Parks Canada has designated four new historically significant sites or events including one that recognizes a dark chapter in the history of Prince Edward Island, the expulsion of thousands of Acadians during the 18th century.

The 1758 deportation of 3,000 French-speaking settlers from Île Saint-Jean, as P.E.I. was then known, "is a significant and tragic part of Canadian History," according to a government release.

Also being recognized are a youth hostel in Alberta, a historic Montreal neighbourhood and a cemetery in Kingston, Ont. All will be highlighted in new maps and pamplets.

"I am pleased that we are recognizing the special role these communities have played in Canada's history," Environment Minister Peter Kent said Tuesday.

The Acadians were sent to England and France but roughly half died along the way due to illness or ships being lost as a result of harsh weather. Another 1,500 escaped to other parts of the Maritimes. Fewer than 200 managed to hide in the Island's forests.

"The French culture and language present on the Island today attest to the determination of the few French-speaking colonists who managed to escape deportation and those who managed to later return to the Island," a government release says.