Borden-Carleton is a
Canadian village located on the south shore of
Prince Edward Island, fronting on the
Northumberland Strait.
The village was created through a merger on April 12, 1995 of the original port town of
Borden (an incorporated town) and the farming community of
Carleton. The town of Borden opted to demote its status to a village in light of a declining tax base with the pending completion of the
Confederation Bridge and the closure of the
Marine Atlantic ferry service.
History
Borden traces its history to Prince Edward Island's requirements for transportation to mainland North America whereas Carleton was a surrounding farming community to the north and west of the port.
Borden's development is related to the fall of fortunes for another nearby community during the
First World War. A winter
iceboat service crossed the
Abegweit Passage between nearby
Cape Traverse to
Cape Tormentine,
New Brunswick for many decades during the 19th century and early 20th century. The
Prince Edward Island Railway built a line from its mainline near
Emerald Junction to the Cape Traverse wharf to facilitate this traffic in the 1880s.
By the 20th century, the federal government began to face the reality of an unreliable winter iceboat service, which existed primarily due to the Dominion having failed to meet its obligation to provide "continuous steamship service" under the Prince Edward Island Terms of Union, when the province entered
Confederation in 1873. As a result,...
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