<P> Prince Edward Island (PEI or P.E.I.; French: Île - du - Prince - Édouard) is a province of Canada consisting of the island of the same name, as well as several much smaller islands . Prince Edward Island is one of the three Maritime Provinces and is the smallest province in both land area and population . It is part of the traditional lands of the Mi'kmaq, and became a British colony in the 1700s and was federated into Canada as a province in 1873 . Its capital is Charlottetown . According to the 2016 census, the province of Prince Edward Island has 142,907 residents . </P> <P> The backbone of the economy is farming; it produces 25% of Canada's potatoes . The island has several informal names: "Garden of the Gulf," referring to the pastoral scenery and lush agricultural lands throughout the province; and "Birthplace of Confederation" or "Cradle of Confederation", referring to the Charlottetown Conference in 1864, although PEI did not join Confederation until 1873, when it became the seventh Canadian province . Historically, PEI is one of Canada's older settlements and demographically still reflects older immigration to the country, with Celtic, Anglo - Saxon and French surnames being dominant to this day . </P> <P> PEI is located about 200 kilometres (120 miles) north of Halifax, Nova Scotia and 600 kilometres (370 miles) east of Quebec City . It consists of the main island and 231 minor islands . Altogether, the entire province has a land area of 5,686.03 km (2,195.39 sq mi). The main island is 5,620 km (2,170 sq mi) in size, slightly larger than the U.S. state of Delaware . It is the 104th - largest island in the world and Canada's 23rd - largest island . PEI is the only subnational jurisdiction of North America outside the Caribbean to have no mainland territory, and the only such jurisdiction to have no land boundary . </P> <P> The island is named for Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn (1767--1820), the fourth son of King George III and the father of Queen Victoria . Prince Edward has been called "Father of the Canadian Crown ." The following island landmarks are also named after the Duke of Kent: </P>

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