Canadian Pacific Navigation Company

The Canadian Pacific Navigation Company was an early steamship company that operated steamships on the coast of British Columbia and the Inside Passage of southeast Alaska. The company was founded in 1883 by John Irving (1854-1936), a prominent steamboat man, businessman, and politician of early British Columbia. In 1901, the company was purchased by the Canadian Pacific Railway, becoming the steamship division of the CPR.

Canadian Pacific Navigation Company
Founded1883
Defunct1901
FateMerged into successor corporation
SuccessorCanadian Pacific Railway
HeadquartersVictoria, British Columbia

Ships edit

The company owned a variety of vessels, including the sternwheeler Princess Louise, R.P. Rithet, the old sidewheelers Wilson G. Hunt and Yosemite, and the coastal steamer Willapa.[1]

Loss of SS Islander edit

Another ship owned by the company was the steamship Islander, which went down in August 1901. Islander was a steel twin-screw steamer built for the Inside passage to Alaska and favoured by wealthy travelers. On the morning of August 15, 1901, the ship struck a submerged iceberg and went down off the south end of Douglas Island, British Columbia. 40 passengers and crew were lost, including the wife and daughter of the politician James Hamilton Ross.[2]

References edit

  1. ^ "Canadian Pacific Navigation Company". Victoria Harbour History. April 2016.
  2. ^ "Loss of a Liner". The Times. No. 36538. London. 20 August 1901. p. 8.

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