[4] The destroyers were also equipped beginning in 1958 with Mk 43 homing torpedoes in an effort to increase the distance between the ships and their targets.

[7] As part of the 1964 naval program, the Royal Canadian Navy planned to improve the attack capabilities of the Restigouche class.

[2] Called the Improved Restigouche Escorts (IRE), Terra Nova was the first to undergo conversion, beginning in May 1965.

[8] By 1969, the budget for naval programs had been cut and only four out of the seven (Terra Nova, Restigouche, Gatineau and Kootenay) would get upgraded to IRE standards and the remaining three (Chaudière, Columbia, and St. Croix) were placed in reserve.

[15] However, by the time the ships emerged from their refits, they were already obsolete as the Falklands War had changed the way surface battles were fought.

Maritime Command chose from among the remaining fleet the vessel with the best electronic countermeasures suite, Terra Nova, to deploy with the task force.

[2][16][17] Restigouche received a similar refit before deploying as Terra Nova's intended replacement in the Persian Gulf in 1991.

[19] While still on sea trials by the builder, Restigouche collided with the freighter Manchester Port on 21 November 1957 in the Saint Lawrence River.

[22] In February 1964, Restigouche was a member of the "Matchmaker" squadron, the predecessor of STANAVFORLANT and took part in naval exercises off Gibraltar.

[23] The destroyer escort was selected for the IRE program and underwent the modernization beginning in 1970 at Halifax Shipyards.

She returned to active duty on 12 May 1972 and was transferred to the west coast, arriving at CFB Esquimalt on 2 August 1973.

[19] In August 1984, Restigouche was sent to track the Soviet spy ship Semen Chelyushkin 100 kilometres (62 mi) of Cape Flattery.

On 24 February 1992, Restigouche was dispatched to the Red Sea as part of a force intended to respond if Iraq resumed hostilities.

[19] The destroyer escort arrived in the Red Sea on 18 April and was assigned the job of inspecting all the shipping going into the port of Aqaba.

While performing these duties, she became the first Canadian warship to make official visits to Saudi Arabia and Israel.

Dubbed "Reefgate", it was later found that the owners did not have the permits to create an artificial reef and were fined by the government.