Launching a business in Charlottetown
PEI’s capital is a small city with a big summer, a strong food scene and two post-secondary schools. Here’s what people start in Charlottetown and where Islanders get help.
Charlottetown’s entrepreneurial scene
Food is a big part of what gets started here. Between the Island’s potatoes, mussels, oysters and farm produce, and the visitors who come to taste them, Charlottetown is full of cafés, food trucks, caterers, bakers, preserves and producers selling at the farmers’ market.
Tourism sets the rhythm. Cruise ships, summer theatre and festivals bring crowds from June into the fall, and that’s when tour guides, bike rentals, gift shops, photographers and short-term rentals make most of their year. The rest of the time, the city runs on the provincial public service, health care, UPEI and Holland College.
Students and graduates of UPEI and Holland College start design, tech, culinary and wellness businesses, and newcomers to the Island open restaurants, grocery stores, cleaning services and trades businesses of their own.
Local help for new entrepreneurs
Where Islanders starting a business go for help:
- Innovation PEI — The province’s business development agency and the first stop for Island funding programs. Start here to see which provincial programs fit your idea.
- CBDC Prince Edward Island — Community Business Development Corporations: Island-based loans, advice and training for new entrepreneurs.
- Greater Charlottetown Area Chamber of Commerce — Networking, events and advocacy for businesses in and around Charlottetown.
- Holland College — PEI’s community college, with business, culinary and trades programs.
- UPEI — The University of Prince Edward Island, in Charlottetown.
- 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 step online
Visitors plan their Island trip on their phone before they cross the bridge or board the ferry. Islanders ask around, then search your name. Either way, a website with your hours, menu or prices, and an email at your own domain, turns a search into a visit.
With WebNewBee you choose from 30 designs, including ones for cafés, food trucks and photographers, answer a few questions, and your site is built in about a minute.
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
Tips for getting started in Charlottetown
- Have your summer site ready by May: most of the Island’s visitors plan in spring.
- Food businesses: post your menu as text, not only as a photo, so it reads well on any phone and can be found on Google.
- Put your market days and pop-up locations right on your home page.
- Serving beyond the city? Say so. Stratford, Cornwall and the rest of Queens County search for local help too.
A design to start from
Every design is a starting point. Our AI writes the words from your answers, and you can change everything.
- Harvest — Restaurants, cafés & bakeriesbistro.webnewbee.page
- Rolling — Food trucksfoodtruck.webnewbee.page
- Shutter — Photographersphotographer.webnewbee.page
Questions
Do I need a .ca domain?
It’s a good choice for a Canadian business, and .com works too. Domains start at CA$24.99 a year, and you can also start on a free webnewbee.page address.
Can visitors from Quebec read my site in French?
Yes. Add French in one click and both versions stay editable.
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