Island Province

Each year, on a terrace below the Chateau Laurier leading from Plaza Bridge to Major's Hill Park, the federal government puts a series of signs up on a given theme for several months. This year the theme has been the 150th anniversary of the entrance of Prince Edward Island into Confederation as a province.

Early on, like everywhere else, PEI had its own railroad.

Mi'kmak peoples lived on the island before white settlement, and still live there.

Island women volunteered to serve as nurses in times of war.

In PEI, Acadians met to choose a distinctive flag for their culture.

Earlier than one might expect, immigration from parts of the world that weren't European had their own influence on PEI, such as a Lebanese community in the 1880s.

PEI is on the forefront of wind farming in the country.

Black islanders made their own lives on the Island before Confederation.

Mi'kmaq men signed up for war service at a higher rate than other communities on the Island during the First World War.

Anne of Green Gables is one of the great heroines of Canadian literature, bringing the Island to life all on her own. L.M. Montgomery's books have been adapted for television and stage, and Charlottetown stages a production each year.

The Confederation Bridge spans the Northumberland Strait to New Brunswick, giving PEI a fixed link to the mainland. This photograph dates to the time of its construction.

In 1993, women held the five most influential positions in provincial politics- the only time in Canadian history

Before the days of the ice breakers in the early twentieth century, this was how you got to and from the mainland in the winter.

150 years on, and an integral part of the country. I've been to its shores twice and fell in love with it from the start.