The Guardian (Charlottetown)
EQUAL PARTNERSHIP
There’s a new partner at the disaster response planning table in P.E.I. Abegweit First Nation is taking on a formal role in the province’s emergency measures system. Abegweit, the province and federal government signed a new 10-year joint EMO...
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ACCESSIBLE TAXI READY TO ROLL
A new on-demand accessible taxi pilot project is being launched in parts of P.E.I. The project is supported by a joint investment of $216,670 from the provincial government, the City of Charlottetown, the Town of Stratford and Cornwall. It will fund a...
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WHY IS WASHINGTON STILL SO ANGRY OVER BANS ON U.S. ALCOHOL?
It has been more than a year since most provinces banned U.S. alcohol from liquor store shelves, but the United States government is still feeling the hangover. Late last month, the issue of U.S. alcohol bans by every province except Alberta and...
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INTO THE WEEDS
P.E.I. A P.E.I. researcher and a biologist have developed a machine that crushes weeds at the Harrington research farm with the ultimate goal to reduce herbicide use on potatoes. Research scientist Andrew McKenzie-Gopsill and his partner, Nicolle...
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MLA PULLS CONFLICT OF INTEREST BILL
A Progressive Conservative backbencher has walked away from a bill he introduced that would have allowed Sidney Macewen, a lobster fisherman and MLA, to serve in cabinet. In a Facebook post on Wednesday, Georgetown-pownal MLA Brendan Curran said he...
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P.E.I. FACING MOUNTING FINANCIAL PRESSURES
P.E.I. Across the Island, municipalities of all sizes are experiencing growing populations, rising costs and aging infrastructure. But while they all face similar difficulties, not all have the same resources needed to face them with ease,...
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READY FOR THE SEASON
A couple of well prepared and comfortable onlookers watch as a trap-laden boat heads for the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the lobster grounds along P.E.I.’S north shore on Tuesday. The season got underway a few days late on the north shore because of...
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FEDERAL FUNDING IS CLAWED BACK
Charlottetown is losing $1.26 million in federal funding after it failed to meet part of its commitments. The city signed a deal with the federal government in early 2024 for more than $10 million in funding to improve its housing development...
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MILITARY RECRUITMENT SOARS AFTER PAY RAISES, SOVEREIGNTY THREATS
The Canadian Armed Forces has recorded its highest recruitment levels in over three decades, enrolling 7,310 personnel in the last fiscal year. That’s up 600 new members year-over-year. Officials said the new numbers show strong or stable recruitment...
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DELAYED SEASON
Vessels are lined up at the wharf at Malpeque Harbour where the lobster fishing season, originally set to open today, has been delayed by weather and dredging concerns. Fishing in LFA 24 is now tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, with a conference call...
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FIRST-NAME PHARMACY
The first drugstore at Royalty Crossing in more than 20 years, Pike’s Pharmacy, began operations on April 7 with a grand opening set for later in May. Dan Pike, from Nackawic, N.B., but based in Fredericton, owns three other pharmacies in New...
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CHILLY START TO SEASON
Visiting P.E.I. for their first time, Beth Best, left, and her husband, Brad, from Ukiah, Calif., head back to Victory Cruise Line’s Victory 1, the first cruise ship of the year at Port Charlottetown on a cool morning on April 20. As part of a weeklong...
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FREE BOOK PROGRAM CUT
ATignish mother cannot understand why the P.E.I. government cut funding to a program that provides children with free books. Brenna Cowan said both of her daughters loved the Imagination Library program which sent them a book every month and was an...
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READY TO PLAY
STRATFORD, P.E.I. - Lisa Murphy said her world literally blew up when she started playing pickleball eight years ago. Murphy was on hand April 13 as the Atlantic Pickleball Club in Stratford threw open its doors and gave its members a sneak peek at...
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‘SCENARIOS ARE ALL EITHER BAD OR VERY, VERY BAD’
D.C. Grocery prices are elevated, gas prices are high, job markets are cooling, and U.S. President Donald Trump is sticking to his tariff plans while the world eyes a shaky ceasefire with Iran. The truce between the U.S. and Iran has raised hopes and...
