[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.

[17][20] Following her commissioning, Terra Nova joined the ceremonies for the opening of the Saint Lawrence Seaway in July 1959.

[17][21] The following year, in August, with sister ships St. Croix, Kootenay and Gatineau, she took part in the 500th anniversary of Prince Henry the Navigator's death off Lisbon.

[20] 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.

[23] In March 1965, Terra Nova and Gatineau participated in the search for a Royal Canadian Air Force Canadair CP-107 Argus that had disappeared 60 miles (97 km) north of San Juan, Puerto Rico.

As the first to undergo the conversion, Terra Nova tested the new SQS-505 sonar for several months before the refit was considered completed.

She was one of four Restigouche-class vessels that were transferred to the west coast, to replace the Mackenzie-class destroyers in the Second Canadian Escort Squadron.

[17] On 12 December 1989, Terra Nova transferred to the east coast in exchange for Annapolis as part of the reorganization of the fleet.

[17][28] Due to a shortage of Iroquois-class destroyers, Terra Nova was selected for deployment as part of Canada's contribution to Operation Desert Shield.

[citation needed] In October 1992, Terra Nova began a refit at Port Weller Dry Dock in St. Catharines, Ontario, reentering service in 1993.

That same year, Terra Nova was part of the blockade enforcing United Nations resolutions on Haiti from 28 April to 18 July, rescuing two boatloads of refugees during this tour.