Three seasonal activities—agriculture, fishing, and tourism—are the backbone of the Prince Edward Island economy. The number of local, provincial, and national museums is striking relative to the small province’s population. According to the 2007 Provincial Budget Address, “Protecting our past and celebrating our heritage has always been a top priority for Islanders.”
During the summer, museums are often staffed by secondary and college students working at jobs funded by either the national or provincial governments. Parks Canada claims to employ over 1,000 students each year in a variety of summer positions including the lifeguards at the popular Cavendish beach and the staff of the handsome Greenwich Interpretive Centre Like Parks Canada, the federal government in the United States, also funds student employment in a wide range of agencies.
The federal or provincial governments fund student positions in the Islands’ seven Provincial Museums and 26 Community Museums. At Beaconsfield Historic House, a provincial museum in Charlottetown, two knowledgeable secondary school students gave the tour and at the Eptek Center in Summerside, students gamely answered our esoteric questions about Island needlework (including hardanger embroidery) and woodcarving traditions. Students at the provincial museums told us that Parks Canada jobs pay better and more often go to college students while local and provincial museums offer employment to secondary students as well. According to the Jobs for Youth Program description, non-profit employers may apply to have “Island students carry out projects of special significance to Island communities . . . The program is 100% funded by the Government of Prince Edward Island administered by the Employment Development Agency.” Preference goes to projects that “contribute to local community, development and will provide meaningful work experience to Island students.” Canada’s Federal Student Work Experience Program also supports students working for small not-for-profit organizations in an initiative “designed to help students having trouble finding summer jobs because of where they live.”
The students do a credible job – some actively research and enhance the museums where they work. A motivated constituency, they learn Island history and heritage as they share it with museum visitors. Such programs may not stem economic out-migration but the experience may give young people a sense of place to return to later. Older employees in community museums praised these student jobs programs for keeping local students employed close to home. These employment programs are a boon for small museums or museums off the main tourist routes such as the Bank Museum in Rustico, the Potato Museum in O’Leary, the Irish Moss Interpretive Center, the Elmira Railway Museum, Orwell Corner, the Basin Head Fisheries Museum, the Green Park Shipbuilding Museum, the Ellerslie Shellfish Museum, and the Fisheries Museum in North Rustico and many other sites. See the Prince Edward Island Visitors Guide for more information.
In addition to the beaches, amusement parks, fishing, golf, and bike trails, the museums, craft galleries, and traditional musical performances attract tourists; heritage is good for business on Prince Edward Island.
