This page gives background to our profiles and images for places-of-worship in Prince-Edward-Island. We have visited 303 places of worship in the province of Prince Edward Island (postal abbreviation PE) and have a few left to go to.
Prince Edward Island (PEI; French: Île-du-Prince-Édouard) is one of the three Maritime Provinces of Canada. It is the smallest province of Canada in both land area and population, but is the most densely populated (25.25/km2 (65.4/sq mi)). Part of the traditional lands of the Mi’kmaq, it became a British colony in the 1700s and was federated into Canada as a province in 1873. Its capital is Charlottetown. According to Statistics Canada, the province of PEI has an estimated 159,625 residents1 as of July 1, 2020.
Prince Edward Island was originally called Abegweit or Epekwitk in the Mi’kmaq language of the indigenous peoples of the area. This name roughly means land cradled in the waves. When the French settlers arrived from France, the named this part of Acadie Île Saint-Jean (St. John’s Island). In 1798 the island was named Prince Edward Island, for Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and later the father of Queen Victoria.
Demographics
Historical Populations2
1 PEI Population Report (princeedwardisland.ca) www.princeedwardisland.ca/sites/default/files/publications/pt_pop_rep_1.pdf, pg.1
2Source: Statistics Canada[ “Population of Prince Edward Island since 1851”
| Year | Pop. | Year | Pop. | Year | Pop. |
| 1861 | 80,857 | 1911 | 93,728 | 1971 | 111,635 |
| 1871 | 94,021 | 1921 | 88,615 | 1981 | 122,506 |
| 1881 | 108,891 | 1931 | 88,038 | 1991 | 129,765 |
| 1891 | 109,078 | 1941 | 95,047 | 2001 | 135,294 |
| 1901 | 103,259 | 1951 | 98,429 | 2011 | 140,204 |
| 1961 | 104,629 |
Language
Over 90% of islanders are English speaking. The only part of the province to have a Francophone majority is the Evangeline Region, Lot 15, in Prince County.
Religion
Traditionally the population has been evenly divided between Catholic and Protestant affiliations. The 2001 census indicated number of adherents for the Roman Catholic Church with 63,240 (47%) and various Protestant churches with 57,805 (43%). This included the United Church of Canada with 26,570 (20%); the Presbyterian Church with 7,885 (6%) and the Anglican Church of Canada with 6,525 (5%); those with no religion were among the lowest of the provinces with 8,705 (6.5%)1. The Island province is home to one of the largest number of Free Church of Scotland buildings in Canada, though attendance at many of these churches is very low today.
PEI Places of Worship Photo Organization
Prince Edward Island is divided into 3 counties: (west to east) Prince, Queens and Kings. These county divisions have been carried over to allow grouping of photos and site data.
1 http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/nhs-enm/2011/dp-pd/prof/index.cfm?Lang=E (accessed December 6, 2021).