Although the ship was equipped with watertight compartments and, in the aftermath of the Titanic disaster two years earlier, carried more than enough lifeboats for all aboard, she foundered in only 14 minutes.

Of the 1,477 people on board, 1,012 died, making it the worst peacetime maritime disaster in Canadian history.

[1] The liners were commissioned by Canadian Pacific Steamships or CPR for the North Atlantic route between Liverpool and Quebec City.

The transcontinental CPR and its fleet of ocean liners constituted the company's self-proclaimed "World's Greatest Transportation System".

In 1903, Canadian Pacific officially entered the market for trans-Atlantic passenger travel between the United Kingdom and Canada.

In addition, a separate dining room for up to thirty first class children was located at the forward end of the deck.

Aft of the main landing was the second class social hall, laid out in a fashion similar to the smoke room and provided with a piano, while forward of the entrance was the second class dining room, large enough to seat 256 passengers at one serving.

Directly aft of the section on the main deck was the third class dining room, which was large enough to seat 300 passengers in one sitting.

Each section consisted of two-tiered bunks, individual pantries and long wooden tables with benches.

Empress of Ireland arrived in Quebec City early the following morning, where passengers disembarked and cargo was offloaded, and after a six-day turnaround she sailed on her first eastbound crossing back to Liverpool on 12 July.

[16] Over the next eight years, Empress of Ireland completed the same process of transporting passengers and cargo between Britain and Canada, with alternating Canadian ports by season, terminating at Quebec City in May through October and at Halifax, Nova Scotia, and Saint John, New Brunswick, in November through April when the river was frozen over.

[30] The lights and power on Empress of Ireland eventually failed five or six minutes after the collision, plunging the ship into darkness.

Shortly afterwards at 02:10, about 14 minutes after the collision, the bow rose briefly out of the water and the ship finally sank.

After being rescued by the Storstad, Kendall travelled directly to the bridge to confront the recently awoken Captain Thomas Anderson, saying "You have just sunk my ship!".

Swimming to the surface, he clung to a wooden grate long enough for crew members aboard a nearby lifeboat to row over and pull him in.

Upon first boarding Storstad, Kendall stormed to the bridge, and levied an accusation at Captain Thomas Andersen: "You have sunk my ship!

[45] As was noted at the subsequent inquiry, "If the testimony of both captains were to be believed, the collision happened as both vessels were stationary with their engines stopped".

After exchanging further whistle blasts with Storstad, her masthead and side lights were seen by Captain Kendall about 100 feet away almost at right angles to Empress of Ireland and approaching at high speed.

When he arrived, Andersen saw a masthead light moving quickly across Storstad's course from port to starboard whereupon he ordered the engines full speed astern.

After all the evidence that had been heard, the Commissioners stated that the question as to who was to blame resolved itself into a simple issue, namely which of the two ships changed her course during the fog.

When Empress of Ireland began to list to starboard, water poured through the open portholes further increasing flooding.

After the official inquiry was completed, Captain Andersen was quoted as saying that Lord Mersey was a "fool" for holding him responsible for the collision.

However, Empress of Ireland turned to port to continue on its original time-saving heading; thus the bow to side collision.

Reid and Hovgaard both cited the Empress of Ireland disaster as evidence which supported their conclusions that longitudinal subdivisions were very hazardous in ship collisions.

Shortly after the disaster, a salvage operation began on Empress of Ireland to recover the purser's safe and the mail.

As they recovered bodies and valuables from the ship, the salvors were faced with limited visibility and strong currents from the Saint Lawrence River.

[60] It was later reported, implausibly, that the sudden increase in water pressure had so compressed the diver's body that all that remained was a "jellyfish with a copper mantle and dangling canvas tentacles.

While accessible to skilled recreational divers, the site is dangerous due to the cold water, strong currents and restricted visibility.

The international denomination stamp was designed by Susan Scott[71] using the oil on canvas illustration she commissioned from marine artist Aristides Balanos,[72] and printed using lithography in six colours.

The Official First Day Cover was cancelled at Pointe-au-Père, Quebec, the town closest to the site of the sinking.