Summerside, Prince Edward Island facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Summerside
City
City of Summerside
Summerside City Hall
Motto(s):  Small city. Big opportunity.
Summerside Location in Prince Edward Island
Country	Canada
Province	Prince Edward Island
County	Prince County
Founded	1800s
Incorporated	April 1, 1877 (town)
	April 1, 1995 (city)
Area
• City	28.49 km2 (11.00 sq mi)
• Metro	92.43 km2 (35.69 sq mi)
Elevation	Sea level to 29 m (0 to 95.1 ft)
Population  (2016)
• City	14,829
• Density	520.50/km2 (1,348.08/sq mi)
• Metro	16,587
• Metro density	179.455/km2 (464.79/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC-4 (Atlantic (AST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-3 (ADT)
Canadian Postal code	C1N
Telephone Exchange	902 303 315 358 374 381 432 436 438 439 598 724 888 918 954 992
Total private dwellings	5,981
Mean household income	$38,688
NTS Map	11L5 Summerside
GNBC Code	BADSZ

Summerside is a city in Prince Edward Island, Canada. It is the second-largest city in the province. Summerside is an important center for the western part of the island.

History of Summerside

Summerside became an official town on April 1, 1877. Later, on April 1, 1995, it joined with nearby communities like St. Eleanors and Wilmot. This made Summerside a bigger city. It was the second city in PEI, after the provincial capital of Charlottetown.

The city got its name from an old inn called Summer Side House. This inn was owned by George Linkletter II.

What Powers Summerside's Economy

The biggest employer in Summerside is the Summerside Tax Centre. This is a Government of Canada office that mainly handles the Goods and Services Tax (GST). The GST is a tax on most goods and services in Canada.

Slemon Park: A Hub for Airplanes

Slemon Park used to be a military airbase called CFB Summerside. Now, it's a business park where many companies work on airplanes and transportation.

• StandardAero (which used to be Vector Aerospace/Atlantic Turbines) fixes and checks aircraft engines.
• Testori Americas makes interiors for airplanes and public transport vehicles.
• Honeywell makes and repairs parts for aircraft.

Other Important Businesses

Amalgamated Dairies Limited is based in Summerside. It started in 1953 as a co-operative. This means it is owned by dairy farmers.

Near Summerside, in New Annan, you'll find Cavendish Farms. This is Prince Edward Island's largest private employer. Cavendish Farms has two big factories that make frozen food products.

After the military base CFB Summerside closed in 1990, the city worked hard to attract new businesses. They created an office to encourage companies to invest in Summerside. The old military base is now the Summerside Airport.

Long ago, the Summerside area was famous for having the most Tame Silver Fox farms in the world. You can learn more about this at the International Fox Museum.

Education in Summerside

Summerside has seven public schools where students learn in English. There are four elementary schools, two junior high schools, and one senior high school. The English Language School Board also has an office here.

There is also one public school in the city where students learn in French. This school is run by the Commission scolaire de langue française.

Colleges and Arts

Holland College is Prince Edward Island's college system. It has three locations in Summerside:

• Summerside Waterfront Campus
• Marine Training Centre (for training related to the ocean)
• Atlantic Police Academy (for police training)

The College of Piping and Celtic Performing Arts of Canada is also in Summerside. Here, students can learn about traditional Scottish and Irish music and dance.

Summerside's Population

Summerside has grown over the years. In the 2021 Census, the city had a population of 16,001 people. This was a good increase from its population of 14,839 in 2016. The city covers an area of about 28.21 square kilometers.

How Summerside Gets Its Power

First blade installed on Summerside's first wind turbine

The City of Summerside has its own electric company. It's the only city in Prince Edward Island that owns its power company. Most of Summerside's electricity comes from NB Power, a company in New Brunswick.

Summerside Electric also has its own diesel engines. These engines can produce power for several days if the main power supply from NB Power is interrupted. They also run these engines once a month for maintenance.

Wind Power

Summerside is a leader in clean energy. In 2007, the city signed a 20-year agreement to get about 23% of its electricity from a wind farm in West Cape.

