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Its initial cadre were members of the Movement for an Independent Socialist Canada (better known as the Waffle) which had been forced to leave the social democratic New Democratic Party in 1972. A group of students at York University formed a Marxist study group and came into contact with left-Shachtmanites in the American group, the International Socialists, founded by Hal Draper.
In February 1975, after the collapse of the Waffle a few months earlier, the group organized itself as the Independent Socialists, soon renaming themselves the International Socialists, and began publishing a paper called Workers Action. In later years this paper was renamed Socialist Worker. Through a process of faction fights and splits in its first two years followers of Tony Cliff's theories gained control of the organization (a similar process occured in the US group during this period)..
In 1995 the group saw the loss of some of its members, including IS founder David MacNally, a well known academic, who formed the New Socialist Group.