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PAINFUL WAITS
Kali Dawson has a family doctor, unlike tens of thousands of Islanders. But the mother of three says she has still been forced to spend hours in the Queen Elizabeth Hospital emergency department just to access potentially vital care for her...
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A SENSE OF STEWARDSHIP
P.E.I. The principal of Mount Stewart Consolidated School is helping her students understand how they fit in the environment around them. For the past 10 years, Mary Kendrick has invited the nearby Abegweit First Nation to run its Salmon Are Our...
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P.E.I. FORECASTS $410M DEFICIT IN 2026-27 BUDGET
The P.E.I. government has tabled a spring budget that projects a $410-million deficit for the year ahead as Finance Minister Jill Burridge pledged to protect spending on health and education. The expected deficit was smaller than the projected deficit...
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VICTORIA ROW WILL BE READY FOR SUMMER
Victoria Row in Charlottetown will be cleared of construction and open for pedestrians in May. The block on Richmond Street, between Queen and Great George streets, with original architecture from the 1800s, is home to local restaurants, artisan gift...
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P.E.I.’S ANALOGUE SHIFT
Every word you’re about to read was originally typed on an Olivetti Underwood Lettera 3I typewriter. Every interview was taped on a Genexxa Micro-84 micro cassette recorder. And every photograph, taken on a Canon EOS Rebel 2000 with Flic-film Ultrapan...
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FEWER CANADIANS CROSSING BORDER — AND DUTY-FREE SHOPS ARE PAYING
Canadians still have their elbows up when it comes to travelling south of the border, and those fewer trips are having a disastrous effect on a key business: duty-free shopping. Tariff spats, Donald Trump’s “51st state” rhetoric and encouragement by...
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STACKING UP CHEVY’S 2026 CORVETTE ZR1X TO ITS RIVALS
I have an existential question for everyone who loves Corvettes — owners, engineers, hell, Chevrolet itself: what is Corvette’s purpose? I’m not being rhetorical. Who is its intended clientele, and what exactly do they want from their super(-ish) car?...
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PASSPORT PRINTER COMING
Passport requests will no longer have to be sent off P.E.I. after new equipment arrives in the province this fall. Employment and Social Development Canada told The Guardian that it will be installing a passport printer inside the Charlottetown...
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NEW COLLEGE CREATED
The P.E.I. College of Nursing and Midwifery officially launched on April 1, bringing multiple nursing and midwifery professions under one regulatory body. The new college is now responsible for overseeing licensed practical nurses, registered nurses,...
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A NATURAL CAUSE
Anon-profit organization in P.E.I. has just purchased one of its biggest ever acreages of land near Souris. The Island Nature Trust reached an agreement with the landowner to see it protect 219 acres after developers started showing interest on the...
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HILLSBOROUGH BRIDGE WORK WILL MEAN CLOSURES
Drivers can expect delays on the Hillsborough Bridge in May and June as the P.E.I. government carries out repairs on the structure. Tenders are out now and will close on April 8 when a contractor is chosen. Darrell Evans, manager of design and bridge...
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FARMERS MARKET STALLS
The restoration of the Charlottetown Farmers’ Market building on Belvedere Avenue is on hold. The market building, which was significantly damaged by fire on Christmas Day, is on Crown land. Any work to the structure, therefore, is subject to federal...
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COLLECT YOUR EMPTIES
Islanders will begin receiving full refunds on beverage containers starting April 1, as P.E.I. rolls out major changes to its bottle deposit program. The change is part of a shift to a new system known as extended producer responsibility (EPR), which...
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WEIGHING POLICE OFFICER DUTY
Closing arguments in the Tyler Knockwood hearing offered conflicting accounts of the day leading up to Knockwood’s death. Knockwood, a 34-year-old Charlottetown man, was found dead by suicide inside of Province House in January 2023. He had repeated...
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‘POOR JUDGMENT’ SHOWN
Former P.E.I. trade minister Gilles Arsenault has been removed from the Progressive Conservative caucus, pending an investigation by the province’s conflict of interest commissioner, Premier Rob Lantz told reporters on Monday. The move comes after...
