[3] The impetus that resulted in the creation of Magnetic North Theatre Festival grew out of experiences Marti Maraden had travelling across Canada in her role as artistic director of the National Arts Centre ("NAC").
[6] Through relationships Maraden built early in her tenure, the NAC contemplated the creation of a national theatre festival.
The society's mandate was to produce and promote contemporary English language theatre in Canada of high artistic standards of a national scope.
[2][3][4] In addition to targeting the general public, the festival's offerings included events catering to working professionals in the theatre, like networking and community-building activities.
[citation needed] In 2008, the festival featured 53 performances, involving 10 works in the main program at eight venues, as well as the "Magnetic Encounters" artist talk series and the industry networking event, bringing the total number of public events to over 80.
[8] However, on September 15, 2017, a group of artists and administrators stepped forward to revive the festival by establishing a new board of directors for the organization and developing a plan to retire its debt.