The circuit was designed and built in the late 1950s. It was the second purpose-built road course in Canada, following Westwood Motorsport Park in British Columbia. The first event was a local club race in June 1961, and shortly thereafter the venue held its first major event, the Player's 200, won by Stirling Moss in a Lotus 19. At Moss's suggestion, a proposed hairpin was redesigned into two distinct corners to increase driver challenge and spectator interest; those corners are named Moss Corner in his honour. Unlike many historic venues, the layout has remained largely unchanged from its original form.
The circuit achieved early international prominence through a series of sports car races run under the banner of the Canadian Grand Prix. The Can-Am Series first visited in 1966 and hosted events at Mosport throughout virtually its entire history. In 1967 — Canada's centennial year — the venue hosted Formula One, USAC, and a 500cc Motorcycle Grand Prix in the same season. The Formula One Canadian Grand Prix was held at Mosport from 1967 until 1977, when it transferred to Circuit Île Notre-Dame in Montreal.
The circuit passed through several owners over the decades. Two previous owners, Norm Namerow and Harvey Hudes, have both been inducted into the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame. In 1998, Panoz Motorsports acquired the facility and the following year the newly formed American Le Mans Series made its first visit. In June 2011, Canadian Motorsports Ventures Ltd. — including Orlando Corp. chairman Carlo Fidani and Canadian racing driver Ron Fellows — purchased the venue. In February 2012, a naming rights partnership with Canadian Tire was announced, renaming the circuit Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.
The entire Grand Prix circuit was repaved in 2001 to FIA specification at 13 m width, with driver input taken to preserve the character and racing lines of the original layout.
In 2000, Mosport opened the Driver Development Centre, a 12-turn training circuit of 1.700 km, designed by the Bridgestone Racing Academy with an emphasis on driver safety — fewer barriers, walls, and blind corners. Growing scheduling pressure on the Grand Prix circuit led to the academy course being reconstructed and extended; as of 2013, the facility offers a 2.200 km intermediate configuration and a 2.900 km advanced course, alongside a skid pad, pit lane, and a multi-storey event centre.
A 0.805 km (0.500 mi) oval was built on the northwest corner of the facility in 1989, originally as a dirt track called Mosport's Ascot North. After ruts in the opening heat race made it unusable, the surface was paved and renamed Mosport International Speedway. For 24 years it hosted a weekly Saturday night stock car programme, as well as touring series including CASCAR, OSCAAR, and the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series. The oval was closed in July 2013 to allow expansion of the Driver Development Centre.
The circuit has had a number of fatal accidents. The most widely noted was the 1985 death of German Formula One driver Manfred Winkelhock, whose Porsche 962C crashed into a concrete wall. A 2008 accident during the Vintage Automobile Racing Association of Canada Festival claimed Dino Crescentini, who lost control of a 1977 Wolf Dallara Can-Am car previously driven by Gilles Villeneuve. A 2018 crash at Turn 8 claimed former Pro Mazda driver Jeff Green.
From 2014 onwards, the circuit has hosted an annual round of the IMSA SportsCar Championship, replacing the American Le Mans Series as the headline race. The NASCAR Canada Series has visited twice annually since 2007. Current events also include the Trans-Am Series, Formula Regional Americas Championship, Formula 4, the Canadian Superbike Championship, and various club and vintage racing series. The unofficial outright lap record belongs to Rinaldo Capello, who lapped in 1:04.094 in an Audi R10 TDI during qualifying for the 2008 Grand Prix of Mosport.
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