Prince Edward Island Memorial Fountain

While walking through Charlottetown, we came across this unusual memorial fountain. Unlike the military monuments we had seen elsewhere in the city, this one was not created to remember a particular war or even a single group of people. It was designed to recognize a much broader idea of service and sacrifice.

The Prince Edward Island Memorial Fountain was dedicated on September 18, 2005. It honors Prince Edward Islanders who have volunteered to serve their country and their communities in dangerous professions, including members of the Armed Forces, police and peace officers, and firefighters. That distinction is what makes this memorial particularly interesting. It brings together military service and public service, recognizing people whose occupations may require them to place their own lives at risk for others.

The design reinforces that message. Around the base are words including “SACRIFICE” and “PEACE”, along with maple leaves representing Canada. Rising from the center is a bronze hand offering a torch—the Torch of Remembrance. The bronze sculpture was created by Canadian artist Brett Davis.  The torch also connects the memorial with one of Canada’s best-known pieces of wartime literature. The inscription concludes with words adapted from Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae’s 1915 poem In Flanders Fields: “Be yours to hold it high.”

The symbolism is powerful. The torch is being passed from one generation to another. Those who served in the past are remembered, those serving today are recognized, and future generations inherit the responsibility to continue protecting their communities and remembering those who sacrificed before them. That idea is stated directly on the dedication plaque: service and sacrifice belong not only to the past but continue into the present and remain important to the future.

What stayed with me about this memorial was its simplicity. There are no soldiers charging into battle and no single war being commemorated. Instead, the words “Sacrifice” and “Peace” surround a hand raising a torch. Together they acknowledge the cost of service while pointing toward the reason for remembering it.

Dedicated in 2005, the fountain adds a contemporary layer to Charlottetown’s many military memorials. After seeing monuments throughout the city devoted to particular wars and generations, this one seemed to gather those individual stories together under a much broader message—the hope that sacrifice ultimately leads to peace.