An Evaluation System for the Natural Resource Sectors of the Prince Edward Island Development Plan

Abstract

Prince Edward Island, one of the four Atlantic Provinces of Canada, has recently, in conjunction with the Federal government, undertaken a comprehensive development plan in an effort to break the “vicious circle” of poverty, low income and low productivity characteristic of a depressed region. Before the development plan was instituted, levels of unemployment on the island were consistently three to seven percent above the national average. The economy is characterized by a heavy dependence upon land based resource industry, particularly agriculture, and the resources of the sea. The small amount of manufacturing is related almost entirely to these resources and is organized in small production units. Accordingly, per capita income ranges between 60% and 70% of the national average. The P.E.I. development plan is broad-based, massive in relation to the economy of the island, and contained in a single geographical and political unit. Development projects are planned, not just for a few sectors of the economy, but for practically all sectors and at a scale of investment where significant changes should occur.