This list contains large vessels that operated on rivers and lakes of Manitoba and elsewhere in western Canada between the 1850s and present.
Ship name begins with the letter: A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z
A
Built
Official Number
Notes
Fate
Alberta
1884
North Western Coal & Navigation Company
Abandoned at Medicine Hat (1885)
1904
116950
315 Gross Tonnage. Rufus Mosher & Fred W. Coates, 1908 to Winnipeg Navigation Company
Caught in flood at Lockport (1916)
Alert
1905
121774
Northern Fish Company
?
1902
112291
Levi Bellefeuille, to Pioneer Navigation Company
Wrecked by ice in Red River (1910)
Algoma
1909
Levi Bellefeuille, to Manitoba Sand & Dredging Company
?
Alice Mattes
1921
The Pas Lumber Company
Beached at The Pas (circa 1950)
1886
90451
Owned by Daniel Emes Sprague of the Sprague Lumber Company. Named for his named for his wife, Alice Wilhelmina Hawkins Sprague
Wrecked (?); registry closed (1896)
1873
J. W. McLane, circa 1873 to Red River Transportation Company
Grounded at Spruce Woods (1885)
W. H. Alsop
1881
W. H. Alsop (of Bonanza Farms), 1882 to Red River Transportation Company
?
1910
130271
Owned by Charles H. NcNaughton of the Arctic Ice Company (1910-1938) then by Brown & Rutherford Company from 1938 onward. Named for Amelia Barbara McNaughton, daughter of its original owner.
Amish
32 Gross Tons
?
Anson Northup
1858
Owner: Anson Northup, formerly North Star, Governor Ramsey
Reconstructed as Pioneer (1859)
1887
90452
Captain Patterson
Wrecked (1893)
Armenon
1918
138624
Built at Winnipegosis. Owned by Armstrong Gimli Fish Company (1918-?) and Armstrong Independent Fisheries Limited (1931-?) of Portage la Prairie
Beached at Winnipegosis (?)
Assiniboia
1903
H. H. Ross
Crushed by ice on Cedar Lake (1906)
1894
103388
?
Dismantled at Winnipeg (1900), rebuilt as Gertie H
Atik
1947
193293
Fishing vessel, built at The Pas. Owned by Keystone Fisheries Limited (1954-1961)
?
1945
188251
Built at Winnipeg. Operated by Rural Municipality of Morris at the Aubigny Ferry Crossing (1945-1965)
See Stockton Ferry
1885
90442
Built at Riverton; owners included Lake Winnipeg Transportation Lumber & Trading Company and Hugh Black.
Unknown (after 1901)
B
Built
Official Number
Notes
Fate
1909-1910
130274
Rebuilt by 1939 from the Phyllis Williams. Operated by the Federal Government.
Condemned (1951)
Baroness
1883
North Western Coal & Navigation Company
Abandoned at Lethbridge (1885)
Battleford
1896
John Walter, 1896 to Village of Battleford
Abandoned at Battleford, Saskatchewan (circa 1907)
Betty Lew
Gross Tonnage 316
?
1910
122278
Built at Winnipeg, operated by the Hyland Navigation & Trading Company. Gross Tonnage 278
Crushed by ice near Winnipeg (1913)
Bradbury
1915
152581
Built at Selkirk. Owned by the Federal Minister of Public Works (1915-1930), Province of Manitoba (1931-1941), Powell Transportation Limited (1941-1957) and Federal Minister of Public Works (1957-1977)
Registry closed (1977); beached at Marine Museum of Manitoba
C
Built
Official Number
Notes
Fate
Carberry
1903
112293
Operating on Red River, 1919. Gross Tonnage 64
?
