The tournament was first held in 1974 and was named Canadian Open in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

It was an eight-man invitation event held at the CBC Television Studios.

[1] In 1987 the tournament became part of the World Series and Labatt's overtook sponsorship of the event.

BCE sponsored the tournament, which was won by Jimmy White, who defeated Steve Davis 9–4 to win £40,000.

[1] It was held in the Minkler Auditorium, with the crowd filling the 1000 seats (Seneca Village, 1750 Finch Ave E, Toronto M2H) [1]