What does a ship that sank a century ago off the Florida Keys have to do with the birth of the Royal Canadian Navy?

Quite a lot, as it turns out.

Before there was a Royal Canadian Navy, there was the HMCS Canada, a steel-hulled vessel that trained Canada's first naval officers, escorted First World War convoys, survived the Halifax Explosion, and helped lay the foundations of a young nation's naval service. Yet despite its remarkable legacy, most Canadians have never heard of it.

In this episode of Explore, host David McGuffin sits down with naval historian, underwater archaeologist and former Royal Canadian Navy officer Joseph Frey to tell the extraordinary story of Canada's forgotten first warship: the HMSC Canada. 

From its launch in 1904 to its wartime service and eventual sinking off the Florida Keys in 1926, Frey traces the unlikely journey of a vessel that helped shape Canadian history.

The conversation also follows a modern RCGS Flagged expedition, led by Frey, to the wreck nearly a century after the ship's loss. Using advanced diving techniques and 3D photogrammetry, Frey and his team documented the wreck, answered long-standing questions about how it sank, and helped restore HMCS Canada's place in Canada's historical memory.

Along the way, Frey reflects on his role in the discovery of HMS Erebus, the enduring appeal of underwater exploration, and why forgotten stories like HMCS Canada still matter today.

Whether you're listening in a car, a canoe, a sailboat, a dock, or somewhere along Canada's coastline, this is a story of exploration, naval history, and the remarkable rediscovery of a ship that helped build a nation.

Joseph Frey is Vice-President of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, a Fellow of The Explorers Club, a naval historian, an underwater archaeologist, and a retired Royal Canadian Navy officer. He was a member of the 2014 Victoria Strait Expedition that discovered HMS Erebus, one of Sir John Franklin's lost ships, and has spent decades researching and documenting Canada's maritime history both above and below the waterline.

Recommended episodes

• Michael Palin — Erebus: One Ship, Two Epic Voyages
• Jill Heinerth — Bell Island's U-Boat Wrecks
• Under the Ice — Andrew Bramburger and Andrew Budziak

Credits:

Closing music is Heart of Oak, the official march of the Royal Canadian Navy played by the RCN's Stadacona Band. Halifax, NS.

Explore: A Canadian Geographic Podcast is hosted by David McGuffin.

Produced by David McGuffin and ExploreProductions.ca in partnership with Canadian Geographic.

Canadian Geographic:

• Editor-in-chief: Alexandra Pope
• Digital and travel editor: Madigan Cotterill
• Digital marketing manager: Caroline Workman

For more stories of adventure, science, history, and exploration, visit canadiangeographic.ca