Charlottetown

Charlottetown, city (1991 pop. 15,396), capital and chief port of Prince Edward Island, E Canada, on the southern coast. Food processing, tourism, fishing, and farming are the main industries. The French established (c.1720) a fort and settlement across the harbor, known as Port la Joie. Charlottetown was laid out by the British in 1768 and named for Queen Charlotte, consort of George III. Its growth was slow until the middle of the 19th cent., when it became noted for the sailing vessels it built for fishing and lumber transport. In the city is the Univ. of Prince Edward Island. The

Charlottetown Conference of the Maritime Provs. (1864) was the first step toward Canadian confederation.

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Charlottetown

City (pop., 2001: 32,245), capital of Prince Edward Island, Canada. Lying on Hillsborough Bay, it originated in the 1720s as the French settlement Port La Joie. Renamed in honour of the wife of George III after the island passed to Britain in 1763, it became the capital in 1765. Its economy centres on tourism and government business, and, with its excellent harbour, it is the province's commercial centre. It is the site of Province House, where in 1864 Canada's unification was first discussed, and the Confederation Center of the Arts, a national memorial to the Fathers of Confederation.