The Moyie was built in prefabricated sections in Toronto, Ontario, and was originally intended for service on the Stikine River as part of an "all Canadian" water and rail route to the goldfields during the Klondike Gold Rush.

These large and richly appointed vessels were part of the CPR's plan to develop the area into a major tourism center and the railway also built a grand resort hotel in the town of Balfour.

However, the onset of World War I put an end to many of the CPR's grand dreams for the West Kootenays and one by one, the other sternwheelers were taken off of the route and the hotel at Balfour was closed.

She was also used for pleasure excursions, and on holidays like Victoria Day could be seen on the lake traveling from Nelson to Procter hung with streamers and bunting and carrying 200 passengers.

As the last surviving passenger sternwheeler of her era, she receives thousands of visitors every year and has been made a National Historic Site and is a well-known British Columbia landmark.