PEIRCMP on Prince Edward Island say the cost of the stolen items and damage to the bases at the national historic site that overlooks Charlottetown Harbour is estimated at about $10,000.RCMP say cost of stolen items and damage estimated at about $10,000Carolyn Ryan · CBC News · Posted: Sep 02, 2025 2:59 PM EDT | Last Updated: 2 hours agoTwo of the three bronze plaques on these display boxes were pried off and taken away, according to Queens District RCMP. They contained messages in Mi’kmaq, English and French. (Submitted by RCMP)Someone has pried off and stolen two bronze plaques from the Skmaqn-Port-la-Joye-Fort Amherst National Historic Site on Prince Edward Island, RCMP said Tuesday. Queens District RCMP are asking for tips from the public to help them track down the plaques, which were reported missing on Friday. “Two of three plaques on display were stolen,” an RCMP news release said, describing them as about two feet by three feet, or 0.6 metres by 1 metre. “They are inscribed with trilingual messages in Mi’kmaq, English and French. The cost of the theft and damages is estimated to be over $10,000.00.”The news release said Parks Canada wardens are also taking part in the investigation at the site, which overlooks Charlottetown Harbour directly across from the Keppoch area of Stratford. “Originally established by the French in 1720, Skmaqn–Port-la-Joye–Fort Amherst commemorates the first permanent European settlement on Île Saint-Jean (today Prince Edward Island),” the Parks Canada website says. “After falling to British forces in 1758, it became the site of a major deportation of French and Acadian settlers. A Grand Alliance was forged here between the Mi’kmaq and French — one of only two locations in North America where this was celebrated annually with speeches, gifting and feasting. The fort’s grassy ruins are still visible, and interpretive panels explore its rich history.”A photo of the plaques taken before the vandalism and theft that was reported to RCMP on Friday. (Submitted by RCMP)Historic plaques, headstones and statues made of bronze have been the target of thefts in many parts of Canada this year. It is believed the stolen bronze and copper items are being taken to be melted down and sold for cash to scrap metal dealers, bringing at most $2 to $3 per pound. Last year, the Ontario city of Brantford brought in a bylaw to fight the problem.”The bylaw, among other things, prohibits cash transactions and makes it mandatory for salvage yards to issue traceable transactions such as cheques or e-transfers for such items,” the Brantford Expositor reported last month. “It also restricts the kind of material or items that can be sold to a scrap metal dealer including wire from a utility, a street or traffic sign, manhole cover as well bronze or brass commercial valves or fittings among others.”Anyone with any information about the theft of the P.E.I. plaques is being asked to contact the RCMP Queens District at 902-368-9300 or Crime Stoppers at 1 800-222-TIPS (8477).
2 bronze plaques pried off their bases at P.E.I.’s Skmaqn-Port-la-Joye-Fort Amherst site
