| City of Summerside | |
|---|---|
| — City — | |
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| Motto: The Garden of the Gulf | |
  City of Summerside
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| Coordinates: 46°23′36″N 63°47′25″W / 46.39333°N 63.79028°W | |
| Country | Canada |
| Province | Prince Edward Island |
| County | Prince County |
| Founded | 1800s |
| Incorporated | April 1, 1877 (town) |
| April 1, 1995 (city) | |
| Government | |
| - Mayor | Basil Stewart |
| - Councillors | Bruce MacDougall, Garth Lyle, Vance Bridges, Brent Gallant, Ron Dowling, Norma Diane McColeman, Barry Chappell, Cory Thomas |
| Area | |
| - Total | 28.36 km2 (10.9 sq mi) |
| Elevation | Sea level to 29 m (0 to 95.1 ft) |
| Population (2006)[1] | |
| - Total | 14,500 |
| - Density | 511.3/km2 (1,324.2/sq mi) |
| Time zone | Atlantic (AST) (UTC-4) |
| - Summer (DST) | ADT (UTC-3) |
| Canadian Postal code | C1N |
| Area code(s) | 902 |
| Telephone Exchange | 303, 315, 432, 436, 438, 439, 724, 888, 954 |
| Total private dwellings | 5,981 |
| Mean household income | $38,688 |
| NTS Map | 011L05 |
| GNBC Code | BADSZ |
| Website | http://www.city.summerside.pe.ca |
Summerside (2006 pop. 14,500[1]) is a Canadian city in Prince County, Prince Edward Island. It is the second largest city in the province and the principal municipality for the western part of the island. Summerside was officially incorporated as a town on April 1, 1877, and reincorporated as a city on April 1, 1995.
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Economy
The largest single employer within the city is the Canada Revenue Agency, which administers the Goods and Services Tax (GST) from its Summerside Tax Centre.
The Slemon Park business park (formerly CFB Summerside hosts a concentration of several aerospace and transportation companies in former military buildings; Vector Aersopace Engine Services Atlantic (formerly 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.
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. The outlying community of Borden-Carleton has several important employers for Summerside residents, including McCain Foods Limited which operates a frozen foods processing plant.
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.[2]
The Summerside area was at one time home to the world's largest concentration of Tame Silver Fox farms. This is highlighted at the Silver Fox Museum.[3]
Government
The city is governed by a mayor and 8 councillors who represent geographic areas called wards. The current mayor is Basil Stewart, a former police officer, who won his eighth consecutive term in November 2006 and has held the office for over two decades.
The Summerside Police Department has approximately 35 officers responsible for law enforcement within the city. The East Prince Detachment of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) is located in North Bedeque, southeast of the city, and shares responsibility with Summerside PD for patrolling provincial Route 1A and Route 2 which pass along the east and north sides of the city.
Education
Summerside has 7 English public schools: 4 elementary, 2 junior high, and 1 senior high school. The Western School Board is headquartered in the city.
The city also has 1 French public school operated by the Commission scolaire de langue française.
Holland College, Prince Edward Island's community college system, maintains several facilities in Summerside;
- East Prince Centre
- Marine Training Centre
- Aerospace Centre
- Atlantic Police Academy
- Motive Power Centre
Energy
The city of Summerside has its own electric utility. Traditionally the majority of its electricity is purchased from the neighboring provincial electric utility, NB Power. In 2008, 76.5% of its power was acquired from NB Power. Although the Summerside Electric Commission has its own diesel turbine generating station, Harvard Station which can operate for several days independently of NB Power's supply it is only used in exceptional circumstances such as power disruptions with NB or parts of the Maritime Electric power system.
In 2007 the city signed a 20 year agreement with a private wind energy company to supply about 23% of it's electricity from a private wind farm in Western PEI.[4]
Construction started on a city owned wind farm in 2009 comprising of four wind turbines that will each be capable of producing 3 megawatts of electricity. The wind farm is scheduled to be fully operational in November 2009 providing electric power for city utility. This will be Canada's first city owned wind farm. On an average day the wind farm will produce 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 will actually produce 100% of the power for the city.