1873
Red River Transportation Company
Wrecked near Ste. Agathe (1885)
Chickama II
1942
Built at Selkirk by Purvis Shipworks as freight and passenger vessel on Lake Winnipeg
Beached at Marine Museum of Manitoba
Chief Commissioner
1873
Built for the Hudson’s Bay Company at Lower Fort Garry 1871-72, launched 18 May 1872; in 1881, when the hull was found to be “much decayed and unsafe” she was converted to a “storehouse” [1]
Hull converted to barge (1875)
Chieftain
1901
111458
Gross Tonnage 61. Dominion Fish Company, 1909 to Winnipeg Fish Company, 1910 to Northern Fish Company
Grounded on Red River sandbar (1916)
City of Edmonton
1909
126448
John Walter
Abandoned at Edmonton (circa 1918)
City of Grand Forks
1895
United States Registry
W. J. Godfrey, to East Grand Forks Transportation Company
Sunk at Grand Forks (1912)
City of Medicine Hat
1906
Wrecked on Saskatoon bridge (1908)
City of Prince Albert
1907
122291
Prince Albert Lumber Company, 1918 to Mandy Mines
?
City of Selkirk
1893
100134
Ewing & Fryer, to Dominion Fish Company. Gross Tonnage 293
Crushed by ice on Red River (1914)
Owned by Winnipeg & Western Transportation Company; formerly Minnesota
Wrecked in storm off Long Point on Lake Winnipeg (1881)
Owned by Hudson’s Bay Company; formerly Chief Commissioner; named for HBC Governor Eden Colvile (1819-1893).
Burned at Grand Rapids (1894)
D
Built
Official Number
Notes
Fate
Daisy
Gross Tonnage 27. Operating on Red River, 1919
?
Daisy Bell
1898
James Wallwark
Abandoned at Dawson (1899)
Dakota
1872
Red River Transportation Company
Burned near international border (1881)
David N. Winton
1920
The Pas Lumber Company
Beached at The Pas (1934), wrecked by ice (1954)
David S. Winton
1920
122296
Albert L. Mattes (1920-1931) of The Pas, David D. Rosenberry (1936) of The Pas
?
Dontianen
Circa 1930
Tom Sukanen, 1942 to Victor Markkula, 1972 to Lawrence Mullin and the Moose Jaw Prairie Pioneer Village and Museum
Reconstructed at the Moose Jaw Prairie Pioneer Village and Museum
E
Built
Official Number
Notes
Fate
Emma E.
1908
Finger Lumber Company
Beached at The Pas (?)
Evelyn B.
1922
H. Burrell
Refurbished as Rambler (circa 1925)
F
Built
Official Number
Notes
Fate
Fisherman
1892
Gross Tonnage 44. Northwest Navigation Company
Laid up at Selkirk (1914)
Frank Burton
1896
103651
Built at Selkirk, woodens screw steamer. 52 gross tons, 35 net tons. Registry closed may 1907
Unknown; registry closed (1907)
Frederick
1904
Northwest Navigation Company
Lost on Lake of the Woods (1912)
Friday
1911
Built by the Department of Public Works; Operating on Red River, 1919. Tugboat, gross Tonnage 60
?
G
Built
Official Number
Notes
Fate
Garry
1912
134253
Operating on Red River, 1919. Gross Tonnage 120
Unknown
George V
1911
122295
City of Prince Albert, 1915 to F. E. Simmonds syndicate
Wrecked in ice at The Pas (1918)
Gertie H
1900
107218
J. S. Hall, to Pioneer Navigation Company. The boat was the rebuilt Assiniboine, apparently named for Gertie Hall, daughter of its owner.
Destroyed by fire (1904)
Glendevon
1882
Charles Gauthier
Burned at mouth of Little Saskatchewan River (1891)
Goldfield
Circa 1914
134252
Gross Tonnage 94. Reid & Tait Fish Company, circa 1910 to Goldfield Mines, 1919 to Riverton Fish Company, 1921 to Gimli Fish Company, 1936 to Armstrong Gimli Fish Company, 1969 to Sigurdson Fish Company; formerly Minerva, Frank Burton
Cut up for scrap at Riverton (?) [5]
J. L. Grandin
1878
J. L. Grandin (of Bonanza Farms)
Sunk during flood at Halstad, Minnesota (1897)
Grand Rapids
1884
88482
Gross and net Tonnage 139. Wooden tow barge build at Winnipeg
Wrecked at mouth of Red River (June 1891)
112308
Gross Tonnage 438. Northwest Navigation Company; formerly Mikado
Broken up at Selkirk (1930s)
1917
Gross Tonnage 97. Northern Fish Company
?
