Tignish, Prince Edward Island

Tignish is a Canadian town located in Prince County, Prince Edward Island.[2]

Tignish
Town
Town of Tignish
Primary Tignish welcome sign, located on Western road (Phillip street)
Motto(s): 
"Cherishing Our Heritage"
Coordinates: 46.95050°N 64.03356°W / 46.95050; -64.03356
CountryCanada
ProvincePrince Edward Island
CountyPrince County
ParishNorth Parish
TownshipLot 1
Founded1799
Village1952
Town2017
Area
 (2016)[1]
 • Land5.87 km2 (2.27 sq mi)
Elevation
15 m (49 ft)
Population
 (2016)[1]
 • Total719
 • Density122.5/km2 (317/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC-4 (AST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-3 (ADT)
Canadian postal code
C0B 2B0
Area code(s)902
Telephone Exchange775 806 882
NTS Map021I16
GNBC CodeBAEGT
Websitehttps://townoftignish.ca/

It is located approximately 50 miles (80 km) northwest of the city of Summerside, and 90 miles (140 km) northwest of the city of Charlottetown.[3] It has a population of 719.[1] The name "Tignish" is derived from the Mi'kmaq "Mtagunich", meaning "paddle".[4]

Tignish was founded in the late 1790s by nine francophone Acadian families, with further immigrants (mostly Irish) 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 local Catholic 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]

Community
Famed landmark, St. Simon & St. Jude Church.

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 functioning harbors located in the Tignish area: the Tignish harbour, the Skinner's Pond harbour, and the Seacow Pond harbour.

Tignish was once the western terminus of the Prince Edward Island Railway. Rail service to the town was abandoned in 1989.

Among the businesses in Tignish include the Tignish Heritage Inn, which was a convent from 1867 through 1991, Eugene's General Store, Judy's Take-out (until 2013), Shirley's restaurant, Tignish Co-op grocery store, hardware store, and gas station, Tignish Cultural Center, Cousin's Diner (until 2016), Pizza Shack (until 2012), and Perry's Construction.

Citizens of Tignish celebrated the bicentennial of Tignish in 1999. Among local festivities were Acadian 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 a bluegrass festival that is held in Tignish.

Accent and dialect

Tignish has one of the most distinctive accents and original dialects in eastern Canada. Its sound is often described as a blend of French and Irish Gaelic, and there are many common English words that possess a unique alternate definition in Tignish, such as "slack", which locally, may mean "good" or "awesome". While English speakers in nearby towns such as Alberton and O'Leary have an accent and dialect similar to many other communities in the Maritime provinces, the Tignish dialect is often described independent from this dialect, and is sometimes not even comprehensible by non-locals.

Education

Kindergarten–12 students in the Tignish area mostly attend Tignish Elementary School from grades K–6, followed by Merritt E. Callaghan Intermediate and Westisle Composite High schools for grades 7–12. Most Tignish residents fail to exceed grade 7.

Government

Tignish is within district #27 of PEI's electoral boundaries, which is labeled the Tignish–Palmer Road division. There is a polling station at the Tignish fire hall, and others located elsewhere in Tignish as well as in St. Felix and Palmer Road. The name of the district used to be "Tignish–DeBlois", but was changed to "Tignish–Palmer Road" before the 2007 provincial election with slight boundary changes. As of the 2011 provincial election, Hal Perry is the MLA for the region. Perry left the PCs and joined the Liberals on 3 October 2013.

Surrounding communities

Nearby smaller localities, considered to be "part of" Tignish due to their proximity, include:

Mars crater namesake

The name "Tignish" has been adopted by the International Astronomical Union for a crater on the surface of Mars. 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).[6]

Climate

Tignish experiences a humid continental climate (Koppen: Dfb) with four seasons, with winter being the longest. Summers are very mild to warm due to the Gulf 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)
Average high °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)
Average low °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)
Average precipitation 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[7]

See also

References
  1. "Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, and census subdivisions (municipalities), 2016 and 2011 censuses – 100% data (Prince Edward Island)". Statistics Canada. 6 February 2017. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  2. "Municipal Councils and Contact Information" (PDF). Government of Prince Edward Island. 27 January 2017. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
  3. Government–sponsored `MapGuide` map of PEI. Retrieved on 28 March 2007.
  4. "Tignish Tellings". www.islandregister.com. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
  5. Kevin Yarr (29 March 2017). "Tignish to become a town". CBC. Retrieved 25 December 2017.
  6. A Little Bit of Canada on the Red Planet Archived 31 March 2015 at the Wayback Machine
  7. Environment Canada Canadian Climate Normals 1971–2000, accessed 15 July 2009


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