Motorsport at Exhibition Place stretches back over a century. Stock car racing on a quarter-mile paved circuit ran in the Exhibition Stadium grandstand from 1952 to 1966, and in 1958 the venue hosted a NASCAR Cup Series race — Richard Petty's very first career start, won by his father Lee Petty.
Modern Indy car interest at the site was driven by Molstar Sports and Entertainment, Molson Breweries' in-house promotional division, which acquired Canadian CART sanctioning rights in 1984. After an initial Molson Indy at Sanair Speedway near Montreal — an event cut short when Rick Mears suffered a severe crash — Molson pursued a street circuit through Exhibition Place. Toronto City Council approved the race by two votes in July 1985 for a 1986 debut.
The first Molson Indy Toronto was won by Bobby Rahal on 20 July 1986. The race quickly established itself as a showcase event for CART, with Exhibition Place's combination of city views, lakeside backdrop, and a 2.874 km, eleven-turn street circuit providing a visually distinctive setting. The circuit weaved through the grounds and onto Lake Shore Boulevard.
The event ran without interruption from 1986 to 2003 under CART, then continued under the Champ Car World Series banner through 2007. Michael Andretti became the race's most successful driver, accumulating seven victories — more than any other competitor in the event's history. Andretti also claimed pole position for each of the downtown Detroit CART races that preceded the Belle Isle era, underscoring his particular aptitude for tight North American street circuits.
In 1996, American driver Jeff Krosnoff was killed in a crash with four laps remaining. Volunteer corner marshal Gary Avrin was also killed in the same incident, and marshal Barbara Johnston was injured. The race was shortened and the result stood as it was at the time of the accident, with Adrian Fernandez declared the winner.
The name "Molson Indy" was dropped in 2006 when Champ Car purchased the race from Molstar, renaming it the Molson Grand Prix of Toronto partly to distance the event from the rival IRL's use of the "Indy" trademark. In 2007 Molson ended its title sponsorship entirely; Steelback Brewery stepped in for a single year as the Steelback Grand Prix of Toronto.
When CART and the IRL unified in 2008, the Grand Prix of Toronto's future was uncertain. The 2008 race was cancelled. Andretti Green Racing purchased the event's assets in May 2008 and confirmed the race's return for 2009. Honda Canada signed on as title sponsor, establishing the Honda Indy Toronto name that persisted for most of the IndyCar era. The 2020 and 2021 editions were cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions barring non-essential cross-border travel.
In 2013, the race weekend adopted a two-race format — a standing start on Saturday and a rolling start on Sunday — a structure that delivered the first successful standing start in unified IndyCar history. However, logistics proved troublesome: rain in 2014 forced both races onto the same Sunday, and by 2015 the format was abandoned in favour of a single race. Standing starts were also retired at the same time.
In 2016, the track layout was modified to accommodate the newly constructed Hotel X Toronto. The pit lane relocated to the opposite side of the circuit, running from the outside of turn 9 to just after turn 11, sharpening the geometry of the latter corner.
From 2024 the race was sponsored by Ontario Honda Dealers, renaming it once more. In 2025 the race was shortened to 90 laps, making it the briefest event on the IndyCar calendar at 160.72 miles. In September 2025 it was announced that the event would leave Exhibition Place for a new home in Markham, Ontario, as part of a five-year deal for the Grand Prix of Markham beginning in 2026 — ending four decades of racing at the Toronto waterfront venue.
The Molson Indy Toronto was one of CART and IndyCar's most important international properties. Its longevity, consistent attendance, and central location in Canada's largest city gave it a profile that outlasted many rival events. The race's association with Michael Andretti, its willingness to experiment with format, and the tragedy of 1996 all marked it as an event that shaped the character of North American open-wheel racing across four decades.