Tignish | |
|---|---|
| Town of Tignish | |
 Primary Tignish welcome sign, located onWestern road (Phillip street) | |
| Motto: "Cherishing Our Heritage" | |
  Tignish inPrince Edward Island | |
| Coordinates:46°57′02″N64°02′01″W / 46.95050°N 64.03356°W /46.95050; -64.03356 | |
| Country | Canada |
| Province | Prince Edward Island |
| County | Prince County |
| Parish | North Parish |
| Township | Lot 1 |
| Founded | 1799 |
| Village | 1952 |
| Town | 2017 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Town council |
| • Mayor | Allan McInnis |
| Area (2016)[1] | |
| • Land | 5.87 km2 (2.27 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 15 m (49 ft) |
| Population (2016)[1] | |
• Total | 719 |
| • Density | 122.5/km2 (317/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC-4 (AST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-3 (ADT) |
| Canadian postal code | |
| Area code | 902 |
| Telephone Exchange | 775 806 882 |
| NTS Map | 21I16Tignish |
| GNBC Code | BAEGT |
| Website | townoftignish |
Tignish is a Canadian town located inPrince County,Prince Edward Island.[2]
It is located approximately 50 miles (80 km) northwest of the city ofSummerside, and 90 miles (140 km) northwest of the city ofCharlottetown.[3] It has a population of 719.[1] The name "Tignish" is derived from the Mi'kmaq "Mtagunich", meaning "paddle".[4] The name is also believed to come from a Gaelic phrase meaning “Home Place”.[citation needed]
Tignish was founded in the late 1790s by ninefrancophoneAcadian families, with further immigrants (mostlyIrish) arriving in the 19th century and settling mostly in the nearby smaller locality of Anglo–Tignish (meaning "English Tignish"). Many of Tignish residents today are either of Acadian or Irish heritage.
One of the town's most popular and defining structures is the localCatholic church,St. Simon & St. Jude Catholic Church, which was among the first major structures built in Tignish, constructed between 1857 and 1860. Tignish was designated a community or village in 1952. It changed its status to a town in 2017.[5]
In the2021 Census of Population conducted byStatistics Canada, Tignish had a population of744 living in348 of its368 total private dwellings, a change of3.5% from its 2016 population of719. With a land area of 5.87 km2 (2.27 sq mi), it had a population density of126.7/km2 (328.3/sq mi) in 2021.[17]
Tignish was settled in 1799 by eightAcadian families. Two Irish families joined them in 1811.[18]
Tignish was once the western terminus of thePrince Edward Island Railway. Rail service to the town was abandoned in 1989.
Fishing is one of the most important aspects of daily life and employment in Tignish, with many local families depending on this industry for income. There are three functioningharbors located in the Tignish area: the Tignish harbour, theSkinner's Pond harbour, and the Seacow Pond harbour.
Citizens of Tignish celebrated thebicentennial of Tignish in 1999. Among local festivities wereAcadian music, local parties, carnivals, and the creation of a local music CD rich with the voices of Tignish residents. In addition, each summer there is abluegrass festival that is held in Tignish.
Kindergarten–12 students in the Tignish area mostly attendTignish Elementary School from grades K–6, followed byMerritt E. Callaghan Intermediate school for grades 7–9 andWestisle Composite High school for grades 10–12.
Tignish is within district #27 of PEI's electoral boundaries, which is labeledTignish–Palmer Road. There is a polling station at the Tignish fire hall, and others located elsewhere in Tignish as well as inSt. Felix andPalmer Road. The name of the district used to be "Tignish–DeBlois", but was changed to "Tignish–Palmer Road" before the2007 provincial election with slight boundary changes. As of the2011 provincial election,Hal Perry is the MLA for the region. Perry left thePCs and joined theLiberals on 3 October 2013. As a Liberal, Perry won re-election in2015,2019 and2023.
Nearby smaller localities, considered to be "part of" Tignish due to their proximity, include:
The name "Tignish" has been adopted by theInternational Astronomical Union for a crater on the surface ofMars. The crater is located at −30.71 degrees south by 86.9 degrees east on the Martian surface. It was officially adopted by the IAU/WGPSN in 1991, and has a diameter of 13.7 miles (22.0 km).[19]
Tignish experiences ahumid continental climate (Koppen: Dfb) with four seasons, with winter being the longest. Summers are very mild to warm due to theGulf of St Lawrence moderating temperatures during the warmer months. Wintertime is very cold with daily highs often below freezing.
| Climate data for Tignish | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 12.5 (54.5) | 11.1 (52.0) | 16.5 (61.7) | 23 (73) | 36.1 (97.0) | 33 (91) | 33.5 (92.3) | 33 (91) | 30 (86) | 25 (77) | 22 (72) | 15 (59) | 36.1 (97.0) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | −4.3 (24.3) | −3.8 (25.2) | 0.8 (33.4) | 6.2 (43.2) | 13.9 (57.0) | 19.6 (67.3) | 23.4 (74.1) | 22.9 (73.2) | 17.8 (64.0) | 11.7 (53.1) | 5.5 (41.9) | −0.8 (30.6) | 9.4 (48.9) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −12.8 (9.0) | −12.5 (9.5) | −7.4 (18.7) | −1.7 (28.9) | 3.8 (38.8) | 9.6 (49.3) | 13.6 (56.5) | 13.4 (56.1) | 9.1 (48.4) | 4 (39) | −1 (30) | −8.2 (17.2) | 0.8 (33.4) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −30 (−22) | −27 (−17) | −24 (−11) | −12.5 (9.5) | −6.7 (19.9) | −1.5 (29.3) | 4 (39) | 3.9 (39.0) | −2 (28) | −6.5 (20.3) | −14 (7) | −24 (−11) | −30 (−22) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 105.5 (4.15) | 80.4 (3.17) | 80.6 (3.17) | 82.5 (3.25) | 83.6 (3.29) | 79.1 (3.11) | 96 (3.8) | 81 (3.2) | 83.6 (3.29) | 109.1 (4.30) | 107.4 (4.23) | 116.9 (4.60) | 1,105.6 (43.53) |
| Source:Environment Canada[20] | |||||||||||||
