List of municipalities in Prince Edward Island

Prince Edward Island is the least populous province in Canada with 142,907 residents as of the 2016 census and is the smallest in land area at 5,686 km² (2,195 sq mi).[1] Prince Edward Island's 63 municipalities cover 29.6% of the province's land mass and were home to 72% of its population in 2016.[2][3][lower-alpha 1] These municipalities provide local government services to their residents in the form of fire protection, municipal planning services, and emergency measures planning.[4] The remaining unincorporated areas have no local government.[5]

A map of Canada, showing Prince Edward Island in red.

Distribution of Prince Edward Island's 72 municipalities by municipal status type as of 2017

Municipal statuses in Prince Edward Island are cities, towns, rural municipalities, and resort municipalities.[6] Under Prince Edward Island's Municipal Government Act (MGA), which came into force on December 23, 2017,[7] the formation of a municipality can be proposed by the Minister of Fisheries and Communities, the council of an existing municipality, or a petition signed by 30% of the residents that would be the electors of the new municipality.[4] To be eligible for city or town status, certain minimum estimated population and total property assessment value criteria must be met.[4] If those criteria are not met, rural municipality status can be granted if it is the opinion of the Minister of Fisheries and Communities that it would be in the public interest.[4] The province's lone resort municipality – the Resort Municipality of Stanley Bridge, Hope River, Bayview, Cavendish and North Rustico – was established by order in council in 1990.[6] The 2017 MGA prevents creation of any new resort municipalities.[6]

Prince Edward Island has two cities, ten towns, fifty rural municipalities and one resort municipality,[3][6] which are distributed across three counties – Kings, Prince and Queens. Charlottetown is Prince Edward Island's capital and largest municipality by population while Belfast is the largest municipality by land area.[2] The smallest municipalities by population and land area are Tignish Shore and St. Louis respectively.[2]

Municipalities

Aerial view of Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island's capital and largest city

Summerside, Prince Edward Island's second largest municipality and only other city

Cities

Under the province's MGA, a municipality may incorporate as a city if has an estimated population of 15,000 or more and a total property assessment value of $750 million or more.[4][6] Should a city no longer meet these requirements, the Minister of Fisheries and Communities may recommend to the Lieutenant Governor in Council to change the status of the municipality to a more appropriate status.[4]

Prince Edward Island has two cities.[3] Charlottetown is Prince Edward Island's capital and largest city both by population with 36,094 residents and by land area with 44.34 km² (17.12 sq mi).[2] It forms the core of a census agglomeration that encompasses the middle of the island and is home to 69,325 residents, or 49% of the island's population.[8] The province's second city is Summerside, which is located on the west side of the island. It has a population of 14,829 and a land area of 28.49 km² (11.00 sq mi).[2] Starting with the municipal elections in 2018, the MGA enables cities to elect a mayor and a minimum of eight councillors.[6] With general municipal elections occurring every four years, the next municipal election is scheduled for November 2022.[9]

Towns

Under the province's MGA, a municipality may incorporate as a town if has an estimated population of 4,000 or more but is less than 15,000, and a total property assessment value of $200 million or more, but is less than $750 million.[4][6] Should a town no longer meet these requirements, the Minister of Fisheries and Communities may recommend to the Lieutenant Governor in Council to change the status of the municipality to a more appropriate status.[4]

Prince Edward Island has ten towns that are incorporated municipalities,[3] which had a cumulative population of 28,905 in the 2016 census.[2] The province's largest and smallest towns are Stratford and North Rustico with populations of 9,706 and 607 respectively.[2] Three Rivers is Prince Edward Island's largest town by land area with 148.37 km² (57.29 sq mi) and O'Leary is the province's smallest town by land area with 1.68 km² (0.65 sq mi).[2] Three Rivers is also the province's newest town, which incorporated as a town on September 28, 2018 through the amalgamation of the towns of Georgetown and Montague, five rural municipalities (Brudenell, Cardigan, Lorne Valley, Lower Montague, and Valleyfield), and portions of three adjacent unincorporated areas.[10] Starting with the municipal elections in 2018, the MGA enables towns to elect a mayor and a minimum of six councillors.[6] With general municipal elections occurring every four years, the next municipal election is scheduled for November 2022.[9]

