Arc: Canada's National Poetry Magazine was founded in Ottawa in 1978. The Arc Poetry Society was established in December 1996 as a federally regulated not-for-profit organization (332953-4). The Society's mission statement is:

• To nurture and promote the composition and appreciation of poetry in Canada and abroad, with particular but not exclusive emphasis on poetry written by Canadians;
• To publish, promote and distribute Arc: Canada's National Poetry Magazine as the Society's tool to nurture the work of poets in Canada;
• To organize and administer awards, contests, public readings and other events that nurture and promote the composition and appreciation of poetry.