The SS Keewatin was buit by the Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company in Glasgow, Scotland and launched in 1907. Five years older than the Titanic, and built in the same style, the Keewatin was one of six ships owned by the Canadian Pacific Railway that served as part of the Great Lakes Fleet. Providing a vital transportation link from Central Ontario (at Port McNicoll) to Northern Ontario (to Port Arthur - now Thunder Bay), passengers spent the two-and-a-half day journey in relative comfort. The vessel also played a major role in the transportation of grain from the prairies to feed hungry cities like Toronto and Montreal.
Saved from the scrapyard by R.J. Peterson in 1967, she has served as a museum ship in her home port since 2012, and in 2023 will be relocated to the Marine Museum of the Great Lakes. The Keewatin is the only British-built Edwardian passenger steamship in the world.
Original footage of the SS Keewatin during its working life. Courtesy of Captain Rick (YouTube).
The Keewatin has a huge local connection, with hundreds of former passengers and staff still living in the North Simcoe area. More than one marriage had its genesis by couples meeting during a voyage on the 'Kee'. The ship is also both a symbol of Canadian industrial progress and a tangible reminder of colonial practices and the expansion of settlers into treaty territories in North-Western Canada.
This photo exhibition explores the SS Keewatin and some of her key features.