Prince Edward Island: Now a Bridge Away

When the world's longest multi-span bridge to Canada's smallest province opened for business this summer, hundreds of fans celebrated by walking or even running the eight-mile (12.8 km.) distance to Prince Edward Island (PEI) across the long-awaited $750 million (Canadian) Confederation Bridge. PEI's economic officials are hoping business and industry proves as eager, if less immediately energetic, to take advantage of the new route to an island boasting an increasingly diverse array of trade and commerce sectors.

"Whether we're talking about moving food products or computer components, the bridge is going to be a significant advantage," said Brian Thompson, chief operating officer for Enterprise PEI, a part of the province's Department of Economic Development and Tourism. "We're using 'we're only a bridge away now' as our campaign slogan," he said. Before the four-year bridge project's completion in June, only air, port and ferry service was available. "We did take advantage in the construction of the bridge to put in a second fiber optic cable link, so we now have complete redundancy in our fiber connections to the mainland. That certainly positions us very well in terms of information and technology communications, and biotechnology, too," Thompson said.

A new Information Technologies Assn. of PEI was established this year with the endorsements of Enterprise PEI and 60 area information technology companies to support the island's emerging information technology and communications sectors. Charlottetown, capital of the island province, is the site of a province-owned science park that includes a Food Technology Center.

Privatization of airports in Canada has been under way for several years. On Prince Edward Island overlooking Malpeque Bay, the Slemon Park Corp. has been running Summerside Airport as a successful business since 1991. Dozens of companies are located in the industrial park.

"Access to markets will always be important, but so will the assurance that they will find a skilled and available work force," Thompson said, citing recent studies pointing out the island's low workplace turnover rates. And "small" has its own advantages. "We all know bureaucracy is a function of size. Here, we can make decisions extremely quickly," Thompson said.

Advanced skills training is an expanding focus at the University of Prince Edward Island, with its strong sciences programs, and Holland College, which recently established an Aviation Maintenance Institute at Slemon Park. Slemon Park is an industrial park that now is home to several aerospace-related businesses and industries on former military base property at Summerside. "We rely on an advisory committee made up of industry leaders," said Keith Dewar, vice president of Holland College, which boasts several recently expanded technology training programs at the island's only community college. "We design programs to meet their needs."

At the aviation training program at Slemon Park, "it's a matter of the chicken and the egg," Dewar said. "Some of these staff take three to four years to develop. We should start training them now to create a resource base of workers." Holland College, in addition to its Aviation Maintenance Institute, has also established an Aviation Technology Institute, School of Justice and Culinary Institute at Slemon Park.

Slemon Park is the result of 1,500 acres (600 hectares) of land made available when Canadian Forces Base Summerside closed in 1989. The property was turned over to Slemon Park Corp. when the last military-related operations shut down in 1992. Since then, the park has reached almost full capacity and become financially self-sufficient following an initial $15 million investment from the federal and provincial government.

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