PEI to complete Trans Canada Trail on Island by 2014
From left to right: Charlie McGeoghegan (MLA, Belfast-Murray Harbour), Robert Vessey (Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal), Deborah Apps (president & CEO, TCT), Alan McIsaac (Ministry of Education and Early Childhood Development), Robert Henderson (Ministry of Tourism and Culture), Bryson Guptill (president, Island Trails), David Dunphy (mayor, Stratford, P.E.I.).
It was a momentous day on the Trail in Vernon River, P.E.I. on Oct. 8 as TCT president & CEO Deborah Apps announced $1.4-million in funding to finish connecting the Trail in the province.
The W. Garfield Weston Foundation donated $1 million to the Trail in P.E.I. and Trans Canada Trail contributed $400,000. Trustee Nancy Baron says the Foundation is delighted to contribute to the Stratford-to-Iona segment, the last remaining gap on the Island’s TCT, known locally as the Confederation Trail.
“This Trail is not only significant to Prince Edward Island, but also to all Canadians,” Baron said, in a statement delivered by Apps. “New visitors as well as people from the local area can now enjoy a piece of our history.”
P.E.I. aims to connect its portion of Trans Canada Trail by 2014 — the 150th anniversary of the Charlottetown Conference. This would make the Island the second province in Canada to fully connect its Trail, after Newfoundland and Labrador.
“Completing the Trail in P.E.I. will fuel the momentum towards full connection of the Trans Canada Trail across the country — we’ve still got a lot of work to do,” Apps said. “Now we can look to the Trail accomplishments here on the Island as inspiration.”
Joining Apps at the announcement were Stratford Mayor David Dunphy, P.E.I. Tourism Minister Robert Henderson, who touted the Trail’s importance in attracting visitors to the province, and P.E.I. Transportation Minister Robert Vessey, who confirmed the Trail would be designated greenway in perpetuity.
Click here to watch a wonderful video by the Government of P.E.I.about this donation and the Confederation Trail.
TCT is committed to providing Canadians with a national network of safe, healthful greenway trails. Greenways are sections of the Trail reserved in the summer for walking, hiking, running, cycling, horseback riding and canoeing.
With this announcement, TCT has invested nearly $1.8 million in P.E.I. Trail over the years. The Trail in the province is 84 per cent connected. In fact, since 1992, more than 370 kilometres of the Trans Canada Trail have been developed in Prince Edward Island.
