Mr. Speaker, today marks the 125th anniversary of Prince Edward Island's joining Confederation. It was on May 26, 1873 in the wee hours of the morning that Premier J.C. Pope moved that the address to the Queen embodying the terms of union between P.E.I. and the Dominion of Canada be accepted by the assembly of P.E.I.
The government of the day envisioned the development of a great nation and wanted P.E.I. to be part of that future. Admittedly, to that point islanders were reluctant brides.
Nine years earlier, in 1864, P.E.I. had hosted the initial talks on the union of the British North American colonies. However, when the new dominion was created in 1867, P.E.I. opted to pass on it. It was six years later before P.E.I. finally joined Canada.
The Liberal government of Robert Haythorne negotiated an agreement that included the dominion's assuming the railway debt, advancing funds to buy out the island's absentee landlords—