Much deserved praise for Ian’s decades of dedication to raising awareness and educating Islanders about issues that should concern all of us.
Island Farmer columnist Ian Petrie among 2025 Order of PEI inductees
by Bill McGuire
Wednesday, October 1st, 2025, in The Island Farmer
https://www.peicanada.com/island_farmer/island-farmer-columnist-ian-petrie-among-2025-order-of-pei-inductees/article_9024944e-3090-40fb-8c5a-7f00e482840b.html
Ian Petrie, a well-known journalist and Island Farmer columnist, was among three Islanders officially invested into the Order of PEI, the province’s highest honour, during a ceremony at Government House on Sept. 24.
Petrie was recognized for more than four decades of thoughtful, fact-driven reporting on agriculture, rural communities, and the environment.
Petrie, who lives in Iona with his wife Nancy, has spent most of his career walking farm fields, standing on wharves, and sitting at kitchen tables with the people whose livelihoods are tied to the land and sea. That perspective shaped a body of work that earned him trust not just from the farming and fishing sectors he covered, but from Islanders across the province.
Introducing Petrie at the ceremony, Island Farmer publisher Paul MacNeill described him as a journalist who never fit the polished image of television. His boots were more likely caked in soil than shined for the camera, and his tweed jacket outlasted fashion cycles. What mattered was not appearance, but the way he told stories.
“He walked fields with farmers, and wharves with fishermen,” MacNeill said. “It was here that he found stories to educate our province about the everyday issues impacting our vital primary industries. Islanders respected Ian because he never dumbed down his reporting. If Ian was crouching in a field with a fistful of soil, you’d better be listening.”
During nearly three decades with CBC Charlottetown, Petrie covered topics that shaped the future of Island farming—pesticides, fish kills, land ownership, water access, and the transition from small mixed farms to larger, more specialized operations. His stories were rarely simple, but always clear, drawing out connections between environment, economics, and politics.
PEI Lt.-Gov. Dr. Wassim Salamoun, who is also Chancellor of the Order, noted that all three 2025 recipients shared a background in teaching. In Petrie’s case, that included both his time instructing journalism students at Holland College and his lifelong effort to explain complex issues to the public.
“Beyond his remarkable impacts on the community, it is inspiring that he has consistently chosen to share knowledge with others,” Salamoun said. “Ian’s reporting empowered people to make informed decisions. He is a worthy recipient of this honour.”
A government release echoed that view, describing him as a journalist whose balanced coverage of agriculture and environmental issues has been “influential on processes and policies at all levels.”
Deputy Premier and Agriculture Minister Bloyce Thompson added a personal note, recalling how Petrie interviewed him on his own farm years before he entered politics. “Whether you know him from the days on CBC or more recent, his advocacy for agriculture and the environment has left its mark,” Thompson said. “Ian’s leadership and wisdom is spread across every community here in PEI.”
When Petrie’s name was announced back in June as one of the three 2025 inductees, he admitted to being caught off guard.
“I was dumbstruck when I found out,” he told the Eastern Graphic at the time. “I’m pleased the board recognized reporters do useful work, that they contribute to the well-being of PEI, but there’s a lot of people besides me who do that every day.”
Now 75, Petrie continues to contribute columns to the Island Farmer every two weeks, offering readers perspective on farming issues grounded in decades of experience. He also remains active with the Southeast Environmental Association, the Belfast Community Development Corporation, and projects on his own property, where he is still cleaning up damage from post-tropical storm Fiona.
Reflecting on his career, Petrie has consistently emphasized the good fortune of being able to do work he loved in a province that welcomed him when he first arrived in 1980. “I’ve been very, very fortunate in my time on PEI. I’ve done work I enjoyed. I’ve met a hell of a lot of people,” he said.
Born in Montreal and trained initially as a teacher, Petrie taught environmental studies at Carleton University in Ottawa before moving to Prince Edward Island. CBC gave him the opportunity to specialize in agricultural and rural reporting—a rarity in Canadian newsrooms then and now. That specialization allowed him to dig deep into the issues, winning the trust of farmers and policy makers alike.
After retiring from CBC in 2009, Petrie taught broadcast journalism at Holland College for six years, passing on to students the same commitment to fairness and integrity that had marked his own career.
First awarded in 1996, the Order of Prince Edward Island recognizes individual excellence or outstanding leadership in community and professional life. Recipients are nominated by their fellow citizens, and only three are selected each year by an independent nine-person advisory council.
This year’s other inductees were Dr. Laurie Brinklow, honoured for her contributions to literature and Island studies, and mediator Kirstin Lund, recognized for her work advancing justice and women’s rights.
For Petrie, the recognition is still settling in. “There’s an esteemed group of people who’ve received this award, and I’m humbled to be among them,” he said.
