Starting a business on Prince Edward Island
On the Island, everyone knows someone who runs their own business. Here’s what Islanders start, where they get help, and how to get online before the season.
The Island’s entrepreneurial landscape
Prince Edward Island is small, connected and seasonal. Farming, especially potatoes, and fishing for lobster, mussels and oysters are part of daily life, and they lead to spin-offs: equipment repair, trucking, processing, farm-gate sales, preserves and baking.
Tourism shapes the calendar. From June into the fall, visitors fill the beaches, golf courses, restaurants and festivals, and that’s when tour guides, rentals, crafts, photographers and small lodgings earn most of their year. Charlottetown and Summerside add year-round services, a provincial public service, UPEI and Holland College.
The Island has an Acadian, French-speaking community, centred in the Évangéline region, and a growing number of newcomers opening restaurants, shops and services. Many first businesses start as side projects and grow by word of mouth.
Real help for new entrepreneurs
Island help for people starting out:
- PEI Corporate and Business Registry — Where you register a business name or corporation on the Island.
- Innovation PEI — The province’s business development agency and the first stop for Island funding programs. The single entry point for most provincial programs.
- Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) — The federal regional development agency for the four Atlantic provinces.
- CBDC Prince Edward Island — Community Business Development Corporations: Island-based loans, advice and training for new entrepreneurs.
- RDÉE Île-du-Prince-Édouard — Economic development and entrepreneurship support for the Island’s Acadian and francophone community.
- Futurpreneur — Start-up financing paired with a volunteer business mentor, for entrepreneurs aged 18 to 39.
- BDC — The Business Development Bank of Canada: financing, plus free guides and templates for people starting out.
Your first steps on PEI
- Register your business name with the Corporate and Business Registry if you use a name other than your own.
- Understand the HST. PEI uses the 15 % HST. Registration with the CRA is required once taxable sales pass CA$30,000 over four consecutive quarters, and optional before that. Your business number comes with it.
- Plan for the season. Visitors book in spring: have your website, hours and prices online by May.
- Be easy to reach. A Google Business Profile, a website with tap-to-call, and an email at your own domain make you look settled from day one.
Canada Revenue Agency: get a business number · CRA: GST/HST rates by province
How WebNewBee helps
With WebNewBee you choose one of 30 designs, including ones for cafés, food trucks, crafts and tours, answer a few questions, and your site is built in about a minute. Add French for visitors from Quebec and New Brunswick in one click.
One simple price
CA$6.99/month · plus applicable taxes
- Website with up to 6 pages, written by our AI from your facts
- Up to 3 email addresses on your own domain
- Your own domain from CA$24.99/year, or a free yourname.webnewbee.page address
- Secure (https), fast, mobile-friendly
- English, French or both
- Cancel anytime — no contract
Town guides in Prince Edward Island
We’ve written guides for starting a business in these towns:
Questions
Is HST charged on Island sales?
Yes, 15 % if you’re registered for GST/HST. Under CA$30,000 in taxable sales over four quarters, registering is your choice.
Can I start my site before the season and keep it all winter?
Yes. Most seasonal businesses keep their site up all year, since people plan next summer during the winter. You can cancel any month.