[3] The Halifax-class frigate design of which Halifax belongs, was ordered by the Canadian Forces in 1977 as a replacement for the aging St. Laurent, Restigouche, Mackenzie, and Annapolis classes of destroyer escorts, which were all tasked with anti-submarine warfare.

[4] In July 1983, the federal government approved the budget for the design and construction of the first batch of six new frigates of which Halifax was a part, out of twelve that were eventually built.

[5] To reflect the changing long-term strategy of the Navy during the 1980s and 1990s, the Halifax-class frigates was designed as a general purpose warship with particular focus on anti-submarine capabilities.

[6] As built the Halifax-class vessels deployed the CH-124 Sea King helicopter, which acted in concert with shipboard sensors to seek out and destroy submarines at long distances from the ships.

[6] As built, the anti-shipping role is supported by the RGM-84 Harpoon Block 1C surface-to-surface missile, mounted in two quadruple launch tubes at the main deck level between the funnel and the helicopter hangar.

[5][6] For anti-aircraft self-defence the ships are armed with the Sea Sparrow vertical launch surface-to-air missile in two Mk 48 Mod 0 eight-cell launchers placed to port and starboard of the funnel.

[6] A Raytheon/General Dynamics Phalanx Mark 15 Mod 21 Close-In Weapon System (CIWS) is mounted on top of the helicopter hangar for "last-ditch" defence against targets that evade the Sea Sparrow.

Further improvements, such as modifying the vessel to accommodate the new Sikorsky CH-148 Cyclone helicopter and satellite links will be done separately from the main Frigate Equipment Life Extension (FELEX) program.

[9] On 2 April 1994, Halifax sailed to relieve the destroyer Iroquois as Canada's contribution to the naval blockade of Yugoslavia in the Adriatic Sea.

[9] On 18 March 1996, Halifax departed for the Adriatic for a second tour with the embargo force, operating as flagship of the group for part of the ship's deployment.

In 1998, the frigate took part in the NATO naval exercise "Strong Resolve" off Norway and assisted in the recovery operation following the crash of Swissair Flight 111.

[9][12] The frigate was the first Canadian ship on station and was deployed in the north Arabian Sea, integrated into the USS Carl Vinson carrier battle group.

Specifically Halifax was to be deployed outside the area of Jacmel, which was slow to receive aid due to the fact the roads were cut off and the airport was too small to handle large aircraft.

[20] In October 2018, Halifax was among the Canadian ships sent to participate in the large NATO exercise Trident Juncture in the North Atlantic and Baltic Seas.

[22][23] On 6 July 2019, Halifax sailed for the Mediterranean Sea to join Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 (SNMG2) as part of Operation Reassurance.

[31] On 22 February 2022 the federal government announced that Halifax would depart again to accompany HMCS Montréal for Operation Reassurance to provide additional military support, regional security and humanitarian assistance to Central and Eastern Europe in the wake of Russian aggression in Ukraine.