H
Built
Official Number
Notes
Fate
Sir Hector (tugboat)
Gross Tonnage 70. Department of Public Works; named for Sir Hector Louis Langevin (1826-1906).
?
Highlander
1900
Gross Tonnage 59. Imperial Fish Company, to Northern Fish Company, to Hudson’s Bay Company
Dismantled at Norway House (1916)
Hudson’s Bay Messenger
1895
103386
Built at Winnipeg, wooden screw steamer.
Unknown; registry closed (1897)
I
Built
Official Number
Notes
Fate
Ida
1890s
Peter McArthur, then to McArthur’s Standard Lumber Company
?
Idell
1892
100135
Owned by Northwest Navigation Company. Built at Selkirk, wooden screw steamer, operated on Red River. 53 gross tons, 36 net tons
Broken up at Selkirk (1941)
1862
J. C. & H. C. Burbank, transferred circa 1872 to Red River Transportation Company (Kittson Line); formerly Freighter
?
Iona
1899
Standard Lumber Company
?
Isabelle
Peter McArthur, then to McArthur’s Standard Lumber Company; formerly Lady Blanche
Abandoned near Winnipegosis (1904)
J
Built
Official Number
Notes
Fate
Josie
1890
Richard Deacon
Abandoned on North Saskatchewan River (1914)
K
Built
Official Number
Notes
Fate
Kathleen
1885
88489
Built at Winnipeg; wooden screw steamer. 7 gross tons, 4 net tons.
Unknown; registry closed (1890)
Keenora
1898
Gross Tonnage 535. Rainy River Navigation Company, 1918 to three Winnipeg lawyers, 1923 to Northern Fish Company, 1931 to Selkirk Navigation Company, 1964 to Marine Transport Navigation Company, 1972 to Maritime Museum of Manitoba
Beached at Maritime Museum of Manitoba (1972)
Keewatin
1876
F. T. Rollin
Wrecked in storm on Lake Winnipeg (1884)
L
Built
Official Number
Notes
Fate
Lady Blanche
1879
Reginald Pratt
Reconstructed as Isabelle (1893)
Lady Canadian
1944
Beached at the Marine Museum of Manitoba
Lady Ellen
1877
E. McMicken, N. Blacklin & J. Colcleugh, 1880 to Brown & Rutherford, 1885 to D. Clark, 1887 to D. Fraser, 1887 to Northwest Navigation Company
Laid up at Selkirk (1915)
Lady of the Lake
1897
103661
Stephen Sigurdson, 1898 to William Robinson, 1899 to Dominion Fish Company, 1901 to Northern Fish Company
Condemned at Selkirk (1934)
Lady of the Lake
Gross Tonnage 201. William Pearson Company; formerly Welcome
Rebuilt as Qu’Appelle (1907)
1971-1972
Built by Purvis Boat Company at Selkirk
Last operated (1993), beached along Red River (2002)
Lark
1893
100138
Built at St. Boniface; wooden tow barge. 38 gross and net tons
Broken up (?), registry closed (1908)
1884
88473
Built at Riverton; owned by Lake Winnipeg Transportation Lumber & Trading Company.
Broken up (?)
Lily
1877
Built for the Hudson’s Bay Company and launched at Grand Rapids in 1877, transferred in 1883 to the Winnipeg & Western Transportation Company
Sunk at Drowning Ford, NWT [about 40 miles below Medicine Hat] (1883)
Lisgar
Gross Tonnage 26
?
B. J. Little
1898
B. J. Little
?
1967-1969
Built as replacement for Keenora
Sold (1978), beached in Selkirk Slough (1990), dismantled (2016)
Lottie S.
1900
North West Fish Company
?
Luana
Gross Tonnage 279
?
Luana III
1945
174970
Built at Winnipeg. Owned by Carl Thomasson of C. Tomasson & Sons (1948-1949) of Hecla and Keystone Fisheries Limited (1949-1966)
Burned and broken up (1966)
M
Built
Official Number
Notes
Fate
Maggie
1873
James Bell, to F. T. Rollin
Converted to barge at Winnipeg (1878)
Gross Tonnage 64. Operating on Red River, 1919
?
