The riding of Cardigan sits on the eastern shore of Prince Edward Island; it consists of Kings County and part of Queens County. Governors Island is also included in the territory. The boundaries of Cardigan changed in 2004 to include the portion of the Hillsborough Riding (essentially the area between the Hillsborough River and the old Cardigan Riding) previously attached to the area now known as the Charlottetown Riding.
Lawrence now represents the largest federal district on the Island both geographically and by population. The Communities in this riding include Stratford, Montague, Souris and Georgetown. The Scotchfort and Morell reserves are also in the riding.
The Cardigan riding was established in 1966. In the 1976 redistribution, 85 per cent of Cardigan was combined with 15 per cent of Hillsborough. In 2004, 12 per cent of Hillsborough riding was added in the southwest corner. In 1996, another small area from Hillsborough was added.
Cardigan’s economy is equally dependent upon fishing and mixed farming, although tourism is a growing industry and manufacturing is a significant employer.
The average family income is $65,103 and unemployment is 11.3 per cent. More than 95 per cent of the population cited English as their mother tongue in the 2006 census. The immigrant population is slightly more than four per cent.
Stratford, the largest and most westerly town in the Cardigan Riding, was born on April 1, 1995 encompassing the communities of Bunbury, Southport, Cross Roads and Keppock-Kinlock. Stratford has become in just 10 years the third largest town on PEI and the fastest growing municipality on the “Island”.
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The riding consisting of:
(a) the County of Kings;
(b) that part of the County of Queens comprised of: lots 35, 36, 37, 48, 49, 50, 57, 58, 60 and 62; the Town of Stratford; and
(c) Governors Island and all other islands adjacent to the County of Kings and to the above-mentioned lots.
