One hundred years after its founding, Parks Canada is working to find the right balance between attracting visitors and protecting the land.

While protecting the environment is a primary focus for the government department, that wasn't the reason it was founded. The first parks were established to attract tourists to less visited parts of the country. Environmental protection came later, and Parks Canada is still struggling to find the balance between the two.

Dalvay-by-the-Sea, in P.E.I. National Park, is a historic building and a hotel. (Parks Canada)

A new book of essays, A Century of Parks Canada, addresses this question. Island Morning talks to book editor Claire Campbell and contributor Alan MacEachern about this difficult balance, and then to P.E.I. National Park superintendent Jewel Cunningham.