Arsenault was born to Acadian parents in Prince Edward Island. She grew up surrounded by music, an important aspect of Acadian culture, and each family member played a different musical instrument. They sang songs together passed down from older generations.
By the age of 14, Arsenault was playing the piano and the guitar and won a televised singing contest in Charlottetown. She graduated with a BA from the Université de Moncton in 1965, followed by an MA from Université Laval in 1968. She moved to Montreal where her singing/songwriting career started in earnest and she began to write and sing her own songs (in English and in French).
She hosted several shows for TVOntario and with the release of her 1977 album Libre Arsenault became successful and famous. The best-seller recording won her the prestigious Felix Award and her sizable fan base solidified her popularity, as much as a singer as an Acadian pioneer in modern music. She toured Canada and in 1996 returned to Prince Edward Island to be closer to her family. The following year she received the Ordre de la Pléiade de l'Association des parlementaires de langue française, for her work in the promotion of the French language and culture. She continued to write songs and appeared at many festivals worldwide. In 1999, the University of Prince Edward Island awarded her an honorary doctorate and in 2003 she received the Order of Canada.
Arsenault died in Saint-Sauveur after a battle with cancer in 2014, leaving a discography of 14 recordings.