Manitoba
1875
Merchants International Steamboat Line, 1875 to Red River Transportation Company, circa 1881 to Winnipeg & Western Transportation Company
Crushed by ice at Shell River, NWT (1885)
Manitou
1900
111451
Booth Fish Company
Beached on Lake Winnipegosis (?)
Marion
1904
116946
Richard Deacon of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan
Abandoned on North Saskatchewan River (1914)
Marquette
1879
Northwest Navigation Company
Wrecked on Red River (1894)
Marquis
1882
88488
Winnipeg & Western Transportation Company
Beached at Prince Albert (1890), burned (circa 1909)
1905
121772
Owned by the Manitoba Gypsum Company (1905-1919) and Northern Fish Company (1921-1931)
Unknown (after 1931)
Mary Ann Roe
Before 1881
Owned by Roe and D. B. McDonald of Portage la Prairie [3]
?
May Queen
1884
E. S. Andrews
Scrapped at Saskatoon (1885)
McKillop-Benjafield
1903
McKillop & Benjafield
Abandoned on Last Mountain Lake (?)
Midnight Sun
1905
Northern Transportation Company
?
1905
112308
Gross Tonnage 242. Built by John Morrison and Roderick Smith, later owned by William Purvis, to Northern Fish Company
Rebuilt as Grand Rapids (1913)
Miles
?
1885
Wrecked by ice (?)
Minassin
?
Minnesota
1875
Merchants International Steamboat Line, 1875 to Red River Transportation Company
Refurbished as City of Winnipeg (1881)
Minnow
1884
North Western Coal & Navigation Company, 1887 to Lamoureux Brothers, 1898 to Percy C. Cunliffe
Abandoned on North Saskatchewan River (circa 1900)
Mockingbird
1899
North West Fish Company
Swamped on Lake Winnipegosis (1901)
Mount Cashel
1910
Burned near Winnipeg (1914)
Myles
1889
Northwest Navigation Company
Lost on Lake Winnipeg (circa 1900)
N
Built
Official Number
Notes
Fate
1975
1882
Wrecked (?)
W. S. Newton
1930
156568
Gross Tonnage 311. Keystone Fisheries Limited, named for businessman Walter S. Newton
Sunk at Selkirk (1947)
Nipawin
1917
Beached at The Pas (1930s)
Northcote
1874
Hudson’s Bay Company, 1883 to Winnipeg & Western Transportation Company
Beached at Cumberland House (1886), burned (circa 1903)
Northern Light
1906
Northern Transportation Company
?
Northland Echo
1910
Northern Transportation Company
?
Northland Sun
1907
Charles Barber, to Northern Transportation Company
?
Northland Trader
1906
Northern Transportation Company
?
North West
1881
Northwest Navigation Company, 1884 to Winnipeg & Western Transportation Company
Wrecked in flood at Edmonton (1899)
Notin
1914
Ross Navigation Company
Beached at The Pas (1920s)
O
Built
Official Number
Notes
Fate
Odinak
1914
134260
Armstrong Gimli Fish Company
Beached at Winnipegosis (?)
1885
78004
Built at Winnipeg. Owned by Jarvis & Berridge (1885) and Red River & Lake Winnipeg Navigation Company (1882-?). Rebuilt at Selkirk as tow barge. Owned by Reid & Tait Fish Company (1885-?), to Northwest Navigation Company (1896-?), and William Robinson (1898-?).
Unknown; registry closed (1900)
1901
111460
Built at Selkirk. Owned by William Robinson (1901-1905) and the Dominion Fish Company (1906-1918)
?
O Hell
1910
Beached at The Pas (1920s)
Osprey
1890s
Booth Fish Company
?
P
Built
Official Number
Notes
Fate
1966
Built by Purvis Boat Company at Selkirk
Beached in Selkirk Slough (2009), burned (2017)
1965
Built by Purvis Boat Company at Selkirk
Beached in Selkirk Slough (2013), dismantled (2016)
Le Pas
1910
H. H. Ross, then to Ross Navigation Company
Beached at The Pas (1920s)
Pathfinder
1903
Richard Deacon
Abandoned on North Saskatchewan River (1914)
Petrel
1898
C. W. Maloan
Dismantled (1910)
1909-1910
130274
Assembled in Manitoba, operated by the Lake Winnipeg Shipping Company (1910-c1920s) and the William Robinson Company (1920s). Abandoned in the 1930s and rebuilt as the Baldur.
