This tournament involved the Bogart Cup champions from the Central Canada Hockey League (Ontario), the Kent Cup champions from the MHL (Maritimes) and the winner of La Coupe Napa of the Quebec Junior Hockey League (Quebec) as well as a predetermined host.

However The budgets necessary to play at the Jr. 'A' level resulted in the immediate withdrawal of the Chester Ravens and the East Hants Penguins.

In 1991, the Summerside Western Capitals and the Charlottetown Abbies left Prince Edward Island's IJHL and joined the MVJHL, which was immediately renamed the Maritime Junior A Hockey League (MJAHL).

According to league officials, it is believed that goaltender Lisa Herritt of the Dartmouth Oland Exports became the first female MHL player in the 1995–96 season.

In 1996–97 the league consisted of the Amherst Ramblers, Antigonish Bulldogs, Charlottetown Abbies, East Hants Penguins, Dartmouth Oland Exports, Moncton Gagnon Beavers, Saint John Alpines, and Summerside Western Capitals.

With financial losses totalling $40,000 and an additional $50,000 shortfall projected should the team finish the season, they simply ran out of money.

The Capitals hosted the Royal Bank Cup at Cahill Stadium and won the championship game 4–3 over the South Surrey Eagles.

The Cape Breton Islanders moved to Glace Bay and became the Glace Bay Miners, but with the arrival of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League's Cape Breton Screaming Eagles, they folded in December of that season, leaving the league with nine teams again.

The second was the 1998–99 MJAHL champions, the Restigouche River Rats, as they changed their name to the Campbellton Tigers.A tenth team was added for the 2000–01 season, the Miramichi Timberwolves.

In early 2003 the league governors approved expansion into Woodstock, N.B., with the Slammers beginning play in the 2003–04 season.

One year later, after financial trouble with Oland Brewery, the franchise's name was changed to Halifax Team Pepsi.

At the board of governors meeting that day, the proposal to relocate the franchise to Quebec was deemed to not be in the best interests of the league and its members.

At the same Governors meeting, in response to the decision to leave the door open on the sale of the Bulldogs, the owners of the Halifax Wolverines announced their plans to move to Bridgewater.

Later that week on April 29, the Moncton Beavers announced that they had failed to come to terms on a new lease for the Tim Hortons 4-Ice centre and had subsequently moved themselves to the neighboring city of Dieppe.

[4] On May 1, with the fifth and final change for the MJAHL within a span of 16 days, the Charlottetown Abbies' applied for a leave of absence for one year, which was accepted.

As a result of the expansion, the league was back up to 12 teams for the first time since the folding of the Charlottetown Abbies in April 2008.

In November 2014, the league took over the ownership of the Bridgewater Lumberjacks after owner Ken Petrie left the team because of financial trouble.