In 2009, Summerside started building its own wind farm. It has four large wind turbines, each able to produce 3 megawatts of electricity. This wind farm started working in late 2009 and sends power directly to the city. This is Canada's first wind farm owned and run by a city! On average, the wind farm provides about 25% of the city's electricity. When it's very windy and the city isn't using much power, the wind farm can even produce more electricity than the city needs.

Electric Vehicles

The city also supports clean electric vehicles. As of September 2013, Summerside had many electric car charging stations. There are more charging stations per person in Summerside than in any other city in Canada.

Medical Services

The Prince County Hospital is in the north part of Summerside. It is the main hospital for the western part of Prince Edward Island. Island Emergency Medical Services also operates two ambulance services from downtown Summerside.

Summerside's Climate

Summerside has a climate with warm summers and cold, snowy winters. It's called a humid continental climate. The ocean helps to make the temperatures a bit milder compared to places further inland.

The hottest temperature ever recorded in Summerside was 33.7°C on July 15, 2013. The coldest temperature ever recorded was -32.2°C on January 12, 1930.

Fun Things to Do in Summerside

Credit Union Place, a sports and community centre

Summerside has many attractions for residents and visitors:

• The Summerside Raceway is a very old harness racing track. It opened in 1886 and is believed to be the oldest operating racing track in Canada.
• It's right next to Credit Union Place. This is the biggest indoor sports center in the province. It has a large hockey arena that can seat 4,000 people, a bowling alley, a 25-meter swimming pool, and other fitness and meeting rooms.
• Other places to visit include the Harbourfront Theatre, the College of Piping and Celtic Performing Arts, the Silver Fox Curling & Yacht Club, and the Summerside Golf & Country Club.
• You can also visit the PEI Sports Hall of Fame and Spinnakers' Landing.

The city has also made new parks along the waterfront. These areas used to be industrial sites but have been cleaned up. A new boardwalk has been built along the water for people to enjoy.

Two important historical buildings in Summerside are also recognized as National Historic Sites of Canada:

• The old post office on Summer Street.
• The former railway station, built in 1927.

The fishing industry has also grown, bringing new tourism. Many families come to Summerside to go fishing on the ocean. They can catch fish to sell or take home.

Sports in Summerside

Summerside has hosted some big sporting events:

• The U-18 Men's Softball World Cup in 1989 and 2005.
• The 2009 Canada Summer Games (co-hosted with Charlottetown).

Famous People from Summerside

Spinnaker's Landing

Many notable people have connections to Summerside:

• Darryl Boyce – a former player in the National Hockey League (NHL).
• Billy Bridges – an Olympic para-athlete.
• Dave Cameron – a former NHL player and coach.
• Alex Campbell – a former premier of Prince Edward Island.
• John Chabot – a former NHL player.
• Noah Dobson – an NHL player.
• Gerard Gallant – an NHL coach and former NHL player.
• Forbes Kennedy – a former NHL player.
• Heather Moyse – a two-time Olympic gold medalist in bobsled.
• Steve Ott – a former NHL player.
• Basil Stewart – a former Mayor of Summerside and a member of the Order of Canada.
• Errol Thompson – a former NHL player.

Summerside was also home for three years to the fictional character Anne Shirley from the Anne of Green Gables book series. In the book Anne of Windy Poplars, Anne works as the principal of Summerside High School.

Media in Summerside

Summerside has one local radio station, FM 102.1 CJRW-FM. It plays adult contemporary music. CJRW is the only commercial radio station in Prince Edward Island with studios outside of Charlottetown. Other media, like TV and radio, usually come from Charlottetown. CBC Television has an office in Summerside for Prince County news.

The local weekly newspaper in Summerside is the Journal Pioneer. The province's French weekly newspaper, La Voix acadienne, is also based in Summerside.

Sister Cities

Summerside has special connections with two other cities around the world:

• – Stirling, Scotland
• - Dunedin, Florida, USA