The government of the Crown Colony of Prince Edward Island identified post-secondary (or higher) education as being necessary to ensure the success of regional industry, specifically fishing, agriculture and commerce as early as 1790.
 The concept of public education was a new one to Charlottetown, the colony's main settlement with a population of approximately 400 people.
Until this time, those who were sufficiently affluent sent their children abroad to study; those parents who could not afford a private education schooled their children themselves in the fundamentals of reading, writing and arithmetic.

In 1804 then Lieutenant-Governor, Edmund Fanning, donated two blocks of his personal property to the Crown to establish an educational institution.
It was nearly two decades later that construction of Kent College School began, and the National School, as it was more commonly known, began operation as the first public school in the Colony in Charlottetown in 1821.

It was not until 1825 that the first official legislation was passed by the local assembly to foster higher education.
The Act for the Encouragement of Education in the Different Counties and Districts of the Island was the first of a series of education acts developed to establish a Government-supported public university.
 In 1834, the Central Academy was founded by Royal Charter of King William IV as a training institution to keep up with the demand for teachers as a result of the expansion in population.
Reverend Charles Lloyd, an Anglican minister, was appointed Principal when the first class commenced in 1836.
In 1860, the Academy was renamed Prince of Wales College in honour of a visit of the future King Edward VII.
With the opening of the Central Academy and St. Andrew's College, the island had two government-supported institutions of higher education firmly established in the region.

The Free Education Act passed in 1852 was in response for a desire of providing free education.
The significance of this act was that it was not only the forerunner of establishing school districts, but that it also established that the Colonial government would pay the salaries of teachers.
At the time of its enactment, it enabled greater access to free education than was available in Britain.
In 1854, Saint Dunstan's University (SDU) was founded by the Roman Catholic diocese of Charlottetown as a seminary, but by the mid-20th century had expanded into a small liberal arts university.
From 1890 to 1917, SDU had partnered with Laval University in Quebec and awarded joint degrees.
This partnership remained intact until 1956 despite SDU receiving a degree-granting charter of its own from the provincial legislature in 1917; however, it did not award its first bachelor's degrees until the spring 1941 convocation.

At the Charlottetown Conference in 1864, representatives from the British North America colonies - Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and the Province of Canada - gathered to discuss Confederation.
 In 1867, the British North America Act, 1867 was passed by the British government and then given the Queen's assent.
 It established Confederation and outlined division of responsibility between the provincial and federal governments in several areas, including education.
 Prince Edward Island entered confederation on July 1, 1873 and joined the Dominion of Canada.
The government of the Crown Colony of Prince Edward Island identified post-secondary (or higher) education as being necessary to ensure the success of regional industry, specifically fishing, agriculture and commerce as early as 1790.  The concept of public education was a new one to Charlottetown, the colony's main settlement with a population of approximately 400 people. Until this time, those who were sufficiently affluent sent their children abroad to study; those parents who could not afford a private education schooled their children themselves in the fundamentals of reading, writing and arithmetic.
In 1804 then Lieutenant-Governor, Edmund Fanning, donated two blocks of his personal property to the Crown to establish an educational institution. It was nearly two decades later that construction of Kent College School began, and the National School, as it was more commonly known, began operation as the first public school in the Colony in Charlottetown in 1821.
It was not until 1825 that the first official legislation was passed by the local assembly to foster higher education. The Act for the Encouragement of Education in the Different Counties and Districts of the Island was the first of a series of education acts developed to establish a Government-supported public university.  In 1834, the Central Academy was founded by Royal Charter of King William IV as a training institution to keep up with the demand for teachers as a result of the expansion in population. Reverend Charles Lloyd, an Anglican minister, was appointed Principal when the first class commenced in 1836. In 1860, the Academy was renamed Prince of Wales College in honour of a visit of the future King Edward VII. With the opening of the Central Academy and St. Andrew's College, the island had two government-supported institutions of higher education firmly established in the region.
The Free Education Act passed in 1852 was in response for a desire of providing free education. The significance of this act was that it was not only the forerunner of establishing school districts, but that it also established that the Colonial government would pay the salaries of teachers. At the time of its enactment, it enabled greater access to free education than was available in Britain. In 1854, Saint Dunstan's University (SDU) was founded by the Roman Catholic diocese of Charlottetown as a seminary, but by the mid-20th century had expanded into a small liberal arts university. From 1890 to 1917, SDU had partnered with Laval University in Quebec and awarded joint degrees. This partnership remained intact until 1956 despite SDU receiving a degree-granting charter of its own from the provincial legislature in 1917; however, it did not award its first bachelor's degrees until the spring 1941 convocation.
At the Charlottetown Conference in 1864, representatives from the British North America colonies - Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and the Province of Canada - gathered to discuss Confederation.  In 1867, the British North America Act, 1867 was passed by the British government and then given the Queen's assent.  It established Confederation and outlined division of responsibility between the provincial and federal governments in several areas, including education.  Prince Edward Island entered confederation on July 1, 1873 and joined the Dominion of Canada.
Higher education in Prince Edward Island