Her sinking, and large death toll, made it clear that the war had really arrived on Canada's and Newfoundland's home front.

On 13 October 1942, Caribou was part of the Sydney-Port aux Basques (SPAB) convoy, organized by the Royal Canadian Navy base HMCS Protector.

It was a dark evening, and the heavy smoke from Caribou's coal-fired steam boilers silhouetted her against the nighttime horizon.

[4] At 3:51 a.m. Newfoundland Summer Time, on 14 October 1942,[4] she was torpedoed approximately 20 nautical miles (37 km; 23 mi) southwest of Port aux Basques and sank five minutes later.

[8] 34 bodies were found and brought to Port aux Basques by fishing schooners chartered by the Newfoundland Railway Company.

[9] To prevent rumours, the Royal Canadian Navy allowed the Sydney Post-Record and other media outlets to report the sinking, almost as soon as it happened, one of the few times that war censorship was temporarily lifted in this period.

[15] In 2014, as part of a special dedication service in the town of Port Hawkesbury's Veterans Memorial Park, SS Caribou's passengers and crew were honoured.