Ordered as part of the War Emergency Programme from Bethlehem Steel of the United States, the H class were constructed at two shipyards, Canadian Vickers in Montreal and the Fore River Yard in Quincy, Massachusetts based on the US H-class design.

[6] Due to the neutrality of the United States at the time, the submarines were constructed in secret and the vessel's launch date was not recorded.

[1] When the American government discovered the construction, they impounded H14 and her nine completed sister boats, only releasing them following their own declaration of war two years later.

[7] During their internement, six of the ten completed submarines were ceded to Chile, leaving four at the Fore River Shipyard.

On 15 April, H14 departed Bermuda for the Azores in a group that consisted of some 40 Allied ships led by USS Salem.

[14] Taken to Halifax, Nova Scotia in May 1919, H14 lay in a state of disrepair until April 1920 when the Royal Canadian Navy decided to refit and commission the submarine.

[17] Due to budget cuts, plans were made to get rid of the H-class submarines and CH-14 was paid off on 30 June 1922.