[3] A nonprofit group, the "Friends of the Canadiana", brought the ship back to Buffalo in 1984 with a hope of restoring her to service.

[9] Originally intended to carry 3,500 passengers, it was decided by the United States Coast Guard that 1,800 was a safer number.

With the reduction in passenger capacity, the ship's owners found room to construct the largest dance floor of any steamer that sailed the Great Lakes.

After the completion of the Peace Bridge in 1927, which allowed automobile traffic between Buffalo and Crystal Beach, the Canadiana became less popular.

[11] A British pilot with the Canadian Air Force was killed when he lost control of his aircraft while "buzzing" the Canadiana during the war.

While on her normal excursion trip traveling upstream on the Maumee River from her berth in Toledo to Bob-Lo Island, the Canadiana was struck by a railroad swing bridge and damaged.

[16] A second Americana, formally a 1940s-built ferry-cruise boat for the Circle Line, was placed in service to Crystal Beach during the 1988–89 seasons, with mixed profits.

Her owners, among them proprietor Ramsey Tick, filed for bankruptcy in 1990, and the small ship was later sold to Caribbean interests.

[16] In July 1988, after being stripped down for restoration to return her to sailing conditions under modern regulations, the Canadiana was towed to the Marsh Engineering Dock at Port Colborne, Ontario, for drydocking.

[18][19] The S.S. Canadiana Preservation Society applied for, and was awarded on December 8, 1994, a US$400,000 grant under the Intermodal Surface Transportation Enhancement Act for the restoration efforts.