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JEWISH LEADERS WARN OF IRAN-INSPIRED TERROR THREAT
The Jewish community throughout North America has faced a shocking 900 per cent rise in antisemitic incidents since 2014, according to the Anti-defamation League data. Since the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack in Israel, synagogues, community centres,...
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LEGISLATURE IN MOURNING
A memorial to Mark McLane, the former minister of health, sits atop his desk in the P.E.I. legislature on Thursday. Each MLA, regardless of party, took a turn sharing stories about McLane, reflecting on his work ethic and his ever-present sense of...
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‘INVESTING IN ISLANDERS’
The Rob Lantz-led government appeared to downplay concerns about largescale public service cuts in its speech from the throne on Wednesday, despite expectations that the province’s deficit will continue to grow. A speech from the throne often outlines...
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‘AWESOME COLLEAGUE, AND AWESOME FRIEND’
Friends, family and colleagues gathered in Charlottetown to honour the life and legacy of Mark Mclane. A funeral was held Tuesday at Belvedere Funeral Home for the late cabinet minister, followed by a public celebration of life at the Delta Hotels...
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P.E.I. SEEKS BATTERY STORAGE OPERATOR
The province is seeking to hire a private operator to establish one or more battery energy storage facilities to help address the capacity shortages of P.E.I.'S electricity grid, according to Premier Rob Lantz. Lantz revealed his government has issued...
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MOVING ON
CORNWALL, P.E.I. — After more than 11 years, a Cornwall councillor has resigned. Elaine Barnes announced her decision on Facebook on March 17, saying she was grateful to her fellow councillors and the town’s dedicated staff. “It has been a pleasure...
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CANADA’S LANGUAGE WATCHDOG TRIPPED OVER A DOG’S TAIL ...
It was not Ai-generated, computer-translated from English or the work of anglophones. The Valentine’s Day message was written by real, live francophones — and, yes, they knew some would read it as a reference to part of the male anatomy. Internal...
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READY FOR RETIREMENT
Freddy Doiron, owner of the By the Bay Family Restaurant in North Rustico, has sold the operation after almost 30 years of feeding customers. “Did I make a million? No, but I made a pretty good decent living and provided a service to the community,”...
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TAKING IN THE TRASH
A unique energy facility is getting a major overhaul in Charlottetown. P.E.I. Energy Systems sits on the Charlottetown shoreline southwest of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. Since the 1980s it has provided heating and cooling to buildings throughout...
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GREETINGS ACROSS THE ATLANTIC
Mike Scott has found numerous items washed up along the coast of his home in Scotland, but one from Prince Edward Island stood out. Two weeks ago, Scott was walking his dogs in St. Cyrus, just south of Aberdeen, when he noticed a wine bottle bobbing...
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COSTS RISING, TRUST FALLING
Aformer Health P.E.I. board member says Prince Edward Island’s health budget has nearly doubled, while administration costs and staffing has surged, with little to show for it. “The budget has ballooned from $680 million in 2018 to $1.24 billion in...
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Survivors, supporters step up
Chris Mcisaac was first diagnosed with non-hodgkin lymphoma in 2009 on his 41st birthday, while his wife was six months pregnant with their daughter. After completing 10 rounds of chemotherapy, he believed he was cancer-free before it returned two...
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OFFICIAL INTRIGUED BY ANTI-DRONE SYSTEM FROM TRIO AT HEART OF EXPLOSIVES TRIAL
A senior official at the Department of National Defence says he wants to learn more about the anti-drone system three men charged in an Ontario gun and explosives investigation are working on, once their legal problems are resolved. But developing...
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ROLE MODEL
Charlottetown senior Irene Burge says keeping a positive attitude and eating healthy are the secrets to making it to 95 years of age. Burge, who celebrated her 95th birthday March 10, is still very active for her age. She gets driven to the UPEI gym...
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RED TAPE RUNAROUND
Tracy Belsher might not get to open her small gallery and antique shop for the tourism season this year after finding herself caught in government red tape. Belsher is filing an appeal this week with the Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission,...
