Charlottetown is the capital and largest city of the

Canadian province Canada has ten provinces and three territories that are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Constitution of Canada, Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North Amer ...

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island is an island Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. While it is the smallest province by land area and population, it is the most densely populated. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", ...

, and the county seat of Queens County. Named after Queen Charlotte, Charlottetown was an unincorporated town until it was incorporated as a city in 1855. It was the site of the famous

Charlottetown Conference The Charlottetown Conference (A Conference to discuss the Confederation of Canada) was held in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, for representatives from colonies of British North America to discuss Canadian Confederation. The conference to ...

in 1864, the first gathering of Canadian and Maritime statesmen to discuss the proposed

Maritime Union Maritime Union () is a proposed political union of the three Maritime provinces of Canada – New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island – to form a single new province.British North America British North America comprised the colonial territories of the British Empire in North America from 1783 onwards. English colonisation of North America began in the 16th century in Newfoundland, then further south at Roanoke and Jamestown, ...

n colonies in 1867, which was the beginning of the

Canadian confederation Canadian Confederation () was the process by which three British North American provinces—the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick—were united into one federation, called the Name of Canada#Adoption of Dominion, Dominion of Ca ...

. Prince Edward Island, however, did not join Confederation until 1873. From this, the city adopted as its motto ''Cunabula Foederis'', "Birthplace of Confederation". The population of Charlottetown is estimated to be 40,500 (2022); this forms the centre of a census agglomeration of 83,063 (2021), which is roughly half of the province's population (160,302).

History

Early history (1720–1900)

The first European settlers in the area were French; personnel from Fortress Louisbourg founded a settlement in 1720 named '' Port La Joye'' on the southwestern part of the harbour opposite the present-day city. This settlement was led by Michel Haché-Gallant, who used his sloop to ferry Acadian settlers from Louisbourg. Charlotte gainsborough

During

King George's War King George's War (1744–1748) is the name given to the military operations in North America that formed part of the War of the Austrian Succession (1740–1748). It was the third of the four French and Indian Wars. It took place primarily in ...

, the British had taken over Prince Edward Island. French officer Jean-Baptiste Nicolas Roch de Ramezay attacked with 500 men at the Battle at Port-la-Joye, resulting in a British defeat and the capture or death of all involved British troops. In August 1758, at the height of the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War, 1754 to 1763, was a colonial conflict in North America between Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of France, France, along with their respective Native Americans in the United States, Native American ...

, a British fleet took control of the settlement and the rest of the island, promptly deporting those French settlers that they could find in the Ile Saint-Jean Campaign (this being fully three years after the initial Acadian Expulsion in

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

). British forces built '' Fort Amherst'' near the site of the abandoned ''Port La Joye'' settlement to protect the entrance to the harbour. Charlottetown was selected as the site for the county seat of Queens County in the colonial survey of 1764 by Captain Samuel Holland of the Royal Engineers. A year later, Charlottetown was made the colonial capital of St. John's Island. Further surveys conducted between 1768 and 1771 established the street grid and public squares which can be seen in the city's historic district. The town was named in honour of Queen Charlotte. On November 17, 1775, during the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

, the colony's new capital was ransacked by

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

-based privateers in the Raid on Charlottetown. During the attack, the colonial seal was stolen and several prisoners, including Phillips Callbeck and Thomas Wright, were taken to

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...

and later released. In 1793, land had been set aside by Governor Fanning on the western limits of the community for use by the "Administrator of Government" (the governor), and as such it became known informally as "Fanning's Bank" or just "Fanning Bank". On November 29, 1798, St. John's Island was renamed to

in honour of

Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn (Edward Augustus; 2 November 1767 – 23 January 1820) was the fourth son and fifth child of King George III and Queen Charlotte. His only child, Queen Victoria, Victoria, became Queen of the United Ki ...

