Last updated: March 2021

Under the PEI Municipal Government Act (MGA), which came into effect on December 23, 2017, the following services will be mandatory for all municipalities:

• Fire protection
• Municipal land use planning services, including official plans and bylaws; and
• Emergency measures planning

In addition, it is a requirement that each municipality establishes and maintains regular office hours within 5 years of the Act coming into force. Further, the municipal offices must be open to serve the public for no less than 20 hours per week (MGA – Subsection 85(2) clause (b)).

An amendment to the MGA recently came into effect (Dec 4, 2020) that allows office sharing:

Page 48 Section 85 (3) Exception – shared office

Despite clause (1)(a), a council may designate a place outside the municipality as its municipal office where the office is shared with another municipality as its municipal office. 2016,c.44,s.85; 2020,c.76,s.11.

Given the small size of many municipalities on PEI, various options are actively being explored, including amalgamation, in order to meet the requirements of the MGA.

• Land use planning –  Given our proximity to large population centers, there’s a likelihood that 10 years down the road this area will feel more urban than rural
• Municipal Tax rates, how they could potentially increase even without the addition of services
• Representation on the amalgamated Municipal Council 

I thought there might be some useful geographical information available on Island municipalities to better inform the discussion. Given that what I found seemed a bit piecemeal, and that I recently started learning how to create interactive maps using leaflet, I thought I would try and see what I could put together. 

The data presented in the maps below is for information purposes only.
Data has been pulled from the following sources:

• 2016 Census, Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, and census subdivisions. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 98-402-X2016001.
• 2016 Census, Boundary Files
• PEI GIS Data Catalog
• 2020 PEI Municipal Boundaries Map
• PEI Property Charge Rates
• Federation of PEI Municipalities (FPEI) – Municipal Directory

MAP 1 – Census Divisions – 2016 Populations

MAP 2 – Municipal Boundaries – Estimated 2016 Populations 

MAP 3 – MGA Requirements: Official Plan

MAP 4 – Amalgamation Scenarios 

“ an estimated population of more than 4,000 persons but not more than 14,999 persons, and a total property assessment value of more than $200,000,000 but not more than $749,999,999.”