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New P.E.I.-N.S. ferry on pause over docking: MP
The construction of the new ferry that is intended to replace the MV Holiday Island has been put on pause, says Cardigan MP Kent Macdonald. The Holiday Island was scrapped following an onboard fire in 2022. Transport Canada, which owns the ferries and...
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Risks flagged for children, staff
Front-line mental health staff say plans to relocate P.E.I.’S only child and youth psychiatric unit puts young people at risk of “traumatizing” and “overwhelming” interactions. Staff have been raising concerns for months about plans to relocate the...
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STAYING FOCUSED ON PARALYMPICS
Menno Arendz anticipated transitioning from athlete to coach. The process, however, went a little faster than expected after retiring as an athlete in 2015. “To be honest, I kind of stepped away from the sport and a week later, my coach at the time...
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RUSSIA MAY SEE CHANCE TO BENEFIT FROM MIDEAST WAR
For Russia, the assassination of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was the latest blow to President Vladimir Putin’s network of anti-western partners, and it exposed Moscow’s diminished influence on the world stage, from the Middle East to...
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ANGELS IN ALEXANDRA
Fran Young, left, and Kenny Zakem, co-executive directors of the Santa’s Angels board of directors, discuss plans for a new property in Alexandra, P.E.I., which features 125 acres of space and will enable the group to expand its programs for vulnerable...
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CONTROLLING THE BURN
Some hot new technology is on the way to P.E.I.’S firefighting school. The fire school in Miltonvale Park has had a live fire simulator for years, but it uses wood pallets and straw that are lit by an oil burner. It makes a lot of smoke, and the...
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AN HONOUR TO COMPETE
Mark Arendz remembers how P.E.I. rallied around him and his family. That support still resonates today and serves as motivation for one of Canada’s most decorated Paralympians. At the time, a young Arendz was injured in a farm accident that resulted...
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A TEAM OF THREE
Team P.E.I. skip Tyler Smith follows a shot during play at the 2026 Montana’s Brier in St. John’s. The Smith rink, which is playing in the Canadian men’s curling championship with three players, as second stone Chris Gallant was unable to attend due to...
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STRONG SKI SEASON
BROOKVALE — P.E.I.’S ski hill is enjoying a successful 2025-26 winter season. Erin Curley, the operations lead at the Mark Arendz Provincial Ski Park at Brookvale, said officials will not know just how successful until the end of the season. “We...
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IS TRUMP RUNNING OUT OF TARIFF CARDS TO PLAY AHEAD OF CUSMA REVIEW?
Even the highest court in the land could not convince Donald Trump to stray from his love of tariffs. The U.S. president’s yearlong imposition of tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) was brought to a halt by the...
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SHARING A SMILE
When Mike Stratton was a kid, he and his friends used to draw funny pictures to make each other laugh. But as he grew up and got into music, drawing took a back seat to other hobbies and working adult life. About five years ago, the Marshfield man...
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BODYBUILDER CHASES INTERNATIONAL GLORY
Charlottetown bodybuilder Tommy Leclair hopes to inspire other men over 60 and win gold at his first international competition. The 65-year-old has been training for the past three years for the 2026 NPC Worldwide Arnold Amateur Bodybuilding...
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WHAT’S NEXT?
Brett Gallant has not had – and will not have – a lot of time to reflect on becoming P.E.I.’S most recent Olympic gold medallist. Gallant, who grew up in Charlottetown and now lives in Chestermere, Alta., plays second stone with the Brad Jacobs rink in...
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ANOTHER DAY DIGGING OUT
A snowplow clears the parking lot of an apartment building on University Avenue in Charlottetown. Schools were closed and most businesses were delaying opening until midday as Islanders spent the morning digging out from the latest blast of winter on...
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CHINESE COMMUNITY WELCOMES NEW YEAR
The Chinese Society of P.E.I. marked its third annual spring festival celebration, drawing thousands of people to an all-day Lunar New Year celebration at Eastlink Centre in Charlottetown on Feb. 21. Volunteer Jen Du said the spring festival, also...
