Project ART Regulatory Count
Introduction
Prince Edward Island’s regulations help protect public safety, support economic stability, and safeguard the environment. These rules affect residents, businesses, and organizations in many aspects of daily life—from workplace standards to environmental protections.
To ensure regulations remain clear and effective, the Province will conduct regular reviews and publish updates every three years. The first report was released in 2020, this second report summarizes changes over the past five years, and future reports will follow a three-year cycle. This report provides an update on the number of regulatory requirements and the administrative work involved in meeting them, helping Islanders understand how these obligations have evolved since 2020.
Key Terms
- Regulatory requirements are the official rules and obligations set by law that individuals and organizations must follow. They define what must be done to comply with legislation and regulations.
- Administrative burden refers to a subset of those requirements, specifically the actions needed to demonstrate compliance. This includes tasks such as filling out forms, submitting license applications, gathering data for audits, and learning what information is required. In other words, while all administrative burdens are regulatory requirements, they are distinct because they require active effort to show compliance.
Why Does This Matter?
The Province reviews these requirements regularly to keep them up to date and reports changes every three years. Since the first report in 2020:
- The total number of regulatory requirements increased by 2.7%, from 29,801 to 30,616.
- Administrative burden also rose by 14.4%, from 3,408 to 3,899 tasks.
While the numbers have grown, many changes were made to improve safety, fairness, and clarity. For example:
- Child, Youth and Family Services Act: Puts children’s best interests first in all decisions.
- Employment Standards Act: Updates workplace rules to reflect modern needs.
- Regulated Health Professions Act: Combines multiple frameworks into one, reducing duplication and making compliance easier.
Department-by-Department Snapshot
Here’s how requirements and administrative burden changed across departments between 2020 and 2025:
| Department1 | 2020 Admin Burden | 2025 Admin Burden | Change | 2020 Total Requirements | 2025 Total Requirements | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agriculture | 406 | 392 | -3.4% | 2116 | 1959 | -7.4% |
| Economic Development, Innovation and Trade | 2 | 2 | 0.0% | 331 | 337 | 1.8% |
| Education and Early Years | 44 | 39 | -11.4% | 984 | 997 | 1.3% |
| Environment, Energy and Climate Action | 449 | 547 | 21.8% | 2650 | 3093 | 16.7% |
| Executive Council Office | 2 | 2 | 0.0% | 154 | 160 | 3.9% |
| Finance | 190 | 279 | 46.8% | 2183 | 2444 | 12.0% |
| Fisheries, Tourism, Sport and Culture | 70 | 80 | 14.3% | 683 | 819 | 19.9% |
| Health and Wellness | 386 | 429 | 11.1% | 2502 | 2784 | 11.3% |
| Housing, Land and Communities | 313 | 412 | 31.6% | 2203 | 2824 | 28.2% |
| Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission | 42 | 42 | 0.0% | 154 | 155 | 0.6% |
| Justice and Public Safety | 784 | 947 | 20.8% | 7684 | 8094 | 5.3% |
| Legislative Assembly | 0 | 0 | 0.0% | 674 | 747 | 10.8% |
| PEI Liquor Control Commission | 12 | 13 | 8.3% | 363 | 362 | -0.3% |
| Social Development and Seniors | 42 | 39 | -7.1% | 446 | 618 | 38.6% |
| Transportation and Infrastructure | 268 | 305 | 13.8% | 2396 | 2574 | 7.4% |
| Workers Compensation Board | 135 | 189 | 40.0% | 1698 | 1631 | -3.9% |
| Workforce, Advanced Learning and Population | 109 | 179 | 64.2% | 999 | 1000 | 0.1% |
| Repealed/Revoked2 | 151 | 0 | - | 1564 | 0 | - |
| N/A3 | 3 | 3 | 0.0% | 17 | 18 | 5.9% |
| Grand Total4 | 3408 | 3899 | 14.4% | 29801 | 30616 | 2.7% |
Key Takeaways
- The total number of regulatory requirements in Prince Edward Island increased slightly by 2.7% from 29,801 in 2020 to 30,616 in 2025.
- While the volume of legislation has grown, many changes were designed to streamline compliance and reduce duplication, making processes clearer for residents and businesses.
Footnotes
1The baseline count was adjusted to move legislation among departments based on 2023 government reorganization. While the total count remains the same, the burden and requirement counts for departments have changed based on the movement of legislative instruments.
2Repealed/Revoked refers to legislation that were repealed or revoked between 2020 and 2025 and are not associated with any departments under the current organizational structure.
3N/A refers to active legislation not currently associated with a specific department under the current organizational structure.
4The 2025 count also includes requirements contained in forms; however, these are excluded from the table to ensure comparability with 2020 data, which did not account for forms. Form-related requirements total 13,471, bringing the overall number of requirements to 44,087.