Distributor (HBC Vessel)

''Distributor'' was a steamship built for service on the Mackenzie River System. The fast moving waters of the Mackenzie River, and the lower reaches of many of its tributaries, were navigable. Cargo was transported to the north on the Slave River, and had to be portaged overland over a long portage between Fort Smith and Fort Fitzgerald. Some steamship were assembled on tributaries of the Slave River, hauled by tractors over the portage, for service on the lower rivers. ''Distributor'' was larger than those vessels, and was built in the north. She had several owners. She was built for Lamson & Hubbard Canadian Company, in 1920, with her construction led by engineers from the yard of George Askew of

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

. In 1921 she was sold to Alberta & Arctic Transportation Company. The

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trade, fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake b ...

bought Alberta & Arctic Transportation, in 1924, acquiring all its assets, including ''Distributor''. During

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she was employed helping to build the Canol Project, a companion project to the

Alaska Highway