Montréal was laid down on 8 February 1991 by Saint John Shipbuilding Ltd. at Saint John and launched on 28 February 1992.
She was commissioned into the Canadian Forces on 21 July 1994 by Francine St-Pierre and carries the hull classification symbol FFH 336.
In January 1995  Montréal joined the NATO mission in the Adriatic Sea enforcing the United Nations blockade of Yugoslavia.
Twice she acted as the flagship of the force before returning to Canada on 19 July 2005.
In 1997 as part of an experiment to reduce noise, the warship had 12,500 anechoic tiles added to her hull.
The experiment was not successful.
As part of a NATO fleet in 1998, Montréal sailed to Saint Petersburg, Russia as part of celebrations of the 300th anniversary of the Russian Navy.
The frigate represented Canada in the Millennium International Fleet Review in New York City.

In July 2000, the American merchant ship GTS Katie refused to bring its Canadian military cargo into port, claiming unpaid fees.
On 30 July, the Canadian Forces sent the destroyer HMCS Athabaskan to maintain contact with the rogue ship and deployed Montréal the following day.
As part of Operation Megaphone, a detachment of personnel was sent over by CH-124 Sea King to board Katie.
The crew of the merchant ship offered no resistance and the ship was escorted into port.
The captain of the ship later claimed that the ship had been attacked and the boarding had been "dangerous".
The Canadian Defence Minister later rebuffed those charges, claiming the boarding had been necessary.

In 2002, Montréal sailed to take part in Operation Apollo, Canada's naval contribution to the War in Afghanistan.
Arriving on 9 September the frigate remained in theatre until 25 April 2003.
The warship had remained longer than usual in theatre due to a crash of a CH-124 Sea King aboard her replacement, the destroyer HMCS Iroquois.
In 2004, the frigate sailed to the Arctic, becoming the first major Canadian warship to visit the region since 1982.
In January 2005, Montréal deployed as part of a NATO rapid reaction force.
On 8 February 2005 a crewmember was lost overboard and subsequently pronounced dead.

The warship participated in Operation Nanook in 2010.
In 2010 Montréal engaged in acceptance trials for the new CH-148 Cyclone maritime helicopter.
Several modifications had to be made for the trials to the ship, including adding night-vision friendly green filters to the flight deck landing lights and reinforcing the flight deck due to the Cyclone being heavier than the CH-124 Sea King.
Montréal successfully completed the tests which included routine flying operations as well as responding to some critical situations.

On 3 July 2011, as part of their national Canadian tour, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge embarked on the vessel which conveyed them from Montréal to Quebec City.
In August, Montréal sailed up the St. Lawrence Seaway into Lake Ontario as part of Great Lakes Deployment 11 where she visited multiple cities including Toronto, Hamilton, Montréal, and Trois-Rivières.
On 5 July 2012, Montréal was turned over to Irving Shipbuilding's Halifax Shipyards, to start an 18-month mid-life upgrading and modernization (HCM/FELEX).
Montréal re-joined the fleet after completing the Halifax Class Modernization refit on 26 September 2013.
Subsequently, Montréal conducted sea trials for her new combat and weapons systems.
Montréal achieved Restricted Readiness on 9 May 2014.
After further Sea Acceptance Trials and Work Ups, Montréal assumed Normal Readiness on 9 March 2015, being the fifth post-refit frigate to achieve this milestone.

In late 2015, Montréal deployed for a large NATO naval exercise, Joint Warrior.
On completion of this exercise, Montréal participated in "At Sea Demonstration 2015" (ASD 2015), a multinational exercise that took place off the Hebrides Islands of Scotland in October 2015.
The exercise was conducted under the Maritime Theater Missile Defence Forum (MTMD), an international group that aims to improve maritime integrated air and missile defence capabilities within a coalition context.
While on
Montréal was laid down on 8 February 1991 by Saint John Shipbuilding Ltd. at Saint John and launched on 28 February 1992. She was commissioned into the Canadian Forces on 21 July 1994 by Francine St-Pierre and carries the hull classification symbol FFH 336. In January 1995  Montréal joined the NATO mission in the Adriatic Sea enforcing the United Nations blockade of Yugoslavia. Twice she acted as the flagship of the force before returning to Canada on 19 July 2005. In 1997 as part of an experiment to reduce noise, the warship had 12,500 anechoic tiles added to her hull. The experiment was not successful. As part of a NATO fleet in 1998, Montréal sailed to Saint Petersburg, Russia as part of celebrations of the 300th anniversary of the Russian Navy. The frigate represented Canada in the Millennium International Fleet Review in New York City.
In July 2000, the American merchant ship GTS Katie refused to bring its Canadian military cargo into port, claiming unpaid fees. On 30 July, the Canadian Forces sent the destroyer HMCS Athabaskan to maintain contact with the rogue ship and deployed Montréal the following day. As part of Operation Megaphone, a detachment of personnel was sent over by CH-124 Sea King to board Katie. The crew of the merchant ship offered no resistance and the ship was escorted into port. The captain of the ship later claimed that the ship had been attacked and the boarding had been "dangerous". The Canadian Defence Minister later rebuffed those charges, claiming the boarding had been necessary.
In 2002, Montréal sailed to take part in Operation Apollo, Canada's naval contribution to the War in Afghanistan. Arriving on 9 September the frigate remained in theatre until 25 April 2003. The warship had remained longer than usual in theatre due to a crash of a CH-124 Sea King aboard her replacement, the destroyer HMCS Iroquois. In 2004, the frigate sailed to the Arctic, becoming the first major Canadian warship to visit the region since 1982. In January 2005, Montréal deployed as part of a NATO rapid reaction force. On 8 February 2005 a crewmember was lost overboard and subsequently pronounced dead.
The warship participated in Operation Nanook in 2010. In 2010 Montréal engaged in acceptance trials for the new CH-148 Cyclone maritime helicopter. Several modifications had to be made for the trials to the ship, including adding night-vision friendly green filters to the flight deck landing lights and reinforcing the flight deck due to the Cyclone being heavier than the CH-124 Sea King. Montréal successfully completed the tests which included routine flying operations as well as responding to some critical situations.
On 3 July 2011, as part of their national Canadian tour, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge embarked on the vessel which conveyed them from Montréal to Quebec City. In August, Montréal sailed up the St. Lawrence Seaway into Lake Ontario as part of Great Lakes Deployment 11 where she visited multiple cities including Toronto, Hamilton, Montréal, and Trois-Rivières. On 5 July 2012, Montréal was turned over to Irving Shipbuilding's Halifax Shipyards, to start an 18-month mid-life upgrading and modernization (HCM/FELEX). Montréal re-joined the fleet after completing the Halifax Class Modernization refit on 26 September 2013. Subsequently, Montréal conducted sea trials for her new combat and weapons systems. Montréal achieved Restricted Readiness on 9 May 2014. After further Sea Acceptance Trials and Work Ups, Montréal assumed Normal Readiness on 9 March 2015, being the fifth post-refit frigate to achieve this milestone.
In late 2015, Montréal deployed for a large NATO naval exercise, Joint Warrior. On completion of this exercise, Montréal participated in "At Sea Demonstration 2015" (ASD 2015), a multinational exercise that took place off the Hebrides Islands of Scotland in October 2015. The exercise was conducted under the Maritime Theater Missile Defence Forum (MTMD), an international group that aims to improve maritime integrated air and missile defence capabilities within a coalition context. While on 
HMCS Montréal (FFH 336)