Rural municipalities

Under the province's MGA, municipalities that previously held community status under the previous Municipalities Act, which originally came into force in 1983,[11] were carried forward as rural municipalities.[4][6][lower-alpha 2] With the amalgamation of Brackley and Winsloe South on December 15, 2017,[13] and then the MGA coming into force eight days later on December 23, 2017,[7] Prince Edward Island had 58 communities that became rural municipalities.[3][6] On September 28, 2018, three amalgamations reduced the total amount of rural municipalities to 50.[10] As of the 2016 census, the province's largest and smallest rural municipalities are North Shore and Tignish Shore with populations of 2,152 and 57 respectively.[2][3][14] Starting with the municipal elections in 2018, the MGA enables rural municipalities to elect a mayor and a minimum of six councillors.[6] With general municipal elections occurring every four years, the next municipal election is scheduled for November 2022.[9]

Resort municipalities

Prince Edward Island has one municipality holding resort municipality status. The Resort Municipality of Stanley Bridge, Hope River, Bayview, Cavendish and North Rustico was established as a resort municipality in 1990.[4] The province's MGA allows this resort municipality to continue yet prevents the establishment of additional resort municipalities in the future.[4][6] Starting with the municipal elections in 2018, the MGA enables the province's lone resort municipality to elect a mayor and a minimum of six councillors.[6] With general municipal elections occurring every four years, the next municipal election is scheduled for November 2022.[9] If the population of the lone resort municipality reaches 2,000 electors, it may be incorporated as a different type of municipality pursuant to the MGA.[4]