, who was the Commander-in-Chief, North America. In 1805, the local British garrison constructed a harbour defence called "Fort Edward" to the west of the capital's waterfront and the "Prince Edward Battery" manned this facility. In 1835, " Government House" was constructed at Fanning Bank as a residence for the colony's

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

. Today, it serves as the official residence for the

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

. Between 1843 and 1847, a new legislative building was constructed in the community. Named the Colonial Building originally, following Confederation with Canada it gradually became known as " Province House". The completion of this structure with Isaac Smith as builder/

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

was an important milestone in the history of the capital and it is still in use today as the provincial legislature as well as a National Historic Site, and is currently the second-oldest legislative seat in Canada. On April 17, 1855, Charlottetown was incorporated as a city, holding its first council meeting on August 11 of that year. The community had 6,500 residents at the time of incorporation. Between September 1–8, 1864, Charlottetown hosted what is now termed the

. Although many of the meetings and negotiations which would lead to

Canadian Confederation Canadian Confederation () was the process by which three British North American provinces—the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick—were united into one federation, called the Name of Canada#Adoption of Dominion, Dominion of Ca ...

were held in Province House, various social events spilled over into the surrounding community. Charlottetown in the late 19th century

Prince Edward Island entered Confederation on July 1, 1873. Aside from being the seat of colonial government, the community came to be noted during the early nineteenth century for

shipbuilding Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other Watercraft, floating vessels. In modern times, it normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation th ...

and its lumber industry as well as being a fishing port. The shipbuilding industry declined in the latter part of the nineteenth century. On June 14, 1873 the "Government House Farm" at Fanning Bank was designated a municipal park, named Victoria Park in honour of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

. In August 1874, the Prince Edward Island Railway opened its main line between Charlottetown and Summerside. The railway, along with the shipping industry, would continue to drive industrial development on the waterfront for several decades to come. The province's first health care facility, the Charlottetown Hospital, was opened by the Diocese of Charlottetown in 1879, which was followed by the publicly operated Prince Edward Island Hospital in 1884.

Modern history (1900–present)

Religion played a central role in the development of Charlottetown's institutions with non-denominational (i.e. Protestant) and Roman Catholic public schools (Catholic Queen Square, Notre Dame, and St Joseph's vs. Protestant West Kent and Prince Street), hospitals (Prince Edward Island Hospital vs. Charlottetown Hospital), and post-secondary institutions ( Prince of Wales College vs. St. Dunstan's University) being instituted. St. Dunstan's was originally developed as a seminary for training priests, and the Maritime Christian College was founded in 1960 to train preachers for the Christian churches and churches of Christ in

and the

Maritime Provinces The Maritimes, also called the Maritime provinces, is a region of Eastern Canada consisting of three provinces: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. The Maritimes had a population of 1,899,324 in 2021, which makes up 5.1% of ...

. As with most communities in North America, the

automobile A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, peopl ...

shaped Charlottetown's development in the latter half of the twentieth century, when outlying farms in rural areas of Brighton, Spring Park, and Parkdale saw increased housing developments. The Charlottetown airfield in the nearby rural community of Sherwood was upgraded as part of the

British Commonwealth Air Training Plan The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP), often referred to as simply "The Plan", was a large-scale multinational military aircrew training program created by the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand during the Second Wo ...

and operated for the duration of World War II as RCAF Station Charlottetown, in conjunction with RCAF Station Mount Pleasant and RCAF Station Summerside. After the

war War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

the airfield was designated Charlottetown Airport. Charlottetown's shipyards were used extensively during World War II, being used for refits and upgrades to numerous

Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; , ''MRC'') is the Navy, naval force of Canada. The navy is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of February 2024, the RCN operates 12 s, 12 s, 4 s, 4 s, 8 s, and several auxiliary ...

warships. Further post-war development continued to expand residential properties in adjacent outlying areas, particularly in the neighbouring farming communities of Sherwood, West Royalty, and East Royalty. In 1959, the suburban village of Spring Park was amalgamated into the city, extending the city's northern boundary from Kirkwood Drive to Hermitage Creek and included the campus of St. Dunstan's University. Confederation Centre of the Arts

To commemorate the centennial of the

, the ten provincial governments and the Government of Canada contributed to a national monument to the "Fathers of Confederation". The

Confederation Centre of the Arts Confederation Centre of the Arts () is a cultural centre dedicated to the visual arts, visual and performing arts located in the city of Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada. History Construction of Confederation Centre, as it is commonly ...

