A little over a decade ago, domestic football in Canada practically did not exist. The Canadian Soccer League was the only league of note that was in play. While it still takes place today, few watch it or even know of it, largely due to the CSL being desanctioned by Canada Soccer in 2013.
Fast forward to 2026, and Canada now has two strong national teams, a fully professional men's and women's leagues, and an ever-growing semi-professional league. In total, there are over 100 teams involved across the country, something that seemed unimaginable not too long ago.
Now, with Canada about to co-host the FIFA World Cup, it marks an opportunity for the domestic game to truly lift off and become followed globally. But what are the current leagues, and who are involved? We take a look at each of the Canadian football leagues as the season nears kick-off.
Canadian Premier League: Most exciting year yet
Heading into its eighth season, the Canadian Premier League filled a void that was etched in the country for far too long. In a short period of time, the CPL, which began play in 2019, has seen players go on to bigger and better things, from signing for MLS sides, to even heading to Europe.
The league initially started with seven teams, based in Victoria, Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg, Toronto, Hamilton, and Halifax. Now sitting at eight, there has been some movement. Atletico Ottawa, the current champions, joined the fray in the CPL's second season, which was played in Charlottetown due to the pandemic.
FC Edmonton folded in 2021, before Valour closed operations late last year. Those have been the main setbacks for the tier one league. It is never ideal to lose clubs, but it is far from uncommon in sports, especially in startup leagues.
With that said, there have been some new teams added. In 2022, Vancouver FC played their first season. While the Eagles finished bottom of the league last year, they had a remarkable run to the final of the Canadian Championship, the country's domestic cup. Although they came up short against Vancouver Whitecaps of the MLS, they did themselves, and the league proud.
The CPL's newest member is FC Supra du Quebec, who were announced back in September. The league had long been hoping for a Quebec-based team, and now they have one. Supra, whose name is inspired by Montreal Supra of the original Canadian Soccer League, pledged to build a squad with players who were either born in Quebec, or spent a significant amount of their life in the province, akin to Athletic Bilbao's model.
There have been four different teams to lift the North Star Cup - the play-off trophy. No one has done it more than Forge FC, who are the league's most successful club. The Hamilton-based side have lifted the title on four occasions, finishing as regular season winners thrice. In fact, last year was the first time they failed to reach the final. The Hammers will be among the favourites to win more trophies in 2026.
The other team to feature regularly in the trophy hunt are Calgary's Cavalry FC. They have participated in the last three play-off finals, on top of two regular season wins. They have five former players to have played for Canada's national team, more than any other club.
Then there is Pacific, who were the first side not named Forge to win the league's play-off title back in 2021. They have, however, had their struggles at times, failing to reach the play-offs last year for the first time since the inaugural campaign. This will be a year where they will hope to bounce back.
Atletico Ottawa, the first expansion team, won their first title in 2025, breaking records along the way. Owned by Atletico Madrid, Ottleti finished the regular season with the most goals scored ever (54), losing just twice before beating Cavalry on a night forever remembered for David Rodriguez's bicycle kick in the snow. They also won the regular season back in 2022, before losing in the final to Forge.
Inter Toronto, formerly York 9 and York United, have made the play-offs on two occasions, but have never managed to reach the final. They are the only team that have been in the league from day one to make that claim. Having made some ambitious off-season signings, they will be ambitious in trying to end that streak and make a deep run.
Finally, HFX Wanderers are looking for their first trophy. The Eastern-most club played in the 2020 final, losing to Forge in a hard-fought game. The Wanderers have reached the play-offs in two of the last three years, but have failed to get past the first round. Now, with former Whitecaps boss Vanni Sartini, expectations are high on the east coast as they show serious ambition towards a trophy.
The current CPL format sees the eight teams meet each other four times each, twice at home and twice away. After the 28 rounds, the top four teams make the play-offs, where two-legged semi-finals occur before the final, hosted by the higher ranked side.
Along with what looks to be a highly intriguing season, the league will also adopt some significant changes to its rules. For instance, Arsene Wenger's 'daylight' offside rule will be trialled in the CPL. Moreover, they will also adopt the Football Video Support system, where the coaches can challenge decisions made during the match. They can only question the four areas also used with VAR: goal-scoring plays, penalties, red cards, and mistaken identity.