List

List of municipalities in Prince Edward Island

Name	County	Municipal status[3][6]	Incorporation year[15]	2016 Census of Population
				Population (2016)[2][3]	Population (2011)[2][16]	Change	Land area (km²)[2][3]	Population density (ppl/km²)[2]
Charlottetown	Queens	City	1855[17][lower-alpha 3]	36,094	34,562	+4.4%	44.34	814.0
Summerside	Prince	City	1877[lower-alpha 4]	14,829	14,751	+0.5%	28.49	520.5
Alberton	Prince	Town	1913	1,145	1,135	+0.9%	4.52	253.3
Borden-Carleton	Prince	Town	1995[lower-alpha 5]	724	750	−3.5%	12.99	55.7
Cornwall	Queens	Town	1995	5,348	5,162	+3.6%	28.19	189.7
Kensington	Prince	Town	1914	1,619	1,513	+7.0%	3.01	537.9
North Rustico	Queens	Town	1954[lower-alpha 6]	607	583	+4.1%	2.41	251.9
O'Leary	Prince	Town	1951[lower-alpha 7]	815	812	+0.4%	1.68	485.1
Souris	Kings	Town	1910	1,053	1,173	−10.2%	3.47	303.5
Stratford	Queens	Town	1995	9,706	8,574	+13.2%	22.53	430.8
Three Rivers	Kings	Town[10]	2018	7,169[14][lower-alpha 8]	4,707[lower-alpha 9]	+52.3%	148.37	31.7
Tignish	Prince	Town[22]	1952[lower-alpha 10]	719	779	−7.7%	5.87	122.5
Abram-Village	Prince	Rural municipality	1974	272	267	+1.9%	1.26	215.9
Afton	Queens	Rural municipality	1974	1,291	1,222	+5.6%	39.8	32.4
Alexandra	Queens	Rural municipality	1972	221	224	−1.3%	10.4	21.3
Annandale-Little Pond-Howe Bay	Kings	Rural municipality	1975	211	262	−19.5%	31.8	6.6
Bedeque and Area	Prince	Rural municipality	2014	302	310	−2.6%	2.53	119.4
Belfast	Queens	Rural municipality	1972	1,670	1,637	+2.0%	229.6	7.3
Bonshaw	Queens	Rural municipality	1977	187	218	−14.2%	14.0	13.4
Brackley	Queens	Rural municipality	1983[lower-alpha 11]	596	561	+6.2%	18.38	32.4
Breadalbane	Queens	Rural municipality	1991	167	173	−3.5%	12.55	13.3
Central Kings	Kings	Rural municipality	1975	339	329	+3.0%	73.7	4.6
Central Prince	Prince	Rural municipality[10]	2018	1,054[14][lower-alpha 12]	1,162	−9.3%	133.2	8.3
Clyde River	Queens	Rural municipality	1974	653	576	+13.4%	16.52	39.5
Crapaud	Queens	Rural municipality	1950	319	345	−7.5%	2.15	148.4
Darlington	Queens	Rural municipality	1983	91	109	−16.5%	7.7	11.8
Eastern Kings	Kings	Rural municipality	1974	709	702	+1.0%	141.0	5.0
Greenmount-Montrose	Prince	Rural municipality	1977	266	258	+3.1%	25.8	10.3
Hampshire	Queens	Rural municipality	1974	335	420	−20.2%	13.6	24.6
Hazelbrook	Queens	Rural municipality	1974	183	172	+6.4%	8.1	22.6
Hunter River	Queens	Rural municipality	1974	356	294	+21.1%	5.97	59.6
Kingston	Queens	Rural municipality	1974	1,096	794	+38.0%	48.0	22.8
Kinkora	Prince	Rural municipality	1955	336	339	−0.9%	3.82	88.0
Linkletter	Prince	Rural municipality	1972	310	320	−3.1%	9.08	34.1
Lot 11 and Area	Prince	Rural municipality	1982	613	635	−3.5%	101.4	6.0
Malpeque Bay	Queens	Rural municipality	1973	1,030	1,029	+0.1%	96.7	10.7
Meadowbank	Queens	Rural municipality	1974	355	338	+5.0%	9.29	38.2
Miltonvale Park	Queens	Rural municipality	1974	1,148	1,153	−0.4%	35.45	32.4
Miminegash	Prince	Rural municipality	1968	148	173	−14.5%	1.90	77.9
Miscouche	Prince	Rural municipality	1957	873	869	+0.5%	3.45	253.0
Morell	Kings	Rural municipality	1953	297	313	−5.1%	1.46	203.4
Mount Stewart	Queens	Rural municipality	1953	209	225	−7.1%	1.22	171.3
Murray Harbour	Kings	Rural municipality	1953	258	320	−19.4%	3.89	66.3
Murray River	Kings	Rural municipality	1955	304	334	−9.0%	1.47	206.8
New Haven-Riverdale	Queens	Rural municipality	1974	520	485	+7.2%	21.7	24.0
North Shore	Queens	Rural municipality	1974	2,152[14][lower-alpha 13]	1,901	+13.2%	71.4	29.1
North Wiltshire	Queens	Rural municipality	1974	189	182	+3.8%	12.3	15.4
Northport	Prince	Rural municipality	1974	186	188	−1.1%	1.8	103.3
Sherbrooke	Prince	Rural municipality	1972	159	172	−7.6%	8.85	18.0
Souris West	Kings	Rural municipality	1972	356	399	−10.8%	7.7	51.8
St. Felix	Prince	Rural municipality	1977	333	348	−4.3%	11.4	29.2
St. Louis	Prince	Rural municipality	1964	66	51	+29.4%	0.62	106.5
St. Nicholas	Prince	Rural municipality	1991	211	198	+6.6%	20.6	10.2
St. Peters Bay	Kings	Rural municipality	1953	237	253	−6.3%	4.27	55.5
Tignish Shore	Prince	Rural municipality	1975	57	73	−21.9%	1.5	38.0
Tyne Valley	Prince	Rural municipality	1966	249	222	+12.2%	1.72	144.8
Union Road	Queens	Rural municipality	1977	204	235	−13.2%	9.97	20.5
Victoria	Queens	Rural municipality	1951	74	104	−28.8%	1.46	50.7
Warren Grove	Queens	Rural municipality	1985	356	367	−3.0%	10.18	35.0
Wellington	Prince	Rural municipality	1959	415	409	+1.5%	1.78	233.1
West River	Queens	Rural municipality	1974	801	741	+8.1%	34.8	23.0
York	Queens	Rural municipality	1986	408	284	+43.7%	12.4	32.9
Stanley Bridge, Hope River, Bayview, Cavendish and North Rustico[lower-alpha 14]	Queens	Resort municipality	1990	328	266	+23.3%	37.79	8.7
Total cities	–	–	–	50,923	49,313	+3.3%	72.83	699.2
Total towns	–	–	–	28,905	25,188	+14.8%	233.04	124.0
Total rural municipalities	–	–	–	23,172	22,695	+2.1%	1,250.02	17.3
Total resort municipalities	–	–	–	328	266	+23.3%	37.79	8.7
Total municipalities	–	–	–	103,328	97,462	+6.0%	1,683.10	61.4
Province of Prince Edward Island	–	–	–	142,907	140,204	+1.9%	5,686.03	25.1

