Discover the story of one of Canada’s greatest maritime disasters
Over one hundred years after the sinking of the Empress of Ireland, the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 presents a dramatic exhibition that will take visitors to the heart of one the greatest maritime disasters in Canada’s history. Artifacts from this once-splendid ocean liner, historical documents and eyewitness accounts will help bring to life stories of loss and rescue, despair and bravery. As well, visitors will learn the storied history of the Empress of Ireland including the role it played in immigration and the development of Canada.
Considered one of the finest ships in the Canadian Pacific Railway fleet, the Empress of Ireland carried over one hundred thousand immigrants to Canada in the early years of the 20th century. But in the early morning of May 29, 1914, on the fog-bound St. Lawrence River, the Empress was hit broadside by a coal ship, the Storstad. The ocean liner went down in less than 15 minutes. More than a thousand people lost their lives.
An adapted version of a major exhibition first developed by, and presented at the Canadian Museum of History, Canada’s Titanic – The Empress of Ireland will be shown at the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 in the Ralph and Rose Chiodo Gallery from November 23, 2015 to November 13, 2016. Entrance to Canada’s Titanic – The Empress of Ireland will be included in regular Museum admission prices.
An exhibition created by the Canadian Museum of History and co-presented by the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21.