, which opened in 1964, is a gift to the residents of Prince Edward Island, and contains a public library, nationally renowned art gallery, and a mainstage theatre which has played to the Charlottetown Festival every summer since. In the 1960s, new public schools were constructed in the community, and in 1969 the city became home to the amalgamated University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI), located on the campus of the former St. Dunstan's University. Together with the federal Department of Agriculture and Agri-Food's Charlottetown Experimental Farm (also known as ''Ravenwood Farm''), these properties comprise a large green space surrounded by the city. The Prince of Wales College downtown campus became part of a new provincial community college system named Holland College, in honour of the island's famous surveyor. The PEI Comprehensive Development Plan in the late 1960s greatly contributed to the expansion of the provincial government in Charlottetown for the next decade. The Queen Elizabeth Hospital opened in 1982. In 1983, the national headquarters of the federal Department of Veterans Affairs was moved to Charlottetown as part of a nationwide federal government decentralization programme. In 1986, UPEI expanded further with the opening of the Atlantic Veterinary College. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, there was increased commercial office and retail development. A waterfront hotel and convention centre was completed in 1982 and helped to encourage diversification and renewal in the area, leading to several residential complexes and downtown shopping facilities. The abandonment of rail service in the province by

CN Rail The Canadian National Railway Company () is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue an ...

in December 1989 led to the railway and industrial lands at the east end of the waterfront being transformed into parks and cultural attractions. In the late 1990s and 2000s, the retail landscape changed with the opening of big box stores on the site of former traditional shopping centres and in new developments in the northern suburbs, particularly the neighbourhood of West Royalty, which is a key road junction. On April 1, 1995, Charlottetown amalgamated with the Town of Parkdale and the incorporated communities of East Royalty, Hillsborough Park, Sherwood, West Royalty, and Winsloe. At the same time, the amalgamated Charlottetown annexed Queens Royalty. Today, the City of Charlottetown occupies parts of the Lot 33 and Lot 34 townships. The central business district continues to undergo incremental expansion as government and private sector office space is constructed and new institutional space is built or retrofitted, however retail space in the CBD has suffered as a result of outlying big box retail construction in recent years. On May 31, 2021, the Charlottetown City Council voted to remove a statue of John A. MacDonald, the first Prime Minister of Canada, following a year of vandalism in the wake of the

George Floyd Protests The George Floyd protests were a series of protests, riots, and demonstrations against police brutality that began in Minneapolis in the United States on May 26, 2020. The protests and civil unrest began in Minneapolis as Reactions to the mu ...

. The catalyst for the removal came following the discovery of a mass grave at the

Kamloops Indian Residential School The Kamloops Indian Residential School was part of the Canadian Indian residential school system. Located in Kamloops, British Columbia, it was once the largest residential school in Canada, with its enrolment peaking at 500 in the 1950s. The sc ...

in British Columbia. The first video and sound recording of a meteorite striking the earth, the Charlottetown meteorite, was captured in the neighborhood of Marshfield in 2024.

Geography

Charlottetown is situated on its namesake

harbour A harbor (American English), or harbour (Commonwealth English; see American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, spelling differences), is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be Mooring, moored. The t ...

, which is formed by the confluence of three rivers in the central part of the island's south shore. The harbour opens onto the Northumberland Strait. The city is roughly V-shaped (pointed to the south) and constrained by the North (Yorke) and the Hillsborough (East) Rivers to the west and east.

Climate

Charlottetown has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

''Dfb'') moderated partially by Prince Edward Island's location in the

Gulf of Saint Lawrence The Gulf of St. Lawrence is a gulf that fringes the shores of the provinces of Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, in Canada, plus the islands Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, possessions of France, in ...

