It was founded in 1921 as the Canadian Institute of Chemistry until it merged with other groups in 1945 under its current name.
The organization comprises two groups: the Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering (est.
1973) was formerly a third subsidiary organization, but a structural reorganization of the CIC in 2022 renamed this group as the Technologists & Technicians subject division of the Canadian Society for Chemistry.
The first conference in 1918 is said to have consisted of only 100 people and lead to the formation of the Chemical Society of Canada.
In 2017, the 100th conference was held in Toronto coinciding with the 150th anniversary of Canada.