(This page's most recent update is December 2024)
Prince Edward Island is one of the Canadian provinces that does have a single central online repository for searching historical newspapers. There are also several free publications available on other sites and there are small collections available on subscription sites. Below is a list of where the titles are stored and the link so that you can access them.
So go for it – find your Prince Edward Island ancestors and all the interesting articles that capture the stories of their lives.
Please note that I have not always entered the dates that are included in the collections, as I suspect they will change as more items are digitized. Also, I suspect that some of these links may change over time – so if there is a dead link – please use your favorite search engine to find their new location.
Free Sites:
Provincewide Collections:
- British American (1832 – 1833)
- Cadre (1969 – )
- Charlottetown Herald (1864 – 1923)
- Colonial Herald and Prince Edward Island Advertiser (1837 – 1844)
- Examiner (1847 – 1922)
- Gem (1985 – 1990)
- Guardian (1890 – )
- Haszard’s Gazette (1851 – 1851)
- Impartial (1893 – 1915)
- Island naturalist (1984 – 1998)
- Morning News and Semi-Weekly Advertiser (1843 – 1846)
- Netted Gem (1983 – 1985)
- Panther Post (2008 – 2009)
- Panther Prints (1995 – 1997)
- Petite Souvenance (1979 – 2009)
- Royal Gazette and Miscellany of the Island of Saint John (1791 – 1794)
- Royal Gazette (1830 – )
- Summerside Journal (1865 – 1951)
- UPEI Sun (1977 – 1983)
- X-Press (1990 – 1995)
- Charlottetown, Haszard’s Gazette
- Charlottetown, Haszard’s gazette, farmers’ journal and commercial advertiser
- Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island gazette
- Charlottetown, Royal gazette and Prince Edward Island recorder.
- Charlottetown, Royal Herald
- Charlottetown, The broad-axe
- Charlottetown, The Charlottetown herald
- Charlottetown, The Colonial herald and Prince Edward Island advertiser
- Charlottetown, The Gazette
- Charlottetown, The Herald
- Charlottetown, The literary echo
- Charlottetown, The Prince Edward Island philatelist
- Charlottetown, The Protector and Christian witness
- Charlottetown, The Protestant and evangelical witness
- Summerside, The progress magazine
- Tignish, L’Impartial
Student Collections:
University of Prince Edward Island – Charlottetown
- Prince of Wales College – Observer
- Prince of Wales College – College Times
- St. Dunstans University – Red & White
- UPEI Magazine
- The Cadre
Holland College – Charlottetown
For Obituary Indexes, transcriptions, and other death/obituary information from historical newspapers, please check out the Obituaries page.
Other Free Sites:
Charlottetown
- Charlottetown Examiner
- Charlottetown Guardian
- The Daily Examiner
- The Islander
- The Palladium
- The Patriot
Summerside
Tignish
Subscription or Pay Sites:
Ancestry.com:
There are currently 2 publications available on this site. See all the titles at Ancestry – Prince Edward Island Newspapers
Newspaper Archive:
There are currently 7 publications available on this site. See all the titles at Newspaper Archive – Prince Edward Island
Paper of Record:
There are currently 5 publications available on this site. See the titles at Paper of Record – Prince Edward Island
And Finally:
You might want to check out the Island Archives Newspaper Project site from time to time to see what is available online or otherwise.
Please note – even more may be available via a local or provincial library where a library card is required. And of course, there is always microfilm for those that have not been made available online as yet.
For more links for different states, provinces, and countries – please see the Newspaper Links page on this website.
For all Free Prince Edward Island Links, click on the category of interest:
Newspapers
Obituaries
BMD Records
Photos
Yearbooks
Directories
Online Newspaper Research FAQs
It’s challenging due to imperfect Optical Character Recognition (OCR), inconsistent indexing, variations in spelling and nicknames, differing journalistic styles over time, and the sheer volume of fragmented, often paywalled, collections. Finding what you need truly feels like a treasure hunt!
Many researchers utilizing online newspaper archives may not be aware that word searches are performed against a database generated by analyzing whether minute sections of the newspaper are black or white. It is the shape of the collected dots that may (or may not) look like a letter.
To improve search accuracy when encountering OCR errors, it is advisable to intentionally alter your search terms by substituting letters with similar shapes. For example, replacing a lowercase ‘b’ with an ‘h’, or a lowercase ‘e’ with a ‘c’.
In your search criteria, try entering abbreviations, nicknames, and portions of hyphenated words. Numerous other techniques can be found in The Ancestor Hunt’s “Newspaper Research Academy”, which can be accessed at https://theancestorhunt.com/academy.html
Yes. Although some of the largest databases require a subscription, there are many that are free. The Ancestor Hunt has curated links to over 80,000 titles that can be searched for free in the U.S., Canada, and Europe. To use these links, go to its Newspaper Links Page,
One reply on “Prince Edward Island Online Historical Newspapers Summary”
Very interesting information. Congratulations to all involved in preparing this invaluable collection.