The sinking of the Empress of Ireland on May 29, 1914 was one of Canada’s worst maritime disasters – but only a few Canadians have heard about it.
Dubbed “Canada’s Titanic,” the ocean liner sank on the St. Lawrence River near Quebec after a collision with the Norwegian ship, SS Storsdad. The Empress sank in 14 minutes and claimed over 1,012 lives. SS Storsdad did not sink.
Over the years, the Empress has been overshadowed by the Titanic and the Lusitania: two higher profile maritime disasters in the same era that also claimed over 1,000 lives.
However, that is about to change as the vessel will soon be commemorated with stamps, coins and monuments around the country. To mark the anniversary, the Maritime Museum of BC has an Empress exhibit on display, and is just one of the many commemorative events around Canada.
Descendants of the passengers abroad the ship hope this will boost public awareness about the tragedy. “A lot of Canadians don’t know about it and I guess I would be one of them if I didn’t have a family connection,” June Ivan, niece of Empress passenger Leonard Delamont, told the Canadian Press.
“It is part of Canadian history and so much is played up about the Titanic. Why not make people aware of our maritime disasters?”
