Built at Kingston Royal Naval Dockyard, the ships were similar in design to their predecessor on Lake Ontario, the 102-gun HMS St Lawrence, but also included a quarterdeck or poopdeck.

[2] Early vessels on the Great Lakes had been built very shallowly to avoid the numerous shoals and bars, but this negatively affected their sailing characteristics.

The new warships built by the Royal Navy prioritised speed and firepower instead and so were deeper than their forebears, although still shallower than conventional sea-going ships of their types.

The first of these was the 102-gun ship of the line HMS St Lawrence, designed by shipwright William Bell at Amherstburg Royal Naval Dockyard.

Being planned for service in a freshwater lake, the design of St Lawrence did not include the large amount of storage space other ships required for drinking supplies.

This resulted in St Lawrence being smaller and more shallow in draught than other first rates, although she still incorporated the sharp and somewhat deep hull that Great Lakes warships had switched to for the increase in speed.

Unlike the former ship which was flush decked, the two new first rates had a quarterdeck, or poopdeck, included in their design so that a flag officer could be accommodated on board.

[3] While the majority of warships were built with oak, the timber shortage meant that the kits of wood brought together for the construction of the Wolfe-class ships were both fir.

[13] Naval historian Don Bamford records that the ships were in fact planned to hold 120 guns, similar to New Orleans and Chippewa.

The Royal Navy commander on Lake Ontario, Commodore Sir James Yeo, cancelled several ongoing shipbuilding projects in around late February, but ordered that work on Wolfe and Canada be continued.