Fernando Alonso led the first practice session. The two Mercedes followed the Ferrari driver.
Fernando Alonso started the Canadian Grand Prix finishing as the fastest in the first free practice session held at the Gilles Villeneuve circuit. The Spanish was forward both Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, the two great masters of this season.
Despite the light rain that fell hours before the start of the session, the training conditions were dry. Kevin Magnussen was responsible for inaugurating the timesheets, mileage being the main priority of the Danish rookie, having never driven in this circuit before. Romain Grosjean was placed in second position when the track activity was intensifying.
Felipe Massa had the best time, but Lewis Hamilton was quick to beat the time of the Brazilian. The British led the rankings when Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg kept a time just a few thousandths of him. Fernando Alonso moved up to reach the third position. Jean-Eric Vergne and Daniel Ricciardo completed the top 5.
After a long lull, Kvyat broke the silence of the session together with Magnussen. The ranking was led by both Mercedes drivers, with Rosberg ahead of Hamilton. Sebastian Vettel was placed third, just before Alonso snatched him the position. Hamilton beat Rosberg when there were 28 minutes to the end of the session.
Alonso was first, ahead of Hamilton on 16 mil. The Spanish would not give up the lead for the rest of the session and finished as the fastest. Hamilton was second, followed by Rosberg, Vettel and Bottas.
Results:
| Pos. | Car | Driver | Team | Nation | Laps | Time | Gap | |
| 1 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | SPA | 21 | 1:17.238 | ||
| 2 | 44 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | GER | 25 | 1:17.254 | + 0.016 | |
| 3 | 6 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | GBR | 32 | 1:17.384 | + 0.130 | |
| 4 | 1 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull Racing – Renault | GER | 28 | 1:18.131 | + 0.747 | |
| 5 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams – Mercedes | FIN | 20 | 1:18.361 | + 0.230 | |
| 6 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull Racing – Renault | AUS | 26 | 1:18.435 | + 0.074 | |
| 7 | 22 | Jenson Button | McLaren – Mercedes | GBR | 33 | 1:18.446 | + 0.011 | |
| 8 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | R | McLaren – Mercedes | DAN | 31 | 1:18.514 | + 0.068 |
| 9 | 7 | Kimi Räikkönen | Ferrari | FIN | 15 | 1:18.578 | + 0.064 | |
| 10 | 25 | Jean-Eric Vergne | Toro Rosso – Renault | FRA | 14 | 1:18.643 | + 0.065 | |
| 11 | 27 | Nico Hülkenberg | Force India – Mercedes | GER | 30 | 1:18.733 | + 0.090 | |
| 12 | 11 | Sergio Pérez | Force India – Mercedes | MEX | 22 | 1:18.959 | + 0.226 | |
| 13 | 99 | Adrian Sutil | Sauber – Ferrari | GER | 24 | 1:19.108 | + 0.149 | |
| 14 | 8 | Romain Grosjean | Lotus – Renault | FRA | 32 | 1:19.142 | + 0.034 | |
| 15 | 26 | Daniil Kvyat | R | Toro Rosso – Renault | RUS | 21 | 1:19.177 | + 0.035 |
| 16 | 13 | Pastor Maldonado | Lotus – Renault | VEN | 37 | 1:19.34 | + 0.163 | |
| 17 | 19 | Felipe Massa | Williams – Mercedes | BRA | 7 | 1:19.575 | + 0.235 | |
| 18 | 21 | Esteban Gutiérrez | Sauber – Ferrari | MEX | 15 | 1:19.804 | + 0.229 | |
| 19 | 17 | Jules Bianchi | Marussia – Ferrari | FRA | 15 | 1:20.2 | + 0.396 | |
| 20 | 4 | Max Chilton | Marussia – Ferrari | GBR | 26 | 1:20.844 | + 0.644 | |
| 21 | 9 | Marcus Ericsson | R | Caterham – Renault | SWE | 33 | 1:21.404 | + 0.560 |
| 22 | 45 | Alexander Rossi | Caterham – Renault | USA | 27 | 1:21.757 | + 0.353 |