See Baldur
Pioneer
Owned by Anson Northup; formerly called Anson Northup
Crushed by ice at Cook’s Creek off Red River (1862)
Pluck
Circa 1880
Bonanza Farms, 1882 to Red River Transportation Company; formerly White Swan
Dismantled at Grand Forks (1886)
1896
Reid & Tait Fish Company, to Dominion Fish Company
Burned at Warren’s Landing on Lake Winnipeg (1908)
Prince Rupert
1872
Peter McArthur, then part of the Northwest Navigation Company
Dismantled at Winnipeg (1881)
Princess
1880-1881
Launched 2 August 1881; owned by William Robinson, then part of Northwest Navigation Company
Sunk in storm off Swampy Island on Lake Winnipeg (1906)
Q
Built
Official Number
Notes
Fate
Qu’Appelle
William Pearson Company; formerly called Lady of the Lake
Torched at Cowan’s Beach on Last Mountain Lake (1918)
R
Built
Official Number
Notes
Fate
Rambler
C. Patterson; formerly called Evelyn B.
Beached in storm at Coffey’s Point on Lake Winnipegosis (1930)
Red River
1883
Northwest Navigation Company
Sunk in storm on Lake Winnipeg (1899)
Regina
1885
88499
Built at Winnipeg. Tonnage: gross (6) net (4). Wooden screw steamer
Broken up (?), registry closed (1908)
1885
90441
Built at Selkirk.
Unknown, registry closed (1890)
1891
100131
Built at Winnipeg
Broken up (?); registry closed (1899)
1967
Built by Purvis Boat Company at Selkirk
Beached in Selkirk Slough (2014)
Rocket
1899
Gross Tonnage 56. J. W. Simpson, 1906 to Northwest Navigation Company
Broken up at Selkirk (1933)
1910
Operated by Lake Winnipeg Shipping Company
Broken up (1917), rebuilt (?), scrapped (1922)
Roughsedge - Ramsay
1905
Roughsedge & Ramsay
Shut down on North Saskatchewan River (1909)
Ruby
1910
Federal Department of Public Works
?
S
Built
Official Number
Notes
Fate
Sam Brisbin
1908
H. H. Ross, then to Ross Navigation Company
Sunk at The Pas (1920s)
Saskatchewan
1883
Peter McArthur
Burned at The Narrows, Lake Manitoba (1893)
Saskatchewan
1903
Hudson’s Bay Company
Dismantled at The Pas (1913)
Scona
John Walter; formerly called Strathcona
Abandoned at Edmonton (circa 1918)
Selkirk
1871
Hill, Griggs & Company, circa 1872 to Red River Transportation Company
Wrecked at Grand Forks (1884)
Sigurros
1895
103376
Built at Icelandic River [Riverton], wooden schooner, 21 gross and net tons
Unknown, registry closed (1919)
Slave River
1912
Hudson’s Bay Company
?
C. R. Smith
1912
Finger Lumber Company
Beached at The Pas (?)
1906
Gross Tonnage 179. William Hall
Wrecked by ice on the Red River (1920)
1884
88474
Built at Riverton; owned by Lake Winnipeg Transportation Lumber & Trading Company.
?
Sparkle
1922
Booth Fish Company
?
J. R. Spear
Gross Tonnage 71. Named for businessman J. R. Spear; operated on Red River, 1919
?
Spray
Gross Tonnage 18
?
Spray
1880
78003
Built at Pine Falls. Wooden barge of 100 gross (and net) tons
Unknown, registry closed (?)
1882
Built at Winnipeg for the Northwest Navigation Company
?
