[1][2] Constance was ordered from Polson Iron Works by Charles Tupper, Minister of Marine and Fisheries and constructed at their yard in Owen Sound, Ontario.

The ship was ordered after a fishing treaty collapsed with the United States and the Royal Navy refused to send vessels to monitor the Atlantic Canada fisheries.

The ship was initially intended to be a fisheries patrol vessel but was turned over to Customs Preventative Service shortly after launch.

[1] Constance was paid for in part when the department sold the small patrol vessel Cruiser to Polson Iron Works.

Constance's role was to intercept suspicious vessels in Canadian waters and investigating them for illicit cargo and goods.

[2] In 1926, Constance was chartered once again by Customs Preventative Service for duties at Cape Breton as part of the force's expansion to combat rum smuggling in Nova Scotia during American Prohibition.