Saturday will be the league's opening day of play for 2026, when Forge meet Atletico Ottawa in a battle of the two sides to lift trophies last year. Vancouver FC will welcome the Wanderers later that day, before Sunday will see Pacific host Cavalry to end the week.
Northern Super League: Women's football on the rise
Returning for a second season after a thrilling opener, the Northern Super League, Canada's women's professional league, will be entering a huge year.
Of the major footballing nations in the women's game, Canada were among the last to start up a full professional league. Former national team player Diana Matheson got the ball rolling, working with former team-mates and partners to kick-start the NSL.
Announced in 2022, last year saw the league make its debut, where six sides from coast to coast competed in a 25-game regular season plus play-offs. At the end of it all, the Vancouver Rise topped AFC Toronto in the final at BMO Field. Toronto had won the regular season, finishing 12 points ahead of the Rise.
Also making the play-offs in 2025 were Ottawa Rapid, who finished second on head-to-head over Vancouver, and fourth-place Montreal Roses. The pair, alongside the Rise, were left fighting for positioning over the final few weeks of the regular season in what was a competitive opening year.
The other two clubs in the league are the Calgary Wild and Halifax Tides. While the top four were for the most part separated from the bottom two, Calgary still put up a strong fight. Finishing seven points behind Montreal, the Wild will certainly be one to watch in 2026 as they look to make the play-offs.
The Tides were the ones who struggled the most, winning just three times in their opening campaign. Now coached by former men's national team boss Stephen Hart, they will also be pushing for more in 2026.
Perhaps the best part for the NSL is the fact that several players made their debut for Canada. Emma Regan, Holly Ward, Kaylee Hunter, and DB Pridham all managed to represent the senior national side since playing in the league. That is a huge promising sign, with more to come.
The 2026 campaign will see the exact same format as last year, where the six clubs face each other five times. From there, the top four teams will qualify for the play-offs, with a two-legged semi-final and a single-match final completing the season. While there is no cup competition yet, one will likely start very soon.
Things will commence on 24 April, when the Rise host AFC Toronto in a repeat of last year's final. Halifax then face Ottawa at home and Calgary kick off their season against Montreal to complete the opening round.
PSL Canada: Semi-pro football continues to grow
The other leagues that exist in Canada are at the semi-professional level. The Premier Soccer Leagues Canada, rebranded this year from League1 Canada, has men's and women's football across six different provinces, with the desire to grow.
While Ontario and Quebec have run their leagues for over a decade, things have started to really take off within the last five years. British Columbia joined the fray in 2022, before Alberta officially started in 2024 after a successful exhibition series in 2023.
Heading into this exciting year, the league has grown even further, with the Prairie provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba coming together to form the Prairies Premier League. Seven teams will debut the new division across the men's and women's leagues.
Each province has a different number of teams in their division, ranging from six to as many as 12. Furthermore, Ontario and Quebec have three tiers within their respective provincial structures. Both provinces operate on a promotion and relegation system, something that is almost foreign in North American sports.
While the number of games each team plays varies from league to league and province to province, most sides end up playing their opponents home and away. Play-offs are not as common anymore, though they used to be prevalent in the earlier years of the leagues.
On the men's side, the provincial champions of BC, Alberta, Ontario and Quebec qualify for the Canadian Championship. Despite being at the semi-pro level, these teams have already proven to be a tall order for the pro sides. After all, TSS Rovers from BC stunned Valour in 2023, before CS Saint-Laurent out of Quebec eliminated HFX Wanderers away.
As for the women's leagues, the winners of each of the four provinces - excluding Saskatchewan and Manitoba for now - face off in an Inter-Provincial Championship in August. The host province alternates each year, with Simcoe County Rovers from Ontario beating Quebec's CS Mont-Royal Outremont in last year's final. Should a women's national cup competition occur, the winners from the PSLs will certainly take part in that tournament.
The first domestic games in Canada this year will come in the BC Premier League, when Burnaby FC face TSS Rovers on Thursday. Quebec's top division will also start next weekend, before Ontario's league kicks off the following week. In Alberta as well as the Prairies, things do not begin until May.