. Winters are somewhat milder than many inland cities at a similar latitude: the January average is , and lows reach or below on an average 5.8 days per season. However, the coastal position means that winter precipitation, more often as snow, is frequent and at times heavy: the seasonal snow average is . Spring warming is gradual due to the ocean waters still being cold. Summers are mild, again due to the same maritime moderation: the July high is . Precipitation averages per year, with the greatest amounts falling in late fall and winter. The highest temperature ever recorded in Charlottetown was on 19 August 1935. The coldest temperature ever recorded was on 29 January 1877.

Cityscape

Downtown Charlottetown includes the city's historic five hundred lots, as surveyed by Captain Samuel Holland, as well as the waterfront facing the harbour and the Hillsborough River. Adjacent communities to the original downtown included Brighton, Spring Park, Sherwood and Parkdale. The areas to the west, north and east of downtown have been developed in recent decades with several residential and commercial/retail developments, although the outer regions of the city are still predominantly farmland, as is an area in the centre of the city where an Agriculture Canada experimental crop research station is located. The Agriculture Canada research station farm is the last remnant of the Queens Royalty common pasture lands and creates a large greenspace in the centre of the city, north of downtown. The development of the township of Queens Royalty, with its estates surveyed during the 18th and 19th centuries along a north–south axis forced early road networks into a grid. 21st-century Charlottetown landscape is dominated by urban development along the waterfront areas, suburban development to the west, north and east, as well as the airport to the north. Commercial development, aside from the central business district, is concentrated along several road corridors: * University Avenue/Malpeque Road * North River Road/Lower Malpeque Road * St. Peter's Road * Mount Edward Road * Kensington Road The downtown core is augmented by several feeder streets: * Queen Street * Water Street * Grafton Street

Neighbourhoods

Charlottetown comprises the following neighbourhoods which were one-time independent municipalities: * Downtown Charlottetown * Brighton * Spring Park * Parkdale * Sherwood (including Falconwood) * East Royalty (including Hillsborough Park) * West Royalty (including Lewis Point) * Winsloe The original municipal boundary between Charlottetown and the common area of the township of Queens Royalty was the northern edge of the original five hundred lots along present-day Euston Street. This boundary was extended north to Allen Street and Kirkwood Drive during the early twentieth century, taking in part of the rural community of Brighton west of the downtown. The village of Spring Park was amalgamated into the city in 1959, extending the city's boundary north to Hermitage Creek, which also formed the southern boundary of the village of West Royalty. Development filled in most vacant land in the Brighton and Spring Park neighbourhoods by the 1980s. Municipal amalgamation in 1996 saw the outlying independent municipalities of Parkdale (town), Sherwood, East Royalty, West Royalty and Winsloe (villages) merged into a larger city of Charlottetown at the same time as rural communities east and west of the city were amalgamated to form the towns of Stratford and Cornwall respectively. A

green belt A green belt or greenbelt is a policy, and land-use zone designation used in land-use planning to retain areas of largely undeveloped, wilderness, wild, or agricultural landscape, land surrounding or neighboring urban areas. Similar concepts ...

is in place around the northern fringe of the municipal boundary, although it is poorly enforced by the provincial government, leading to suburban sprawl.

Culture

Attractions

The city's streetscape with a centrally planned downtown core containing many Victorian-era houses and buildings is an attraction, as well as the waterfront redevelopment project in recent decades which has seen walking trails and parks developed on former industrial lands. A new

cruise ship Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports of call, where passengers may go on Tourism, tours k ...

terminal was opened by the port authority in September 2007 which, proponents hope, will make the city a more attractive destination for the growing number of vessels operating in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Popular attractions within the city include the provincial legislature at Province House, which hosted the

, as well as Founders Hall, a recently redeveloped railway maintenance building which now houses an interactive trip through history tracing the development of Canada as a nation. The

provides live theatre, including the Charlottetown Festival during the summer months, as well as the Confederation Centre Art Gallery. The Charlottetown Festival itself is headlined by Canada's most popular and longest-running musical, '' Anne of Green Gables - The Musical'', an adaptation of Island author

Lucy Maud Montgomery Lucy Maud Montgomery (November 30, 1874 – April 24, 1942), published as L. M. Montgomery, was a Canadian author best known for a collection of novels, essays, short stories, and poetry beginning in 1908 with '' Anne of Green Gables''. Sh ...

