Amish horse and buggies will soon become a more familiar sight in eastern Prince Edward Island as the community in southwestern Ontario is moving to the tiny island province for better land values.
Photo Credit: CBC / Janet Sanderson

Amish community begins in Prince Edward Island

Amish transportation, the time-honoured horse and buggy, will become a more common sight in eastern Prince Edward Island this summer.

The first Amish couple settled into a home In Summerville last week. This week both sets of in-laws are arriving. And according to local realto, Brad Oliver, another group will soon be arriving in the community of Dundas.

“In Dundas, there’s like 25 people coming, not all coming to stay. Some are coming to stay in farms they have bought already, others are coming to look, but this is the start of two distinct communities for sure. It’s on,” Oliver told CBC News.

The Amish community, now based in the southern-Ontario region of Kitchener-Waterloo, is moving east to Prince Edward Island because of the price of land.

They’re getting a warm welcome. In nearby Montague, P.E.I., shopkeepers are getting ready by installing hitching posts, and the town council is reviewing zoning regulations in an effort to accommodate horse and buggy use, and storage.

The Amish are a Protestant denomination that follow the teachings of Jacob Ammann, who lived in Switzerland in the 17th-century. Similar to Mennonites, the Amish live by simple customs and refuse to take oaths, vote, or perform military service.

In their rejection of modern technology and conveniences they do not have electricity or telephones and transportation has remained the same as it was when they first arrived in Canada in the 19th century.

The men are often recognizable by thier beards and pants with buttons instead of zippers.  And the women wear white head coverings and simple dresses, usually without buttons, using straight pins instead to fasten their clothing.

The Amish community numbers about 5,000 in Canada. This is the first move beyond their traditional home in southern Ontario.

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