In the last twenty years of her working life, like many passenger ships of that era on the Great Lakes, "Keewatin" and sister ship "Assiniboia" operated under stringent regulations imposed for wooden cabin steamships following the disaster in 1949. Doomed by their wooden cabins and superstructure, these overnight cruisers lasted through the decline of the passenger trade on the lakes in the post-war years. As passengers opted for more reliable and faster modes of travel, "Keewatin" and her sister ship were withdrawn from the passenger trade in 1965, continuing in freight–only service until September 1967. Along with and , "Keewatin" was among the last of the turn-of-the-century style overnight passenger ships of the Great Lakes.