During the summer of 1974 she along with her sister ship HMCS Columbia served as the base of operations for the Esquimalt Sea Cadet Camp while being docked at the DND jetty in Colwood.

Following the vessel's decommissioning, the ship was used as a source for spare parts for the other surviving members of her class.

They generated 22,000 kilowatts (30,000 shp) giving the vessels a maximum speed of 28 knots (52 km/h; 32 mph).

The Restigouches were equipped with two twin mounts of Vickers 3-inch (76 mm)/70 calibre Mk 6 dual-purpose guns forward and maintained a single twin mount of 3-inch/50 calibre Mk 22 guns aft used in the preceding class.

[6] From 1958 the destroyers were also equipped with Mk 43 homing torpedoes to increase the effective range of the weapons.

[4][9] In March 1961, the destroyer escort was among the ships that took part in a combined naval exercise with the United States Navy off Nova Scotia.

In February 1964, the ship took part in the NATO naval exercise "Magic Lantern" off Gibraltar.

[4] In 1989, Chaudière's sister ship Kootenay collided with a merchant vessel and her bow was severely damaged.

[13] The project to use the ship was saved mainly by donations from the community after government funding was cut.