The circuit was designed and built in the late 1950s, becoming the second purpose-built road race course in Canada after Westwood Motorsport Park. It succeeded airport circuits such as Edenvale, Green Acres, and Harewood Acres as Ontario racing venues. The first race held on the track was a local event organized by the Oakville Light Car Club in June 1961. Shortly thereafter, on June 25, the venue hosted its first major race, the Player's 200, a sports car race. Stirling Moss won the two-heat event in a Lotus 19. The proposed hairpin was expanded into two discrete corners at Moss's suggestion, to be more challenging for drivers and interesting for spectators, and is named Moss Corner in his honor.
Mosport achieved acclaim through a series of international sports car races under the title "Canadian Grand Prix," a title normally reserved for Formula 1 races. These events were widely popular, breaking Canadian sports attendance records with each successive race. The success of these races led Mosport to be seen as a key component in the founding of the Can-Am Series. The Can-Am first visited the track in its inaugural season in 1966, and Mosport hosted at least one event in every year of the series' history, except 1968. In 1967, Canada's centennial year, Mosport hosted Formula One, USAC, and a 500cc Motorcycle Grand Prix. Formula One's Grand Prix of Canada remained at the track until 1977, when it was moved to Montreal.
Moss Corner, originally a proposed hairpin, was expanded into two discrete corners at the suggestion of Stirling Moss. This modification was intended to increase the challenge for drivers and enhance spectator interest. The corner is named in his honor.
Unlike many historic motorsport venues, Mosport's track layout has remained mostly unchanged from its original form. For 2001, the entire circuit was repaved to meet FIA specifications, and is now 13 m (42 ft) wide. Drivers were consulted during this process to ensure the character of the "old" track was kept, and almost all the "racing lines" have been maintained.
In the spring of 2000, Mosport opened the Driver Development Centre, a second 1.700 km (1.056 mi), 12-turn training circuit. This new course was designed by the owners and instructors of the Bridgestone Racing Academy with fewer guard rails, walls, and minimum blind corners to meet the needs of their driver and mechanic training program. Due to significant scheduling demands on the original Grand Prix circuit, the original academy course was reconstructed and lengthened to a full racing course in the fall of 2013. The new track features two configuration options: a 2.200 km (1.367 mi) intermediate course and a 2.900 km (1.802 mi) advanced course, as well as a skid pad, a pit lane, and a multi-storey event centre.
Mosport Speedway, a 0.805 km (0.500 mi) oval speedway, was constructed in 1989 as a dirt track originally called Mosport's Ascot North. The track was paved that summer and renamed Mosport International Speedway. It hosted a weekly Saturday night stock car racing program for 24 years. The park announced the closing of the oval in July 2013 to accommodate the expansion of the Driver Development Centre.
Mosport has had several fatalities, including track crew, drivers, and riders. German Formula One driver Manfred Winkelhock was killed in 1985 when his Porsche 962C crashed into a concrete wall. In 2008, during the 29th annual Vintage Automobile Racing Association of Canada Racing Festival, driver Dino Crescentini lost control of his 1977 Wolf Dallara Can-Am car, resulting in a fatality. The most recent fatality was in 2018 when 61-year-old former Pro Mazda driver Jeff Green speared off the racetrack at turn 8 and slammed into the barrier, succumbing to his injuries.
Mosport has hosted a wide variety of series throughout its history. The circuit has held Formula One, USAC, World Sportscar Championship, Can-Am, Formula 5000, and many other sports car, open-wheel, and motorcycle series. In 1967, Mosport hosted a 500cc Motorcycle Grand Prix. The track has also hosted the Canadian Superbike Championship, Superbike World Championship (1989–1991), and Motocross World Championship (1976–1977, 1979).
It was announced in September 2013 that Canadian Tire Motorsport Park was chosen to host an annual round of the IMSA SportsCar Championship beginning in 2014. This new series replaced the American Le Mans Series as the feature race during the track's annual SportsCar Grand Prix, which is Canada's largest annual sportscar race. The NASCAR Canada Series has visited the facility at least twice annually every year since its inaugural season in 2007.
The track also hosts vintage racing series, motorcycle racing, and Canadian Automobile Sport Club (CASC) amateur events and lapping days.
Mosport has had a succession of owners since the original public company created to build the track. Two prior owners, Norm Namerow and Harvey Hudes, have been inducted into the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame for their contributions to the sport in Canada. In 1998, Panoz Motorsports purchased the facility, and in 1999, the newly formed American Le Mans Series visited Mosport for the first time. Canadian Motorsports Ventures Ltd. (CMV), which includes Orlando Corp. Chairman Carlo Fidani and Canadian road racing driver Ron Fellows, purchased the facility in June 2011. In February 2012, a partnership between Mosport and Canadian Tire was announced, including a renaming of the track to Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.
As of May 2026, the unofficial fastest ever recorded lap was taken by Rinaldo Capello, in an Audi R10 TDI, in qualifying for the 2008 Grand Prix of Mosport, with a time of 1:04.094. The official lap record was set in the race for that meeting with Capello's Audi Sport North America teammate Marco Werner lapping in a time of 1:05.823.
Beyond racing, Mosport has also been the venue for a number of concerts and music festivals, including the Strawberry Fields Festival in 1970, Canada Jam in 1978, Heatwave Festival in 1980, Edenfest in 1996, and the Boots and Hearts Music Festival in 2012, 2013, and 2014.
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