's novel. Several other small theatres and galleries can be found immediately surrounding the Confederation centre including the Mac (MacKenzie theatre), the Arts Guild, and Pilar Shepard gallery. There are 11

National Historic Sites of Canada National Historic Sites of Canada () are places that have been designated by the federal Minister of the Environment on the advice of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada (HSMBC), as being of national historic significance. Parks C ...

located in Charlottetown, including Province House and the Confederation Centre of the Arts.

Sports

Charlottetown has numerous parks and playing fields for soccer, baseball, softball, football, rugby, and field hockey. Cricket also has been gaining popularity after building a ground and a cricket pitch at Tea hill park in Stratford. There are also many outdoor tennis courts, recreational trails, and running tracks. Most public schools in the city have gymnasiums available for public use outside of school hours and there are community-owned and operated hockey arenas and swimming pools, as well as several privately operated fitness centres. Amateur varsity team sports are prevalent for males and females in the city's two senior high schools, Colonel Gray and Charlottetown Rural, as well as the University of Prince Edward Island's varsity teams (the UPEI Panthers) through the institution's affiliation with

Canadian Interuniversity Sport U Sports (stylized as U SPORTS) is the national sport governing body for universities in Canada, comprising the majority of degree-granting universities in the country and four regional conferences: Ontario University Athletics (OUA), Résea ...

. Holland College also has varsity teams, the Holland Hurricanes. There is one junior hockey team in the community: the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League's Charlottetown Islanders. The city is also home to the Island Storm of the

National Basketball League of Canada The National Basketball League of Canada (NBL Canada; ) was a Canadian professional men's minor league basketball organization. The NBL Canada was founded in 2011, when three existing Premier Basketball League teams joined with four new franchis ...

. Other notable sporting events held by Charlottetown include: * 1991 Canada Winter Games * 2009 Canada Summer Games (Co-hosted with Summerside)

Demographics

In the

2021 Canadian census The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canada, Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, whic ...

conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; ), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and culture. It is headquartered in ...

, Charlottetown had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. In the 2021 census, children under five account for approximately 3.9% of the resident population of Charlottetown. This compares with 4.4% in

, and 5.0% for Canada overall. 21.0% of the resident population in Charlottetown are of retirement age compared with 21.2% in Prince Edward Island and 19.0% in Canada. The median age is 40.8 years of age compared to 44.0 years of age for Prince Edward Island and 41.6 years of age for all of Canada. There are 17,193 total private dwellings in Charlottetown with an occupancy rate of 93.6%. The median value of a private dwelling is $200,284 compared to $341,556 nationally. The population density is 814.1 per square kilometre. The 2021 census reported that

immigrants Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as permanent residents. Commuters, tourists, and other short- ...

(individuals born outside Canada) comprise 5,245 persons or 13.9% of the total population of Charlottetown. Of the total immigrant population, the top countries of origin were China (1,030 persons or 19.6%), India (530 persons or 10.1%), Vietnam (410 persons or 7.8%), Syria (345 persons or 6.6%), Philippines (310 persons or 5.9%), United States (280 persons or 5.3%), United Kingdom (245 persons or 4.7%), Lebanon (115 persons or 2.2%), Iran (110 persons or 2.1%), and Jamaica (95 persons or 1.8%).

Ethnicity

Charlottetown is approximately 76.2% white, 21.8% visible minorities and 2.0% Indigenous as of 2021. The largest visible minority groups in Charlottetown are South Asian (6.4%), Chinese (5.0%), Black (2.9%), Arab (2.3%), and Southeast Asian (2.0%).

Language

78.6% of Charlottetown residents spoke English as their first language. Other common mother tongues are Chinese languages (4.3%), Punjabi (2.0%) French (1.8%), Arabic (1.7%), and Vietnamese (1.2%). 1.8% of residents listed both English and a non-official language as mother tongues.

