         highest point of land is only 152
joins PEI with New Brunswick and      metres (499 feet) above sea level
is the longest bridge over ice        at Springton, Queens County. The
covered waters in the world.          Northern shores are predominantly
There is a toll payable when          white sandy beaches and in the
leaving the island. The Province      south it is mostly red sandstone
is in the Atlantic Time Zone          cliffs. There are many small
which is Greenwich Meantime -4        lakes, rivers and Parks PEI's
hours. Between the months of          climate is normally milder than
April and October Daylight Saving     the mainland due to the warm
is in effect and the difference       waters of the Gulf of St.
is GMT -3 hours.                      Lawrence that surround it.

It receives an average of 868mm       the retail sale or rental of most
of rainfall annually and an           goods and certain services in
average of 340cm of snowfall.         Prince Edward Island. The tax is
Winters are generally cold with       calculated on the selling price,
an average of -7 degrees Celsius      after the Federal GST (Good and
in January. The snow usually          Services Tax) is applied.
comes in November and stays until     Residents of PEI are subject to
late April. Summers are usually       Provincial and Federal Taxation.
warm, with an average temperature
of 19 degrees Celsius in July.        The Government is actively
                                      seeking new residents and has a
The Provincial Government of          dedicated Provincial Nominee
Prince Edward Island is led by        Program for both Business people
Premier the Hon. Patrick George       and Skilled workers with a
Binns who is the leader of the        profile of high demand jobs.
Progressive Conservative Party.
The Province is responsible for       They offer a very informative
administering the Healthcare          section on immigration on the
System which provides a basic         government's Website that can
care system for the PEI               offer advice on employment
residents.                            standards, minimum wages, arrival
                                      info and assistance to name a
The Education System and the          few. The PEI Association for
Driving Regulations are also          Newcomers to Canada is an
regulated by the Province and         organization that help immigrants
have differences from other parts     settle in Prince Edward Island.
of Canada.                            I'd recommend contacting them if
                                      you plan on living in PEI as they
The Provincial Revenue Tax (PST)      can offer invaluable advice and
is a 10 per cent tax applied to       assistance.

About the Author:

Dave Lympany emigrated to Canada in 2003 and has used his family experience to develop a onestop information resource for Canada and Canadian Immigration - http://www.onestopimmigration-canada.com