See also

• History of Prince Edward Island
• List of census agglomerations in Atlantic Canada
• List of population centres in Prince Edward Island

Notes

1. The remaining 28% of Prince Edward Island's population resides in unincorporated areas or on Indian reserves.[2][3]
2. Prior to the Municipalities Act, incorporated communities were previously designated either villages or community improvement committees.[12]
3. On April 1, 1995, the Charlottetown Area Municipalities Act amalgamated the Town of Parkdale and the adjacent incorporated communities of East Royalty, Hillsborough Park, Sherwood, West Royalty, and Winsloe with the City of Charlottetown.[17]
4. Summerside incorporated as a city on April 1, 1995 upon amalgamating with the incorporated communities of St. Eleanors and Wilmot.[18]
5. Borden-Carlton, which previously held community status, incorporated as a town on July 31, 2012.[19]
6. North Rustico, which previously held community status, incorporated as a town on November 16, 2013.[20]
7. O'Leary, which previously held community status, incorporated as a town on March 11, 2014.[21]
8. The 2016 population of Three Rivers is the post-amalgamation sum of the population counts associated with two former towns (Georgetown and Montague) five former rural municipalities (Brudenell, Cardigan, Lorne Valley, Lower Montague, and Valleyfield), two unincorporated fire districts (Cardigan and Georgetown), and a portion of a third fire district (Montague).[14]
9. The 2011 population of Three Rivers is only of those portions that were incorporated as different municipalities prior to the 2018 amalgamation. The population of those portions that were unincorporated prior to the 2018 amalgamation is therefore excluded.
10. Tignish, which previously held community status, incorporated as a town on April 1, 2017.[22]
11. Brackley amalgamated with Winsloe South on December 15, 2017.[13] Winsloe South originally incorporated in 1986.[23]
12. The 2016 and 2011 population counts of Central Prince are the post-amalgamation sums of the population counts associated with two former rural municipalities (Ellerslie-Bideford and Lady Slipper).[14]
13. The 2016 and 2011 population counts of North Shore are the post-amalgamation sums of the population counts associated with three former rural municipalities (Grand Tracadie, North Shore, and Pleasant Grove).[14]
14. Official legal name is the Resort Municipality of Stanley Bridge, Hope River, Bayview, Cavendish and North Rustico.[4]