Religion

According to the 2021 census, religious groups in Charlottetown included: *

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

(21,665 persons or 57.6%) *

Irreligion Irreligion is the absence or rejection of religious beliefs or practices. It encompasses a wide range of viewpoints drawn from various philosophical and intellectual perspectives, including atheism, agnosticism, religious skepticism, ...

(12,425 persons or 33.0%) *

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

(1,265 persons or 3.4%) *

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...

(860 persons or 2.3%) *

Sikhism Sikhism is an Indian religion and Indian philosophy, philosophy that originated in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent around the end of the 15th century CE. It is one of the most recently founded major religious groups, major religio ...

(635 persons or 1.7%) *

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

(350 persons or 0.9%) *

Judaism Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...

(70 persons or 0.2%) * Indigenous Spirituality (15 persons or <0.1%) *Other (310 persons or 0.8%) As of 2021, 57.6% of residents are Christians, down from 75.4% in 2011. 28.9% were Catholic, 16.9% were Protestant, 7.2% were Christian n.o.s, and 4.7% were other Christian denominations and Christian-related traditions. Non-religious or secular people are 33.0% of the population, up from 20.8% in 2011. There are also significant populations of

Muslims Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

(3.4%) and

Sikhs Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Sikh'' ...

(1.7%).

Economy

Charlottetown's economy is dominated by the public sector. The provincial, federal, and municipal levels of government are significant employers in the central part of Queens County, as are the health care and secondary and post-secondary education sectors. Technology companies have increased their share of the city's workforce, however the actual numbers are quite small once call-centres are excluded. Other significant economic activities include light manufacturing, such as chemicals, bio-technology, and machining.

Government

The city's municipal government is structured around a council comprising a

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

and ten

councillor A councillor, alternatively councilman, councilwoman, councilperson, or council member, is someone who sits on, votes in, or is a member of, a council. This is typically an elected representative of an electoral district in a municipal or re ...

s elected using the

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

system. The current mayor of the city is Philip Brown. Charlottetown has seven seats (out of 27) in the

Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island The Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island () together with the Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Island, lieutenant governor of Prince Edward Island form the General Assembly of Prince Edward Island. The Legislative Assembly meets at ...

. Some of these electoral districts occupy adjacent rural areas that are not within the city's boundaries. The city has a single seat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

; the current Member of Parliament is Sean Casey.

Transportation

Historically, Charlottetown was the centre of the province's railway network. Highway development in the latter part of the 20th century has resulted in the city being the focal point of several important routes in the province. Route 1, the

Trans-Canada Highway The Trans-Canada Highway (Canadian French, French: ; abbreviated as the TCH or T-Can) is a transcontinental federal–provincial highway system that travels through all ten provinces of Canada, from the Pacific Ocean on the west coast to the A ...

, partially bisects the northern suburbs, linking with Riverside Drive, the Hillsborough River Bridge and the North River Causeway/Bridge on a limited-access arterial highway linking the city with the

Confederation Bridge The Confederation Bridge () is a box girder bridge carrying the Trans-Canada Highway across the Abegweit Passage of the Northumberland Strait, linking the province of Prince Edward Island with the mainland province of New Brunswick. Opened ...

in the west and the Northumberland Ferries terminal in the east. Route 2, the province's main east–west highway intersects with Route 1 in the city. Charlottetown Airport is the province's only airport with scheduled passenger airline service, serving 280,000 passengers per year. Charlottetown Transit was founded in 2005 and offers 10 bus routes around town. The absence of public transit for many decades in Charlottetown resulted in a dependence on personal use of automobiles, with municipal governments constructing three large above-ground parking garages in the city's historic district to house vehicles of downtown workers. The city also had a statistically higher proportion of taxis than the Canadian average as taxi service became a last-resort for many residents without access to a vehicle. The Charlottetown Harbour Authority operates the city's commercial port and is currently expanding a marine terminal which was formerly operated by the federal government. Importation of gravel for construction and petroleum products are the main port activities.

