2026 Canadian Premier League season
| Season | 2026 |
|---|---|
| Dates | TBA |
← 2025 2027 → | |
The 2026 Canadian Premier League season is the upcoming eighth season of the Canadian Premier League, the top level of Canadian soccer. Atlético Ottawa are the defending champions and Forge FC are the CPL Shield holders.
Teams
Eight teams will compete in the 2026 season with the debut of FC Supra du Québec, and the dissolution of Valour FC.[1][2] Inter Toronto FC will play its first season after being renamed, having previously competed as York9 FC and more recently York United FC.[3]
Stadiums and locations
| Club | Results | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlético Ottawa | details | Ottawa, Ontario | TD Place Stadium | 24,000 |
| Cavalry FC | details | Foothills County, Alberta | ATCO Field | 6,000 |
| Forge FC | details | Hamilton, Ontario | Hamilton Stadium | 23,218 |
| HFX Wanderers FC | details | Halifax, Nova Scotia | Wanderers Grounds | 7,500 |
| Inter Toronto FC | details | Toronto, Ontario | York Lions Stadium | 4,000 |
| Pacific FC | details | Langford, British Columbia | Starlight Stadium | 6,000 |
| FC Supra du Québec | details | Laval, Quebec | Stade Boréale | 5,581 |
| Vancouver FC | details | Langley, British Columbia | Willoughby Community Park | 6,560 |
Coaching changes
| Team | Outgoing coach | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming coach | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FC Supra du Québec | N/A (inaugural season) | Pre-season | Nicholas Razzaghi | October 30, 2025[4] | ||
| HFX Wanderers FC | Patrice Gheisar | Contract expiration | October 24, 2025[5] | Vanni Sartini | December 10, 2025[6] | |
Regular season
Format
The regular season will be played as a quadruple round-robin, with each team playing the other seven teams twice at home and twice away between April and October. The regular season winner will be awarded the regular season title, the CPL Shield, and qualify for Round one of the CONCACAF Champions Cup.
The top five teams qualify for the playoffs.
Standings
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Atlético Ottawa | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | First semifinal and 2027 CONCACAF Champions Cup |
| 2 | Cavalry FC | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | First semifinal |
| 3 | Forge FC | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Quarterfinal |
| 4 | HFX Wanderers FC | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Play-in round |
| 5 | Inter Toronto | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 6 | Pacific FC | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 7 | FC Supra du Québec | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 8 | Vancouver FC | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Total number of wins; 3) Head-to-head; 4) Goal differential; 5) Goals for; 6) Away goals differential; 7) Away goals for; 8) Home goals differential; 9) Home goals for; 10) Fewest disciplinary points; 11) Most under-21 domestic player minutes; 12) Drawing of lots.[7]
Results
Playoffs
The 2026 playoffs will feature a series of single-leg matches for five teams following a modified Page playoff system; the top two regular season teams get byes to the first semifinal; the third-placed team gets a bye to the quarterfinal; while the fourth- and fifth-placed teams contest a play-in match to reach the quarterfinal.
The winner of the quarterfinal and the loser of the first semifinal contest the second semifinal. The winner of the first semifinal will host the winner of the second semifinal in the 2026 CPL final to crown the league champion, who collect the North Star Cup, and qualify for the 2027 CONCACAF Champions Cup.[8]
In playoffs, if the scores are equal at the end of normal time, two 15 minute periods of extra time are played with each team allowed an extra substitution. If still tied, the winner is decided by a penalty shoot-out.[7]
If a team completes the 'Double', that is, the regular season winner also won the 2026 CPL final, then the second-highest seeded regular season team would qualify for the 2027 CONCACAF Champions Cup.[7][9]
Bracket
| Play-in round | First semifinal | Second semifinal | Final | |||||||||||||||
| 1 | First semifinal winner | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Second semifinal winner | |||||||||||||||||
| First semifinal loser | ||||||||||||||||||
| Quarterfinal | Quarterfinal winner | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Play-in round winner | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | ||||||||||||||||||
Player transfers
CPL–U Sports Draft
The 2026 CPL–U Sports Draft took place on November 28, 2025.[10]
References
- ^ "Canadian Premier League adding Laval-based FC Supra team in 2026". CBC Sports. September 25, 2025. Retrieved November 29, 2025.
- ^ Allen, Taylor (November 21, 2025). "Valour FC closing its doors". Winnipeg Free Press. Retrieved November 29, 2025.
- ^ Davidson, Neil (November 27, 2025). "York United FC to become Inter Toronto FC in CPL franchise's third rebrand". MSN. The Canadian Press. Retrieved November 29, 2025.
- ^ Téotonio, Jean-François (October 30, 2025). "Le FC Supra a son entraîneur-chef" [FC Supra has its head coach]. La Presse (in French). Retrieved November 29, 2025.
- ^ "Wanderers part ways with coach Gheisar after CPL playoff loss". TSN. The Canadian Press. October 24, 2025. Retrieved November 29, 2025.
- ^ Bailey, Mitchell (December 10, 2025). "Decorated soccer manager Vanni Sartini named new head coach of Halifax Wanderers". Global News. Retrieved December 10, 2025.
- ^ a b c "2025 CPL Competition Guidelines". Canadian Premier League. April 1, 2025. Archived from the original on April 2, 2025. Retrieved April 2, 2025.
- ^ "2025 CPL Playoffs schedule confirmed, to be broadcast on TSN & OneSoccer". CPL. October 19, 2025. Retrieved October 20, 2025.
- ^ "Canadian Premier League announces 2025 regular season schedule presented by WestJet". Canadian Premier League. February 18, 2025.
- ^ "FC Supra du Quebec building roster with top two picks in U Sports draft". Sportsnet. The Canadian Press. November 28, 2025. Retrieved November 29, 2025.