| Summerside | |
| Official Name: | City of Summerside |
| Settlement Type: | City |
| Motto: | Small city. Big opportunity. |
| Image Blank Emblem: | Summerside, Prince Edward Island logo.gif |
| Pushpin Map: | Canada PEI |
| Pushpin Mapsize: | 220 |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | Canada |
| Subdivision Type1: | Province |
| Subdivision Name1: | Prince Edward Island |
| Subdivision Type2: | County |
| Subdivision Name2: | Prince County |
| Leader Title: | Mayor |
| Leader Name: | Dan Kutcher |
| Leader Title1: | Governing body |
| Leader Name1: | Summerside City Council |
| Established Title: | Founded |
| Established Date: | 1800s |
| Established Title1: | Incorporated |
| Established Date1: | April 1, 1877 (town) |
| Established Title2: | |
| Established Date2: | April 1, 1995 (city) |
| Area Total Km2: | 28.49 |
| Area Metro Km2: | 92.43 |
| Population Footnotes: | [1] |
| Population As Of: | 2016 |
| Population Total: | 14,829 |
| Population Metro: | 16,587 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Population Density Metro Km2: | auto |
| Timezone: | Atlantic (AST) |
| Utc Offset: | -4 |
| Timezone Dst: | ADT |
| Utc Offset Dst: | -3 |
| Coordinates: | 46.3933°N -63.7903°W |
| Elevation M: | Sea level to 29 |
| Elevation Ft: | 0 to 95.1 |
| Postal Code Type: | Canadian Postal code |
| Postal Code: | C1N |
| Blank Name: | Telephone Exchange |
| Blank1 Name: | Total private dwellings |
| Blank1 Info: | 5,981 |
| Blank2 Name: | Mean household income |
| Blank2 Info: | $38,688 |
| Blank3 Name: | NTS Map |
| Blank4 Name: | GNBC Code |
| Blank4 Info: | BADSZ |
Summerside is a Canadian city in Prince County, Prince Edward Island. It is the second largest city in the province and the primary service centre for the western part of the island.
Summerside was officially incorporated as a town on April 1, 1877.[2] On April 1, 1995, the Town of Summerside amalgamated with the incorporated communities of St. Eleanors and Wilmot.[3] At the same time, the amalgamated Summerside annexed portions of the Community of Sherbrooke and the Lot 17 township.[3] It was PEI's second incorporated city, after the provincial capital of Charlottetown.
Summerside is named for an inn owned by George Linkletter II, called Summer Side House.[4]
The largest single employer within the city is the Summerside Tax Centre, a Government of Canada agency which principally processes the Goods and Services Tax (GST).
The Slemon Park business park (formerly a military airbase, CFB Summerside) hosts a concentration of several aerospace and transportation companies in former military buildings; StandardAero (formerly Vector Aerospace/Atlantic Turbines) repairs and overhauls Gas Turbine aircraft engines, Testori Americas produces interiors for aircraft and mass transit surface vehicles, and Honeywell manufactures and repairs parts for aircraft.
Amalgamated Dairies Limited is based in Summerside, founded in 1953 by six dairies as a co-operative and owned by dairy producers.[5]
The outlying community of New Annan is home to the operations of Cavendish Farms, Prince Edward Island's largest private sector employer. Cavendish Farms maintains two large frozen foods processing plants in New Annan. Other outlying communities, such as Borden-Carleton have important employers for Summerside residents.
Since the closure of CFB Summerside in 1990, the city has been aggressive in courting new business opportunities and has created an Economic Development Office for the purpose of encouraging investment in the city.[6] CFB Summerside is now the location of the Summerside Airport.
The Summerside area was at one time home to the world's largest concentration of Tame Silver Fox farms. This is highlighted at the PEI Fox Museum in the Summerside Armoury, a heritage building acquired by the City of Summerside in 1996.[7]
The Summerside City Council is governed by a mayor and eight councillors who represent geographic areas called wards. The current mayor is Dan Kutcher.[8]
The Summerside Police Department is responsible for law enforcement within the city.[9] The East Prince Detachment of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) is located in North Bedeque, southeast of the city, however its only responsibility is to patrol, with the Summerside Police Department, the provincial Route 1A and Route 2 highways which pass along the east and north sides of the city.
For elections to the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island, Summerside is covered by Summerside-Wilmot and Summerside-South Drive.
For elections to the House of Commons of Canada, Summerside is covered by Egmont.
Summerside has seven English public schools: four elementary, two junior high, and one senior high school. The English Language School Board[10] has an office in the city.
The city also has one French public school operated by the Commission scolaire de langue française.
Holland College, Prince Edward Island's community college system, maintains three facilities in Summerside;
The College of Piping and Celtic Performing Arts of Canada is also located in Summerside.
