Souris () is a town in
Kings County, Prince Edward Island
Kings County (2021 population 18,327) is located in eastern Prince Edward Island, Canada.
It is the province's smallest, most rural and least-populated county. Kings County is also least dependent upon the agriculture industry compared with the o ...
, Canada. It is located near the northeastern tip of the province.
History

Souris was founded by
Acadians
The Acadians (; , ) are an ethnic group descended from the French colonial empire, French who settled in the New France colony of Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Today, most descendants of Acadians live in either the Northern Americ ...
in 1727 as a fishing settlement at the mouth of the Souris River. These early settlers experienced several plagues of
field mice in the surrounding area during the 1720s-1760s which damaged crops. Souris is French for "mouse" and a mouse is the town's mascot. It is said that "a French vessel passing by the bay in the early 1700s was forced to cut through the waves of drowned mice and so gave the name to the area. The 1744 map of Sieur de la Roque names the bay, Havre a la Souris”.
Earlier names also included: Colville Bay, Grand Haven, New Bristol, and Red Cliffs.
The name likely also shares similar roots with the Souriquois and the Souris River. The French (Acadians) came to call the Micmacs the Souriquois, adopting the Indians' pidgin word for the trade language.
"The term came from the
Basque
Basque may refer to:
* Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France
* Basque language, their language
Places
* Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France
* Basque Country (autonomous co ...
zurikoa (pronounced “surikoa”) meaning “that of the whites.”
The -koa ending would be a Basque suffix denoting geographic origin and giving the word the meaning “people from Souris.”
The Mi'kmaq (Mi'kmaw, Micmac or L'nu, “the people” in Mi'kmaq) were the first inhabitants in the area and had an encampment at the head of the Souris River.
Several Acadian families arrived in 1740 as the first white settlers but were forced out by the British after the
Siege of Louisbourg (1758)
The siege of Louisbourg was a pivotal operation of the French and Indian War in 1758 that ended French colonial dominance in Atlantic Canada and led to the subsequent British campaign to capture Quebec in 1759 and the remainder of New France ...
.
In 1765, the British government divided the island into 67 lots, Souris being lot #45 and 20,000 acres.
The first census was carried out in 1798 and did not include any settlers in Souris, despite 1996 government record stating that "Scottish settlers came to the area as early as 1772, and English and Irish settlers arrived around 1810".
20th century and beyond
Souris was incorporated into PEI on November 14, 1910.
The town has many well-preserved historic buildings, including the Matthew and MacLean Building, Souris Customs House and Post Office, and the McQuaid Building.
Souris has a well-developed harbor for fishing boats and boat repair. Since the 1960s, Souris has hosted an interprovincial
ferry
A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus ...
terminal for the service to
Quebec
Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...
's
Magdalen Islands
The Magdalen Islands (, ) are a Canadian archipelago in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Since 2005, the 12-island archipelago is divided into two municipalities: the majority-francophone Municipality of Îles-de-la-Madeleine and the majority-angloph ...
. The MV ''Madeleine II'' is operated by the
Coopérative de transport maritime et aérien (CTMA).
Geography
As of 2016, the land area is 3.47 square kilometres.
The Town of Souris website states that "Prince Edward Island is part of the Appalachian Region which runs from southern Quebec and Gaspésie and includes New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland. There are many physiographic units with a peneplain that slopes from the highest point in the northwest down in a southeastward manner towards the ocean. The Prince Edward Island physiographic region is part of the Maritime Plain. The Maritime Plain runs around the coast of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia from the south shore of Chaleur Bay and includes Prince Edward Island and Îles-de-la-Madeleine."
Economy
The economy of the area is dominated by the seasonal industries of fishing and oysters, agriculture and tourism. There are also several industrial businesses and a good retail sector. The town is home to banks, pharmacies, cafés, restaurants, gas stations, a grocery store, and other independent businesses.
Demographics
In the
2021 Census of Population
The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the 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%, which is sli ...
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 ...
, Souris 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 2016, persons aged 14 years and under made up 13.7% of the population, persons 15-64 made up 57.3%, and those aged 65 years and over made up 33.6%.
In 2016, 93% of the population had English as their first official language compared to 94.5% for the province as a whole.
The same year, 88% of the population were reported to be Canadian citizens in the census.
The ethnic origins from most to least listed are: Canadian, Scottish, Irish, English, French, German, North European, Indigenous, Guatemalan, Mexican, and Czech.
Roughly 30-34% of the population has a postsecondary certificate, diploma or degree, and roughly 34% of the total labour force population aged 15 years and over was reported to work in natural resources, agriculture and related production occupations, more specifically in the industry categories of agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting.
Education
Souris is home to two schools, serving grades K-12.
Souris Regional School teaches students from grade K-12. Ecole La Belle Cloche is Souris' only Francophone school and teaches students from grades K-12.
École La-Belle-Cloche is situated in what used to be Rollo Bay Consolidated School, three minutes west of Souris in
Rollo Bay.
Sports
Souris has venues for soccer, baseball, basketball, rugby, hockey, football, ringette and other similar sports. There are also several parks in Souris.
Kitesurfing is popular in Souris and nearby beaches. Souris Beach is an intermediate-level beach, and has good wave conditions when winds blow from the Southwest. Little Harbour, Basin Head, and other nearby beaches generally have good conditions in southwest and southeast winds.
Gallery
File:CTMA Traversier ferry departing Souris, PEI.jpg, Madeleine II departing Souris
File:Souris IPE 1.JPG, The port
File:Souris IPE 2.JPG, Ferry terminal
File:Souris IPE 3.JPG, Coastline
File:Souris IPE 4.JPG, Inside of St. Mary's Church
File:St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church, Souris PEI.jpg, Nativity scene display
File:Petro-Canada gas station during a blizzard in Souris, PEI.jpg, Gas station
File:Souris, PEI.jpg, Town water tower
File:St Mary's Church Cemetery in Souris, Prince Edward Island.jpg, Church cemetery
File:Souris Regional School in Souris, Prince Edward Island.jpg, Souris Regional School
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Communities in Kings County, Prince Edward Island
Towns in Prince Edward Island
Populated places established in 1727