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

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 in an effort to increase the effective range of the armament.

[8] Columbia transferred to the east coast and in 1960 and was assigned to the Fifth Canadian Escort Squadron.

[8] In August, the ship recovered two crew members of a Tracker aircraft that had crashed at sea 180 nautical miles (330 km; 210 mi) south of Halifax, Nova Scotia.

[8][10] 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.