In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Summerside had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of 28.21km2, it had a population density of in 2021.[11]
| 2021[12] | 2016[13] | 2011[14] | 2006[15] | 2001[16] | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| European | 13,830 | 13,735 | 13,840 | 13,895 | 14,065 | ||||||
| South Asian | 480 | 25 | 65 | 15 | 0 | ||||||
| Southeast Asian | 455 | 230 | 85 | 10 | 30 | ||||||
| Indigenous | 325 | 220 | 170 | 130 | 115 | ||||||
| East Asian | 210 | 120 | 115 | 25 | 20 | ||||||
| African | 125 | 90 | 0 | 120 | 75 | ||||||
| Middle Eastern | 80 | 20 | 0 | 10 | 30 | ||||||
| Latin American | 20 | 50 | 60 | 0 | 0 | ||||||
| Other/multiracial | 30 | 10 | 0 | 60 | 0 | ||||||
| Total responses | 15,545 | 14,480 | 14,400 | 14,270 | 14,325 | ||||||
| Total population | 16,001 | 14,839 | 14,751 | 14,500 | 14,654 | ||||||
The City of Summerside operates the only municipally-owned electric utility in Prince Edward Island. After buying Charlottetown Light & Power in 1918, Maritime Electric consolidated electric distribution on the island. The company offered to take over the operations in Summerside, but backed down after citizens rejected various offers. The Summerside distribution grid has had an inter-connection with the Maritime Electric transmission grid since 1961.
Similar to Maritime Electric, Summerside Electric purchases the majority of its electricity from NB Power. In 2008, 76.5% of its power was acquired from NB Power. Although the Summerside Electric Commission has its own diesel engines at the Harvard Street Generating Station which can operate for several days independently of NB Power's supply, it is only used in exceptional circumstances such as when the NB Power or Maritime Electric transmission grids that feed the city are interrupted. They also run their engines on the last day of every month, for maintenance reasons and they sell that power back to NB Power.
In 2007 the city signed a 20-year agreement with a private wind energy company to supply about 23% of its electricity from a private wind farm in West Cape.[17]
Construction started on a city owned wind farm in 2009 comprising four wind turbines, each capable of producing 3 megawatts of electricity. The wind farm became fully operational in late 2009 and was immediately tied into the city's power. This is Canada's first municipally owned and operated wind farm. On an average day the wind farm produces about 25% of the electricity for the entire city. At times when electricity usage in the city is low and the winds are high the wind farm has potential to produce more power than the city consumes.
The city is a supporter of clean electric vehicles. As of September 2013 there are over 10 electric car charging stations in the city with another 30 to be installed in the coming months. There are more charging stations per capita in Summerside than any other city in Canada.[18]
The Prince County Hospital, located in the city's north end, is the main referral hospital in the western part of the province.Island Emergency Medical Services operates two Advanced Life Support Paramedic Ambulances 24/7 from its base downtown.
Summerside has a humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dfb) with warm but somewhat moderate summers. It has cold winters with heavy snowfall, with some maritime moderation compared to areas farther inland.
The highest temperature ever recorded in Summerside was 33.7C on 15 July 2013. The coldest temperature ever recorded was -32.2C on 12 January 1930.
The Summerside Raceway[19] is a standardbred harness racing track which is believed to be the oldest operating racing track in Canada, having opened in 1886.[20] It is adjacent to Credit Union Place,[21] the largest indoor sports facility in the province with a large hockey arena seating 4000, a bowling alley, a 25-metre swimming pool and other fitness and meeting facilities. Other attractions include the Harbourfront Theatre, the College of Piping and Celtic Performing Arts[22] the Silver Fox Curling & Yacht Club,[23] the Summerside Golf & Country Club,[24] the PEI Sports Hall of Fame[25] and Spinnakers' Landing.[26]
The city has redeveloped several waterfront industrial sites, abandoned by the railway and marine terminal during the 1990s, into new parkland. A major reconstruction of the west end seawall has resulted in a new waterfront boardwalk for residents and visitors.
The former post office on Summer Street was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1983. The former railway station, designed by architect Charles Benjamin Chappell[27] and built in 1927, was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 2007.[28]
The fish industry has also thrived recently and created a whole new division of tourism industry. According to 2016 demographics of the city, most of the tourism in recent years, is from families just wanting to go sail out on the ocean, and catch some fish to sell to a market, or bring home.
Notable sporting events held by Summerside include:
Summerside was home for three years to the fictional Anne Shirley of the Anne of Green Gables series by Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery. Anne resides in the town while principal of Summerside High School, in the book Anne of Windy Poplars.
Summerside has one radio station licensed to it, FM 102.1 CJRW-FM, which plays an adult contemporary format. CJRW is the only commercial radio station in the province whose studios are located outside of Charlottetown. Summerside is otherwise served by media based in Charlottetown. CBC Television has its Prince County bureau situated in Summerside.
Summerside's weekly newspaper is the Journal Pioneer. The province's French weekly newspaper, La Voix acadienne, is also based in the city.
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