The Empress of Ireland - The Forgotten Princess
On May 28, 1914, the Canadian Pacific Ship, Empress of Ireland left Quebec City on her way to Liverpool, England with 1,475 passengers on board. In the early morning hours of, May 29, she was struck by a Norwegian collier called the Storstad. The captain and crew had less than fifteen minutes to try and save their passengers before the ship slipped beneath the waters of the St Lawrence River near Point-au-Père.
Of the 1,475 aboard, 1,078 perished in a matter of minutes. This tragedy remains the worst peacetime catastrophe in Canadian history and this is the controversial story of who was to blame for the unexpected loss of so many lives.
This story is part of the collection of stories found in the book, Shipwrecks of the Gaspe Coast that is now available in the Book Shop here on the website and on Amazon.
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