Constructed in the United Kingdom, Stanley was deployed along the East Coast of Canada for use as a ferry and lighthouse and buoy supply vessel and was used for icebreaking during winter months.

[3] The construction of an icebreaker was ordered from Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering of Glasgow, Scotland at their yard in Govan with the ship's launch on 16 October 1888.

[1][4] Upon entering service in 1888, Stanley's primary function was to provide winter passenger ferry service to Prince Edward Island, making daily trips from Charlottetown and Pictou, Nova Scotia until the ice forced the ship to work from Georgetown, Prince Edward Island.

During the spring, once regular ferry service could be resumed, Stanley's duties were shifted to lighthouse and buoy supply.

[5] In July 1927 a scientific expedition based on the aboard Stanley and the commercial vessel SS Larch was tasked to determine the safe navigation season for vessels using the new port facilities at Churchill, Manitoba, the only port on the Arctic Ocean connected to the North American railroad grid.