On 20 May 1941, Canada was formally requested by the United Kingdom to base its new s at St. John's to cover the gap. Canada had accepted responsibility for the defence of Newfoundland early in the war. The position of St. John's moved the forward base of the Canadian escorts nearly a full quarter of the way closer to Iceland. This was the only way shorter-ranged destroyers and smaller escorts could be incorporated into the escort scheme. Changes to the initial corvette design had been made in the United Kingdom, but had yet to be instituted in Canadian construction. This, the lack of essential equipment and lack of training were reasons for the Canadians not to accept the request. However, on 23 May, the first Canadian warships left Halifax, Nova Scotia for St. John's.