Before the launch of Food Network Canada, the American service, TV Food Network was available in Canada since 1997. TV Food Network was vast becoming one of the most popular foreign cable channels available in Canada, which prompted the creation of a Canadian version of the American service which would then be able to access ad revenue through commercials, which because of Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) regulations, restricts Canadian advertisers from purchasing time on any foreign specialty services that air in the Canadian market.

The license for Food Network Canada was approved by the CRTC in early 2000 for the current owners to operate the service and was launched in October of that year; at the day of the launch, the American service was removed from the list of eligible foreign services to broadcast in Canada.

On January 18, 2008, a joint venture between Canwest and GS Capital Partners bought Alliance Atlantis and gained AAC's majority interest in Food Network.