iles-de-la-madeleine

Welcome to the Iles-de-la-Madeleine on the Today.com website. This web log will be about the events and activities on the Iles-de-la-Madeleine, the history and how it came to have two very separate cultures living harmoniously on an isolated Archipelago, in the middle of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence.

 The northern islands of the Iles-de-la-Madeleine lie almost in the shipping lanes to the Saint Lawrence Seaway and over the centuries, they have come to be known as the ‘graveyard’ for sea-going vessels and their crew. More than four hundred shipwrecks have been recorded over the years. However, there were many more ships, who’s names and registrations were unknown, that had been seen sinking, never to be heard of again.

Location:

The Archipelago of the Iles-de-la-Madeleine is precisely located 215 km due east of the Gaspé Peninsula, 105 km due north from the province of Prince Edward Island and 95 km west of Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia.  They are in the shape of a half moon, with it’s upper and lower points facing east. Some people say the chain of the islands looks a lot like an extended fish hook from the air, stretching across a distance of 65 km in a north-east to south-west direction. The islands come under the jurisdiction of Quebec, even though they are physically closer to the Canadian Atlantic Provinces.

The islands are made up of six main inhabited islands, which are connected sandbars and bridges.  These islands are named: Grand Entry (Grande Entrée), Grosse Ile, Pointe-aux-Loups, House Harbour (Havre-aux-Maisons), Grindstone (Cap-aux-Meules) and Amherst (Havre-Aubert). Other islands apart from the main Archipelago are Entry Island (Ile d’Entrée), Brion Island (Ile Brion), Dead Man’s Island (Ile Corp Mort), and the Bird Rocks (Rocher-aux-Oiseaux). Scattered about, seemingly at random are still a number of other smaller, uninhabited islands, all of which complete the Archipelago.Iles-de-la-Madeleine, the Magdalen Islands to the English-speaking culture, are the lonely isles of Canada.

 Until recently, the full-time residents spent their winters wrapped in the isolating ice, which builds up in the Gulf, early in January and doesn’t break up until spring. Islanders have learned how to live with such isolation, building themselves a unique culture and a stimulating way of life, quite separate from their counterparts on mainland Canada.  

Coming to the Islands:

These islands are accessible by several means of exterior contact. There are two car ferries, one from Souris, PEI (5 hours) and the other from Montreal (two days). During the winter months, when the Saint Lawrence Seaway is closed because of ice, the ship comes from Matane, Quebec. The Iles-de-la-Madeleine also has one airport which allows a great number of people to enter our region.

Today:

There are two Municipalities on the islands: Grosse Ile which comprises the communities of Grosse Ile, East Cape and Old Harry and the islands only wildlife reserves of Brion Island and the Bird Rocks, and municipalité des Iles-de-la-Madeleine which is made up of the greatest portion of the Archipelago.  The Municipality of Grosse Ile is almost completely English-speaking, having descended from Irish, Scottish and British ancestry.  With the exception of Entry Island, the Iles-de-la-Madeleine Municipality is composed of French-speaking people, mostly from Acadian stock. 

Economy:

The islands economy is made up from four major income sources: fishing, tourism, mining and general sales. The fishing industry is the backbone of the islands economy and of this, lobster is it’s fishermen’s primary catch. Other shell fish such as crab, scallop, mussel, bar clams or quahogs, and welk bring in a tidy sum to those who fish them.  The tourist industry is a close second to fishing for boosting the islands economy. The only mining that is done on the islands is a salt mine in the Grosse Ile territory.The Iles-de-la-Madeleine, though known in the past as the lonely isles, has been growing in popularity as of late.  People from all over the world are coming to have a taste of the sea, the land and of adventure, for the islands are developing a reputation for the unexpected. The people are down home friendly, the seafood is completely delicious and the landscape has a rugged beauty that has been evolving for millions of years. To get to know the islands is to love them, so if you are planning a vacation, try us. It is a guarantee that you’ll never forget us….

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