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‘SECRET’ MEETING LED TO HOWE BRIDGE DEAL
The key piece of the puzzle that saw Canada pay the entire bill for the Gordie Howe International Bridge — thus allowing the massive project to proceed — came at a secret meeting. At least, it was supposed to be secret. In an interview with Postmedia...
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CHEERING FOR CANADA
All decked out in their Canadian attire, from left, Treena Doucette, Jill Lantz, Karen Watts and Debbie Lamont, cheer on Canada in the gold medal women’s hockey game at the Olympic Winter Games. The U.S. claimed gold and Canada silver in the game,...
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Lobster fishing MLA trapped by rules
Public statements from P.E.I.’S newest cabinet minister and from Premier Rob Lantz about altering the province’s conflict of interest laws, as well as seeking an exception to federal fishing policies, have drawn a rebuke from the P.E.I. Fishermen’s...
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P.E.I. is building ‘resiliency’
SUMMERSIDE Premier Rob Lantz brought a message of economic optimism in the face of adversity to a packed house of business leaders in Summerside. Lantz, who secured the provincial PC leadership and, by extension, the office of premier just last week,...
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FINDING AND CLOSING GAPS
P.E.I. will start collecting voluntary race and ethnicity information from residents applying for or renewing their P.E.I. health cards, beginning April 1. The race and ethnicity data collection project is being led by the provincial Department of...
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JACK FROST FUN
People enjoy a horse and wagon ride at the Jack Frost Winterfest in Charlottetown. Activities for the annual children’s winter festival took place during the Islander Day weekend with events for passholders at Mark Arendz P.E.I. Provincial Ski Park in...
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70 YEARS OF EASTER SEALS
Della Parker, left, chair of the 2026 Easter Seals committee, says the goal this year is to raise $70,000. With her is Lisa Parent, a former Rotary exchange student and mother of Rowan MacDonald, right, the 2026 Easter Seals ambassador.
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CONNECTOR OPENS
Moments before the barriers were removed from Water Street and Macewen Road, Summerside’s latest infrastructure development was already generating tangible excitement. As city staff, members of the local fire department and residents celebrated the...
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P.E.I. SCHOOLS LACK TRAINING, TRACKING
An examination of complaints of sexual misconduct against education staff has identified several systemic weaknesses and policy shortcomings but has found school staff and administrators handled complaints against former substitute teacher Matthew...
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HEARING UNDERWAY ABOUT 2023 DEATH
A hearing looking into a complaint from the widow of a man who died by suicide is underway in Charlottetown. On Monday, an adjudication began to hear from witnesses in relation to the death of Tyler Knockwood, a Charlottetown man who died in January...
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ROB LANTZ SWORN IN AGAIN
Rob Lantz has been sworn in as P.E.I. premier again. Lantz won a hotly contested Progressive Conservative leadership race at a party convention at Charlottetown’s Eastlink Centre on Saturday, capturing 2,889 votes to Mark Ledwell’s 2,542. This gave...
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FALLS ARE KILLING MORE OLDER CANADIANS
Had she known the northwestern Quebec city of Val d’or would be blanketed in snow in early November, Montrealer Anne Renaud would definitely not have worn her UGG boots, “which have absolutely no traction,” to visit her boyfriend there. The morning of...
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A BUILDING PAST ITS PRIME
The president of the Belfast Rec Centre said the time has come to replace the social gathering hub of the community. Clifford McKenna and the board of directors are proceeding with plans to knock down the aging steel roof arena and replace it with a...
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MISINFORMATION AND HARASSMENT
Health P.E.I. CEO Melanie Fraser said members of her leadership team should not be held responsible for decisions made by the P.E.I. government and suggested she is concerned about “targeting and politics” focused on leaders of the health...
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OLYMPIC CONNECTION
APrince Edward Island athlete is about to make Team Canada history at the Olympic Winter Games in Italy. Brett Gallant, who grew up in Charlottetown, will be the first Canadian curler to compete in two different events at the same Olympic Games over...
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