16 THE NATIONAL PARK

The coming of the National Park in 1937 had an enormous impact on Stanhope. First, there was the expropriation of farmers’ land, and the question of compensation; then there were the jobs which became available to local people. This, together with the increased tourist traffic generated by the Park, not only boosted Stanhope’s economy, but also hastened the changeover from agriculture to tourism. Pre- servation of our beaches and the environment generally is of great benefit, as are amenities provided by the Park, such as the Gulf Shore Highway and the Covehead Bridge, water safety, and educational programs; limiting access to the beaches by toll-booths and closed roads and driveways is generally considered a non-benefit.

The question of a National Park for P.E.I. was raised in 1923 and again in 1930, but it was not until 1936 that Premier Thane Campbell informed the federal Minister of Transport, the Hon. C.D. Howe, that the provincial government had under consideration the steps ne- cessary to have a national park established here; this meant being prepared to transfer the necessary unencumbered land to the federal government; this very particularly included Dalvay, which the provincial government did not at first wish to transfer.

The projected park was to include nearly 25 miles of coastline, from New London Bay in the west to Tracadie Bay in the east, con- taining some of the finest beaches on the Island; the National Park was to be a seaside park (in which) recreational aspects should have a predominant place. We are here only concerned with the Stanhope- Dalvay section of the Park.

A legal survey of the proposed boundaries was carried out in November, 1936, and the new National Park, containing about 7.65 square miles, was formally established by proclamation in the Canada Gazette on April 24, 1937, under the terms of the Nova Scotia and

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