Pelee Island, Ontario, Canada, is an island in the western half of Lake Erie, connected to the Canadian and United States mainland by ferry service. At 42 kmē, Pelee Island is the largest island in Lake Erie and the southernmost populated point in Canada.
Pelee Island is part of the Township of Pelee in Essex County, and has its own mayor, deputy mayor, and three Councillors. It is what is called a separated township. The township comprises nine islands, the largest being Pelee Island, and including Middle Island, Middle Sister Island, Hen Island, Big Chicken Island, Little Chicken Island, Chick Island, East Sister Island, and North Harbour Island. The total land area of all islands in the township is 41.84 kmē.
It has a population of about 250 permanent residents, but that number can swell to over 1,500 during the summer months, and on long weekends at least three thousand people are there. Due to its southerly location and the moderating effect of Lake Erie, it has a slightly milder climate than inland areas.[2] Its climate, classified as Carolinian, is one of the mildest in the country, and the island has long been used for vineyards and wine making. The wine industry was started here in 1860 and died out in the early twentieth century, but restarted in the 1980s.[3] The island is an agricultural based community which grows about 5,000 acres of soybeans, about 1,000 acres of wheat, 500 acres of grapes, a few acres of specialty corn, there are organic farms selling fruit and vegetables at certain times of the year.
The island is serviced by two ferries, the MV Jiimaan and the MV Pelee Islander. The time of year determines whether mainland passengers board the ferry at nearby Kingsville, Leamington, or Sandusky, Ohio. The Sandusky ferry runs only from late spring until early fall, while the "Jiimaan" runs from the Canadian ports of Leamington and/or Kingsville from early spring until early December. When the ferries are not operating, the only practical way to get to the mainland or to Pelee Island is via airplane.
