The shipwreck of the Empress of Ireland happened just before the start of World War I and was the worst maritime disaster in Canadian history to happen during peacetime.

Research:

• Blatchford, Andy. “Empress of Ireland, ‘Canada’s Titanic,’ finally getting its due after 100 years.” Globe and Mail. 5/23/2014. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/empress-of-ireland-canadas-titanic-finally-getting-its-due-after-100-years/article18819164/
• Boyd, Ellsworth. “Empress of Ireland was ‘Canada’s Titanic.’” NUMA. 10/9/2017. https://numa.net/2017/10/empress-of-ireland-was-canadas-titanic/
• Butler, Don. “Museum of Civilization finally acquires Empress of Ireland collection.” Ottawa Citizen. 10/27/2012. https://ottawacitizen.com/news/ottawa%20&%20area/museum-of-civilization-finally-acquires-empress-of-ireland-collection
• Canadian Pacific Railway Company. “Atlantic Royal Mail Service – ‘The Empresses’.” 1906. https://archive.org/details/cihm_71926/
• “Empress of Ireland.” From “Lost Liners” by Robert D. Ballard and Rick Archbold, Madison Press Books. Via PBS. https://www.pbs.org/lostliners/empress.html
• Empress of Ireland Commemoration. “The Forgotten Tragedy.” Pointe-au-Pere Site Historique Maritime. http://www.empress2014.ca/seclangen/home.html
• Fry, Krsiten. “Saving the Empress's treasures.” Beaver. Apr/May2008, Vol. 88 Issue 2, p10-11.
• Hertz, Kayla. “On this day: The Empress of Ireland, 'Canada's Titanic,' sinks in 1914.” Irish Central. 5/29/2022. https://www.irishcentral.com/roots/history/empress-of-ireland-sinking
• Marshall, Logan. “The tragic story of the Empress of Ireland; an authentic account of the most horrible disaster in Canadian history, constructed from the real facts obtained from those on board who survived and other great sea disasters, containing the statements of Captain Henry George Kendall, commanding the Empress of Ireland and Captain Thomas Andersen, commanding the Storstad.” Philadelphia Printed by John C. Winston. 1914. https://archive.org/details/tragicstoryofemp00marsuoft
• Mersey, John C. Bigham (John Charles Bigham). “Report of Commission of Inquiry into the casualty to the British steamship 'Empress of Ireland,' which sunk after collision with the Norwegian steamer 'Storstad' in the River St. Lawrence, on 29th May 1914.” 1914. https://archive.org/details/op1256477-1001/mode/2up
• National Museums of Liverpool. “Empress of Ireland Disaster.” https://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/maritime-museum/empress-of-ireland-disaster
• “Report and Evidence of the Commission of Inquiry into the Loss of the British Steamship ‘Empress of Irelnad.’” From “Sessional papers of the Dominion of Canada 1915.” Canadian Parliament. 1914. https://archive.org/details/n16sessionalpaper50canauoft/