References

1. "Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, 2016 and 2011 censuses – 100% data". Statistics Canada. August 28, 2017. Archived from the original on June 26, 2020. Retrieved December 27, 2017.
2. "Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, and census subdivisions (municipalities), 2016 and 2011 censuses – 100% data (Prince Edward Island)". Statistics Canada. February 8, 2017. Archived from the original on June 10, 2020. Retrieved February 11, 2017.
3. "Prince Edward Island Municipal Boundaries" (PDF). Prince Edward Island: Communities, Land and Environment. September 18, 2019. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 13, 2019. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
4. "Municipal Government Act" (PDF). Prince Edward Island Queen's Printer. November 28, 2019. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 30, 2020. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
5. "Canada – Prince Edward Island Agreement Municipal Strategic Component 2014 - 2019 Guidelines and Criteria" (PDF). Government of Prince Edward Island. March 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 13, 2019. Retrieved December 29, 2017.
6. "Existing Municipalities and New Municipalities – Municipal Government Act". Government of Prince Edward Island. January 6, 2017. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved December 26, 2017.
7. "EC2017–747: Municipal Government Act Proclamation" (PDF). Prince Edward Island Executive Council. December 12, 2017. p. 414. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 30, 2019. Retrieved December 26, 2017.
8. "Census Profile, 2016 Census: Charlottetown [Census agglomeration], Prince Edward Island and Prince Edward Island [Province]". Statistics Canada. November 16, 2017. Archived from the original on September 24, 2019. Retrieved December 27, 2017.
9. "Municipal Elections and By-Elections". Government of Prince Edward Island. June 5, 2018. Archived from the original on March 7, 2020. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
10. "EC2018–584, EC2018–585 and EC2018–586" (PDF). Government of Prince Edward Island Executive Council. September 25, 2018. pp. 321–327. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 30, 2019. Retrieved October 28, 2018.
11. "Municipal Government Act and Regulations". Government of Prince Edward Island. May 29, 2020. Archived from the original on June 25, 2020. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
12. "Municipalities Act". Prince Edward Island Queen's Printer. December 15, 2016. Archived from the original on June 6, 2020. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
13. "EC2017–746: Municipalities Act (Community of Brackley and Community of Winsloe South Amalgamation)" (PDF). Prince Edward Island Executive Council. December 12, 2017. pp. 413–414. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 30, 2019. Retrieved December 26, 2017.
14. "Interim List of Changes to Municipal Boundaries, Status, and Names: Up to January 1st, 2019" (PDF). Statistics Canada. November 13, 2019. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 8, 2020. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
15. "Municipal Affairs and Provincial Planning". Department of Finance, Energy and Municipal Affairs. Archived from the original on February 22, 2015. Retrieved February 7, 2015.
16. "Prince Edward Island Municipal Boundaries" (PDF). Prince Edward Island: Communities, Land and Environment. January 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 26, 2017. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
17. "PlaceFinder Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island". Government of Prince Edward Island. Archived from the original on June 9, 2020. Retrieved December 29, 2017.
18. "Interim List of Changes to Municipal Boundaries, Status and Names: January 2, 1991 to January 1, 1996" (PDF). Statistics Canada. February 1997. p. 45. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 9, 2020. Retrieved October 28, 2018.
19. "EC2012–443: Municipalities Act (Community of Borden-Carleton Change of Status of Municipality from Community to Town Approved)" (PDF). Prince Edward Island Executive Council. July 31, 2012. p. 261. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 9, 2020. Retrieved November 24, 2013.
20. "EC2013–782: Municipalities Act (Community of North Rustico Change of Status of Municipality from Community to Town Approved)" (PDF). Prince Edward Island Executive Council. November 5, 2013. p. 532. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 9, 2020. Retrieved November 24, 2013.
21. "EC2014–142: Municipalities Act (Community of O'Leary Change of Status of Municipality from Community to Town Approved)" (PDF). Prince Edward Island Executive Council. March 11, 2014. p. 72. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 9, 2020. Retrieved December 29, 2017.
22. Kevin Yarr (March 29, 2017). "Tignish to become a town". CBC. Archived from the original on April 7, 2020. Retrieved December 25, 2017.
23. "PlaceFinder: Winsloe South, Prince Edward Island". Government of Prince Edward Island. Archived from the original on October 29, 2018. Retrieved December 29, 2017.

External links

• Federation of Prince Edward Island Municipalities
• Municipalities – Government of Prince Edward Island: Department of Fisheries and Communities