The Canada Tree
One of the places I really wanted to visit in PEI is Montague. Not only does it have the best Lobster Chowder on the island, it is home to ‘The Canada Tree’. 13 years ago Tyler Aspin started his tree sculpture on the base of an old PEI Red Oak. He gathered pieces from every province of Canada to put into his tree and a story with each piece. The Premier of PEI got wind of his idea and requests went out across Canada. People started sending him their own artifacts to add, each with its own story. There is a piece of Gretzky’s hockey stick, a pencil from Margaret Atwood, a stomping board from Stompin Tom, a piece of the Bluenose II, as well as artifacts and stories from ordinary Canadians all over Canada. Altogether the tree is the symbol and story of the lives of Canadians. Tragically Tyler was killed before the tree was finished and it was put into storage. Now the town of Montaque has put it on display for the summer.
Hopefully someday it will have its own home.
Grace