Strathcona was built in 1898 to work for the Hudson's Bay Company.
The steamer also helped do the service on the Sidney and Nanaimo ferry route starting on June 24, 1902, replacing the Iroquois.
Strathcona had worked for three months of that year before she blew a cylinder on August 19, 1902.
The ship was unable to be repaired, so she was retired from S&NT immediately and replaced.
Owner(s) In 1898-1901 she was owned by the Hudsons Bay Company, London UK.