Medical services
The Prince County Hospital, located in the city's north end, is the main referral hospital in the western part of the province.
Climate
| Weather data for Summerside | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 12.1 (54) |
12.8 (55) |
15.6 (60) |
23.3 (74) |
32 (90) |
32.2 (90) |
33.3 (92) |
33.3 (92) |
31.7 (89) |
24.4 (76) |
21.2 (70) |
15.6 (60) |
|
| Average high °C (°F) | -3.4 (26) |
-3 (27) |
1.2 (34) |
6.7 (44) |
14 (57) |
19.6 (67) |
23.6 (74) |
22.9 (73) |
18 (64) |
11.9 (53) |
5.6 (42) |
-0.3 (31) |
9.7 (49) |
| Average low °C (°F) | -12.3 (10) |
-11.7 (11) |
-6.8 (20) |
-1.1 (30) |
4.7 (40) |
10.2 (50) |
14.5 (58) |
14.2 (58) |
9.8 (50) |
4.4 (40) |
-0.9 (30) |
-8 (18) |
1.4 (35) |
| Record low °C (°F) | -29.9 (-22) |
-26.1 (-15) |
-23.9 (-11) |
-13.4 (8) |
-5 (23) |
0 (32) |
6.7 (44) |
4.4 (40) |
-0.1 (32) |
-5.6 (22) |
-13.3 (8) |
-25.6 (-14) |
|
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 100.1 (3.94) |
75.1 (2.96) |
83.8 (3.3) |
79.7 (3.14) |
94 (3.7) |
84.4 (3.32) |
84.8 (3.34) |
88.3 (3.48) |
91.7 (3.61) |
94.5 (3.72) |
96.7 (3.81) |
105 (4.13) |
1,078 (42.44) |
| Source: Environment Canada[5] 2009-07-15 | |||||||||||||
Attractions
The Summerside Raceway[6] is a standardbred harness racing track which is adjacent to the Credit Union Place,[7] the largest indoor sports facility in the province with a large hockey arena seating 4000 and fitness facility. Other attractions include the College of Piping and Celtic Performing Arts[8] the Silver Fox Curling & Yacht Club,[9] the Summerside Golf & Country Club,[10] the PEI Sports Hall of Fame[11] and Spinnaker's Landing.[12]
The city has recently[when?] incorporated several waterfront industrial sites that were 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 boardwalk for residents and visitors along the waterfront.
Notable residents
- Steve Ott - NHL Player
- John Chabot - Former NHL Player
- Gerard Gallant - Former NHL Player
- Errol Thompson - Former NHL Player
- Doug MacLean - Former NHL head coach
- Tony Cargill - World Highland Dancing Champion
- Forbes Kennedy - Former NHL Player
- Nathan Wiley - Canadian Recording Artist
- Tanya Davis - Canadian Recording Artist
- Al Tuck - Canadian Recording Artist
Summerside was home for three years to the fictional Anne Shirley of the Anne of Green Gables series by Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery.
Media
Summerside has one radio station licensed to it, FM 102.1 CJRW-FM, which plays a classic hits 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 daily newspaper is The Journal Pioneer.
References
- ^ a b Statistics Canada. 2006. Summerside Community Profile
- ^ Invest in summerside.com
- ^ Silver fox Museum
- ^ http://www.cbc.ca/canada/prince-edward-island/story/2006/09/14/summerside-wind.html
- ^ Environment Canada Canadian Climate Normals 1971–2000, accessed 15 July 2009
- ^ Summerside Raceway
- ^ Summerside Wellness Centre
- ^ College of Piping and Celtic Performing Arts
- ^ Silver Fox Curling & Yacht Club
- ^ Summerside Golf & Country Club
- ^ PEI Sports Hall of Fame
- ^ Spinnaker's Landing
External links
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