[2] It negotiates agreements and working conditions for its membership, and represents about 6,000 professional artists, which includes actors, dancers, and opera singers, as well as theatre directors, choreographers, fight directors and stage managers.
Stage actors in Canada had been represented informally by ACTRA since the 1940s, but at the time of the founding of the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in 1953, they sought their own union representation.
In 1972 the Canadian government called upon Equity members to decide their tax status, and members voted by a narrow margin in favour of independent contractor status, thereby foregoing the benefits of being employees.
On April 1, 2011, Canadian Actors' Equity celebrated 35 years as an autonomous organization.
The head of the association is the executive director, who is hired by the elected Council and is responsible for staff operations, acting as Equity's liaison with other arts and cultural organizations.