The Playwrights Union of Canada started at the Playwrights Circle in 1971 with the central mandate of preserving Canadian plays. Later it became the Playwrights Co-op in 1972 and also focused on publishing works by Canadian playwrights as well as handling rights of intellectual property for playwrights and organizing tours for promotion. By 1977, member established the Guild of Canadian Playwrights to promote the power of playwrights to lobby, negotiate and improve the status of Canadian playwrights' status domestically in Canada as well as internationally. The Playwright Union came about in 1984 with the merger of the Guild and the CO-op. BY 2002 the organization was transformed into the Playwrights Guild of Canada which mediates with the Professional Association of Canadian Theaters as well as printing and publishing plays.