Lt.-Cdr. Heather MacDonald Recounts Secret Purchase of Canada's First Submarines on Eve of WWI
Lt.-Cdr. Heather MacDonald, an officer with the Royal Canadian Navy based at CFB Wainwright, recently shared the historical account of Canada's acquisition of its first two submarines. Speaking to students at Lloydminster Comprehensive High School during a Remembrance Day ceremony, MacDonald detailed how British Columbia Premier Sir Richard McBride secretly purchased two submarines from a Seattle shipyard in August 1914, just before the outbreak of the First World War. These submarines, originally built for the Chilean navy, were bought by McBride for $1.15 million without the knowledge or approval of the Canadian federal government. The clandestine deal involved the submarines slipping out of Seattle under cover of darkness and being met by Canadian representatives in international waters, narrowly avoiding intervention from U.S. warships. This swift action was crucial as the United States, a neutral country, would have prohibited the sale of arms once war was officially declared. The submarines, commissi...