1945
313977
Built at Stockton. Operated by the Rural Municipality of South Cypress at the Stockton Ferry Crossing (1945-1965)
Dismantled (1966)
1945
188251
Built at Winnipeg, formerly the Aubigny Ferry ON#188251. Operated by the Rural Municipality of South Cypress at the Stockton Ferry Crossing (1966-1989)
Scrapped (1991)
Strathcona
1904
John Walter
Rebuilt as Scona (1907)
1889
92695
Northwest Navigation Company
Abandoned at Fort Alexander Mills (1911)
Suzanne E
1946
Built by Edward Neison (1887-1982); later bought by Noah Epstein (1898-1958), operator of Selkirk Fisheries, and named in honour of his daughter Suzanne Epstein Golden
Caught in storm north of Grindstone Point and sunk (24 September 1965)
Swallow
1868
Minnesota shippers; 1875 to James Flannigan
Caught in Red River ice (1879)
T
Built
Official Number
Notes
Fate
Tempest
1900
Gross Tonnage 75. Built by William Purvis Sr. for the Northern Fish Company, it towed sailboats to fishing grounds on Lake Winnipeg.
Beached (1925), broken up at Selkirk (1927)
Treesbank Ferry II
1970
331314
Built at Riverton. Owned by the Provincial Department of Highways & Transportation and operated at Treesbank Ferry Crossing (1970-1984).
Unknown, registry closed (1999)
Treesbank Ferry III
1987
808175
Built at Riverton. Owned by the Provincial Department of Highways & Transportation and operated at Treesbank Ferry Crossing (1987-1989), then purchased by the Rural Municipality of South Cypress / and operated at the Stockton Ferry Crossing since 1990.
Active (2020)
Tobin
1921
Beached at The Pas (1930s)
U
Built
Official Number
Notes
Fate
V
Built
Official Number
Notes
Fate
Vaughan
Operating on Red River in 1919, gross tonnage 134 (LAC records)
?
Victor
Gross Tonnage 26. Operating on Red River, 1919
?
Victoria
1878
?
?
W
Built
Official Number
Notes
Fate
Welcome
1897
103661
William Pearson Company
Rebuilt as Lady of the Lake (1906)
William Robinson
Circa 1880
Grounded on Lake Winnipeg (1882)
Winnipeg
Dredge. Gross Tonnage 245. Operated by Department of Public Works
?
1909
Gross Tonnage 883. Hyland Navigation & Trading Company
Burned (1912)
1903
Gross Tonnage 278. Imperial Fish Company, 1904 to Northern Fish Company
Dismantled (1936)
X
Built
Official Number
Notes
Fate
Y
Built
Official Number
Notes
Fate
Z
Built
Official Number
Notes
Fate
See also:
On Board the Steamer “Northwest,” Saskatchewan River
Manitoba History, Number 17, Spring 1989My Father’s Steamboats by Mary Agnes Medd
Manitoba Pageant, Volume 17, Number 1, Autumn 1971Steamboats to the Rescue, 1897 by Molly McFadden
Manitoba Pageant, Volume 6, Number 3, April 1961The First of Many by Molly McFadden
Manitoba Pageant, Volume 4, Number 3, April 1959A History of Transportation in Winnipeg by Walter E. Bradley
MHS Transactions, Series 3, 1958-59 SeasonA “Princess” is Launched by Molly McFadden
Manitoba Pageant, Volume 4, Number 1, September 1958Steamboat Holiday by Molly McFadden
Manitoba Pageant, April 1957Steamboating on the Red by Molly McFadden
MHS Transactions, Series 3, 1950-51 SeasonMolly McFadden Basken (1897-1970)
Historian.Hugh Black (1846-1918)
Steamboat operator.Norman Wolfred Kittson (1814-1888)
Steamboat operator.William Robinson (1850-?)
Steamboat operator.Horatio Hamilton Ross (1870-1925)
Steamboat operator.
1. Theodore Berris, Fire Canoe (McClelland & Stewart, 1977, ISBN 0-7710-1025-7).
2. The Letters of Charles John Brydges, 1879-1882. The Hudson’s Bay Record Society, Winnipeg, 1977, page 112.
3. Winnipeg Times, 24 September 1881, page 1.
4. Nathan Kramer, personal communication, 13 April 2014.
5. Mark Thorsteinson, personal communication, 7 September 2018.
6. Ship Registrations 1787-1966, Library and Archives Canada.
We thank Ken Howard and John MacFarlane (The Nauticapedia Project) for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough and Nathan Kramer.
Page revised: 11 July 2022
