May 31, 1997: The Confederation Bridge opens. It is the 1st road crossing linking the Canadian Province of Prince Edward Island with the rest of the country: Borden-Carleton, PEI with Cape Jourimain, New Brunswick.
The bridge was designed by French engineer Jean M. Muller, who was a specialist of multiple span match-casting bridges. Construction began on November 1, 1993, took 3 1/2 years, and cost C$1.3 billion.
It is 8 miles long, making it Canada's longest bridge. It is 36 feet wide, 2 lanes, and most of it is 131 feet above the Northumberland Strait. The speed limit on the bridge is 80 kilometres (50 miles) per hour, but can vary with wind and weather conditions. When travelling at the speed limit, it takes about 12 minutes to cross the bridge. It is part of the Trans-Canada Highway, which had previously been part of a ferry crossing at that location.
Prince Edward Island, part of "Atlantic Canada" or "The Maritime Provinces," was named after a son of King George III of Britain, a brother of King George IV and King William IV, the Duke of Kent and Strathearn, the Earl of Dublin, and the father of Queen Victoria. She was on the British throne when Confederation was proclaimed in 1867, and thus he is known as "The Father of Confederation," even though he died in 1820, a few days before his father, never mind before his brothers, and never got to be King.
Nevertheless, there is a reason the Island is named for him: He was commander-in-chief of British forces in what become known as the Maritime Provinces from 1791 to 1800. In 1794, he became the 1st British royal to visit the United States following its independence.
(The 1st eventual King of Great Britain to visit was Edward VIII, as Prince of Wales, in 1919 and 1924, and most things in North America named "Prince of Wales," including the hockey trophy, are named for him. The 1st reigning British monarch to visit the United States, and the 1st one to visit Canada, was King George VI, in 1939.)
PEI is Canada's smallest Province by area, 2,190 square miles, and 157 miles by road from North Cape to East Point; its smallest by population, about 155,000; and its smallest by representation in the House of Commons, 4 seats. Nevertheless, it is a popular Summertime resort, similar to Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket off the coast of Massachusetts.
(UPDATE: As of 2026, of the 343 seats in the House of Commons, Ontario has 122, Quebec 78, British Columbia 43, Alberta 37, Saskatchewan and Manitoba 14 each, Nova Scotia 11, New Brunswick 10, Newfoundland and Labrador 7, PEI 4; and each of the Territories, Yukon, Northwest and Nunavut, each has 1. The Maritimes, combined, have 32, not even 10 percent.)
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May 31, 1997 was a Saturday. Football was out of season. The NBA Playoffs were between the Conference Finals and the Finals. The Chicago Bulls would beat the Utah Jazz in 6 games. Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals was played at the CoreStates Center (now the Xfinity Mobile Arena) in Philadelphia. The Detroit Red Wings beat the Philadelphia Flyers, 4-2, starting a 4-game sweep.
And these games were played in Major League Baseball:
* The New York Yankees beat their arch-rivals, the Boston Red Sox, 7-2 at Fenway Park in Boston. Andy Pettitte outpitched Tim Wakefield. Paul O'Neill went 3-for-5 with 2 home runs and 3 RBIs. Derek Jeter went 1-for-3 with a walk.
* The New York Mets beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 10-3 at Shea Stadium. Armando Reynoso outpitched Mark Leiter. Carlos Baerga went 4-for-5 with 4 RBIs. The only home run was hit by the Phillies' Darren Daulton.
* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Cleveland Indians, 8-5 at Camden Yards in Baltimore. The O's got home runs from Cal Ripken, Tony Tarasco, Mike Bordick and Jeffrey Hammonds. The Tribe got them from Manny Ramirez, David Justice and Pat Borders.
* The San Francisco Giants beat the Atlanta Braves, 6-4 at Turner Field (now Center Parc Stadium) in Atlanta. Barry Bonds went 0-for-3 with a walk, and an RBI on a sacrifice fly.
* The Colorado Rockies beat the Florida Marlins, 8-4 at Pro Player Stadium (now Hard Rock Stadium) in Miami Gardens, Florida.
* The Montreal Expos beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 4-2 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh.
* The Chicago Cubs beat the Cincinnati Reds, 7-4 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.
* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Chicago White Sox, 4-3 at Milwaukee County Stadium.
* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 6-3 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis.
* The Texas Rangers beat the Kansas City Royals, 3-1 at The Ballpark in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas.
* The San Diego Padres beat the Houston Astros, 12-5 at the Astrodome in Houston. Tony Gwynn did not play.
* The Anaheim Angels beat the Minnesota Twins, 5-3 at Edison International Field of Anaheim (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim).
* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Oakland Athletics, 13-3 at the Oakland Coliseum.
* And the Detroit Tigers beat the Seattle Mariners, 4-2 at the Kingdome in Seattle. Ken Griffey Jr. went 1-for-4. Alex Rodriguez went 0-for-4.
