Annual reports of the departments of the Government of Prince Edward Island : [1950-1985]

• Textual record

• Source of title proper: Title based on the contents of the collection

Collection

Public Archives and Records Office of Prince Edward Island

CA PCA Acc4214

30 reels of 35 mm microfilm

A special project was coordinated in the summer of 1985 to bring together all the existing annual reports of departments and other bodies of the Provincial Government for microfilming. They were collected from the holdings of the Archives, the Government Services Library, Robertson Library at UPEI, and from the departments themselves. Once filmed the originals were returned to their owners.

This collection consists of annual reports from all departments of the Government of Prince Edward Island from 1966 to 1985. Budget speeches and estimates for this time period have also been included. Annual reports from other identified boards, commissions and agencies of the government have been filmed for as far back as issues could be located. There are gaps in some of the series.

A separate government for Prince Edward Island was authorized by an Order-in-Council in 1769 followed quickly by the appointment of Governor Walter Patterson who in turn appointed a Council to deal with public administrative matters in the years 1770-1773. In the latter year an elected body, the House of As sembly came into being. In the earliest years the civil service was not a separate entity as appointed members of the Executive and Legislative Councils performed the administrative duties. After responsible government the elected representatives took over the principal jobs, with one individual often being given responsiblity for several portfolios. Party patronage played a major role in the appointment of government officials and employees. With the twentieth century activities of the government gradually widened in scope and Ministers came to rely more and more on expert advisors. A major change began in the 1930's and accelerated in the decades after the 1950's resulting in an increasing number of departments, boards, commissions and agencies, with a corresponding increase in the number of civil servants.

• Prince Edward Island - Politics and government