Provincial Tartan

In 1960, the Prince Edward Island Tartan was adopted to recognize the contribution of people of Scottish descent to the settling of PEI. The tartan was designed by Mrs. Jean Reed of Covehead and features the colours red for the redness of our soil, green for grass and trees, white for whitecaps on the waves and yellow for the sun.

PEI became the first province in Canada to recognize an official dress tartan - a late 19th century innovation for evening wear. The Prince Edward Island Dress Tartan was unveiled at the College of Piping in Summerside, PEI, on June 25, 1992. Designed by Ben Taylor, Scott MacAulay, Barbara Brown and John (Jock) Hopkirk, the dress tartan has a different design but maintains a distinct PEI feel with its green and Island-red combination.