‘Acadie’, as it’s known, is the great cultural surprise of Prince Edward Island!
This is because Acadian cultural heritage exists virtually everywhere here, from shore to shore to shore.
We truly are île Acadie – the Acadian Island.
The French regime, from which Acadie evolved, began in 1720 in the most heavily-settled places such as Havre Saint-Pierre, Malpec, Trois-Rivières, and at Port-la-Joye, once the capital of then-Île Saint-Jean, situated immediately across Charlottetown Harbour from the current capital, the City of Charlottetown.
There were originally no fewer than 54 French place names across the Island, from Anse a Dubuisson, anglicized as today’s Curry’s Cove, to Tranchemontagne, now North Lake. And there are still 27 remaining French place names, from Abram-Village to Souris.
Also today, a quarter of the Island’s population is of Acadian or French ancestry. Through their language, performing and visual arts, storytelling, cuisine, craft making, places of heritage interpretation, and enduring family names, Acadie is alive and vibrant today!