The minesweeper was ordered as part of the 1939–40 building programme. The ship's keel was laid down on 24 April 1940 by North Vancouver Ship Repairs Ltd. at their yard in North Vancouver, British Columbia. Malpeque was launched on 5 September 1940 and commissioned into the Royal Canadian Navy on 4 August 1941 at Vancouver.Macpherson and Barrie (2002), p. 172