Education

English public schooling (gr. K-12) in Charlottetown is provided by the Public Schools Branch. French public schooling (gr. K-12) in the city is provided by the Commission scolaire de langue française. The city also has two independent schools: Immanuel Christian School and Grace Christian School. Charlottetown is home to the University of Prince Edward Island. UPEI has programs in Arts, Education, Science, Business, Nursing and Engineering. The provincial university also houses the Atlantic Veterinary College. Charlottetown is also home to several campuses of Holland College, the province's community college. In addition, there are various private training colleges in the city.

Media

Notable people

* Milton Acorn, former poet * Jared Connaughton, Olympic athlete * Dorothy Corrigan, first and only female mayor of Charlottetown * Lloyd Duffy, jockey * Mike Duffy, Canadian senator and television journalist * Kara Grant, Canadian

pentathlon A pentathlon is a contest featuring five events. The name is derived from Greek language, Greek: combining the words ''pente'' (five) and -''athlon'' (competition) (). The first pentathlon was documented in Ancient Greece and was part of the Anci ...

Olympian,

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

* Dylan Mohan Gray, filmmaker * Vern Handrahan, former professional baseball player,

Kansas City Athletics The Kansas City Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Kansas City, Missouri, from 1955 to 1967, having previously played in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as the Philadelphia Athletics. After moving in 1967, the team became the ...

*Wally Hennessey, harness racing driver *Bonnie Henry, provincial officer, Ministry of Health (British Columbia), British Columbia Ministry of Health *Ross Johnston, professional ice hockey player, New York Islanders *Lorie Kane, professional LPGA golfer *Joey Kitson, Celtic rock musician and lead singer, Rawlins Cross *Troy Little, comic book artist, graphic designer, creator of ''Chiaroscuro (IDW Publishing), Chiaroscuro'' *Whitney Rose (musician), Whitney Rose, country musician *Al MacAdam, former professional ice hockey player, Minnesota North Stars, Philadelphia Flyers, and Vancouver Canucks *Amber MacArthur, television personality and author *David MacEachern, Olympic gold medalist Bobsleigh, bobsled, 1998 Winter Olympics *Zack MacEwen, professional ice hockey player, Ottawa Senators *Charles Andrew MacGillivary, Medal of Honor recipient for action with the United States Army, U.S. Army during World War II *Martha MacIsaac, actress *Tara MacLean, singer-songwriter *Cynthia MacLeod, fiddler *Elizabeth S. MacLeod, poet *Don McDougall (baseball), Don McDougall, former president, Labatt Brewing Company *Adam McQuaid, former professional ice hockey player, Boston Bruins, Columbus Blue Jackets, and New York Rangers *Sarah Newcomb Merrick, teacher, writer, businessperson, and physician *Don Messer, fiddler and radio and TV show host, ''Don Messer's Jubilee'' *

, author *Heather Moyse, Olympic gold medalist in bobsledding, 2010 Winter Olympics, 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympics *Chris Murphy (Canadian musician), Chris Murphy, rock musician, Sloan (band), Sloan *Gary Simmons (ice hockey), Gary Simmons, former professional ice hockey player, California Golden Seals, Cleveland Barons (NHL), Cleveland Barons, and Los Angeles Kings *Frederick Thornton Peters, Victoria Cross recipient for action off the coast of Algeria during World War II *Jackie Torrens, comedian, ''Made in Canada (TV series), Made in Canada'', actor, writer, and journalist *Jonathan Torrens, actor, writer, and producer *Brian Tracy, self-development author and board member, The Heritage Foundation *Rick Vaive, former professional ice hockey player, Toronto Maple Leafs and other teams *William Henry Weeks, former architect in California *James Wood (Canadian admiral), James Wood, former Commander of the Royal Canadian Navy

References

Notes

External links

* {{Authority control Charlottetown, 1764 establishments in the British Empire Cities in Prince Edward Island Former colonial capitals in Canada Populated coastal places in Canada Populated places established in 1764