The Canadian Grand Prix began as the premier event of the Canadian Sports Car Championship at Mosport Park in 1961. The circuit's significant elevation changes and challenging layout made it popular with international drivers. Formula One took over the event in 1967, with the race alternating between Mosport Park and Circuit Mont-Tremblant in Quebec during the late 1960s and early 1970s.
The inaugural Formula One race was held on 27 August 1967 and was won by Jack Brabham, with teammate Denny Hulme completing a Brabham 1-2. The 1968 event moved to Circuit Mont-Tremblant; New Zealander Chris Amon led from the start until his gearbox broke 17 laps from the end, allowing the McLaren team of Denny Hulme and Bruce McLaren to finish 1-2.
Jacky Ickx won at Mosport in 1969 and again at Mont-Tremblant in 1970, completing a Ferrari 1-2 on the second occasion. Safety concerns about Mont-Tremblant ended its Formula One run, and Mosport became the sole venue from 1971. Jackie Stewart won rain-soaked editions in 1971 and 1972. The 1973 race was marred by confusion over pace-car procedures; Peter Revson ultimately prevailed. Emerson Fittipaldi won in 1974, while James Hunt took a spirited victory in 1976.
The 1977 race at Mosport saw French-Canadian Gilles Villeneuve make his Formula One debut for Ferrari. It also saw Ian Ashley suffer a serious accident when his car flipped over the Armco and struck a television tower. Safety concerns at Mosport prompted Montreal mayor Jean Drapeau to negotiate with sponsor Labatt to move the race permanently to a new circuit on Notre-Dame Island, site of the 1967 Expo.
The new Circuit Ile Notre-Dame was quickly built on the man-made island in the St. Lawrence Seaway. Gilles Villeneuve became the circuit's first winner in 1978, driving a Ferrari in front of his home crowd. In 1979, circuit modifications made the track faster, and Alan Jones won; he won again in 1980 to clinch the Drivers' Championship that year.
Villeneuve was killed during qualifying for the 1982 Belgian Grand Prix. The Montreal circuit was renamed Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in his memory. He remains the only Canadian winner of the Formula One Canadian Grand Prix. The 1982 race took place under the shadow of his death; a startline accident saw Riccardo Paletti crash into Didier Pironi's stalled Ferrari at more than 180 km/h. Pironi and F1 doctor Sid Watkins worked to free Paletti, who was extracted after half an hour but later succumbed to his injuries in hospital. Nelson Piquet won the race. From 1982, the event moved from its autumn slot to early June, where it has remained.
The 1995 race produced one of the most popular victories in modern Formula One. Jean Alesi, driving the number 27 Ferrari that had once belonged to Villeneuve, won on his 31st birthday — the only Formula One victory of his career — after Michael Schumacher retired with electrical problems and Damon Hill's hydraulics failed. Schumacher gave Alesi a lift back to the pits after Alesi ran out of fuel.
From 1997 to 2004, Michael Schumacher won six of eight editions, all in a Ferrari, establishing the circuit as one of his most successful hunting grounds. The 2001 race produced the first sibling 1-2 finish in Formula One history as Ralf Schumacher and Michael Schumacher topped the podium. The 2007 race saw rookie Lewis Hamilton claim his first Formula One victory.
The 2011 Canadian Grand Prix became the longest Formula One race ever held. Thunderstorms suspended the race for about two hours. On the restart, Jenson Button stormed from last place through the field, caught race leader Sebastian Vettel, forced the German into a mistake, and passed him to take a victory Button described as his best ever race.
The 2013 race was marked by tragedy when 38-year-old track marshal Mark Robinson was fatally struck by a recovery vehicle while helping to remove Esteban Gutierrez's car after a spin. It was the first trackside fatality in Formula One since that of a marshal at the 2001 Australian Grand Prix.
The 2020 and 2021 editions were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The race returned in 2022 and in 2025 its contract was extended until 2035.
The final corner of Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is the site of one of Formula One's most celebrated hazards. In 1999, former World Champions Damon Hill, Michael Schumacher, and Jacques Villeneuve all crashed into the same barrier at the final chicane within a single race, earning it the nickname Wall of Champions. CART champion Juan Pablo Montoya, Carlos Sainz Jr., Jenson Button, and Sebastian Vettel have also struck the wall on subsequent occasions.
The circuit on Notre-Dame Island has a persistent groundhog population. City officials trap and relocate the animals before the Grand Prix, but the wildlife regularly finds its way back onto the track. In 1990, Alessandro Nannini struck a groundhog and damaged his tire. Anthony Davidson lost a likely podium finish when a groundhog impact damaged his front wing. Romain Grosjean and Nicholas Latifi suffered front-wing damage in later years. In 2025, Lewis Hamilton struck a groundhog on lap 13, leaving a hole in the floor of his car.
From 1993 until 2000, and again from 2008 to 2011, the Canadian Grand Prix served as the only North American round on the Formula One calendar, giving it outsized importance in the championship's global footprint. The circuit has been the stage for first victories, championship-clinching drives, and some of the sport's most memorable and tragic moments across more than four decades at its current Montreal home.