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The Canadian Championship, more commonly known as the Voyageurs Cup, is upon us.
Much like the FA Cup in England or the DFB-Pokal in Germany, it brings together clubs from across the Canadian soccer pyramid to compete for a national title.
Of course, being Canadian, the scale is more modest compared to the 747 teams that entered the FA Cup in 2025–26 or the staggering 8,506 clubs that take part in the Coupe de France.
So, let’s take a closer look at what the Voyageurs Cup is all about and how it came to be.
The history
Originally, the Canadian Championship began as a subset of the USL First Division, where four Canadian clubs competed based on their regular season results against one another, similar to how the Cascadia Cup operates today.
That format ran from 2002 to 2007, before a standalone national competition was introduced, giving Canadian clubs their own dedicated cup. The structure has evolved, most notably with the introduction of Canadian Premier League clubs in 2019, helping shape the modern format of the tournament.
The format
The current format of the Canadian Championship brings together clubs from across the Canadian soccer pyramid:
- The three Major League Soccer sides: Vancouver Whitecaps, CF Montréal, and Toronto FC
- All eight Canadian Premier League clubs: Pacific, Cavalry, Vancouver FC, Forge, Halifax Wanderers, Inter Toronto, Atlético Ottawa, and FC Supra du Québec
- Four regional champions, which for this edition are Woodbridge Strikers, CS Saint-Laurent, Langley United, and Calgary Blizzard SC
That makes 15 clubs in total, competing across four stages in a knockout-style format to crown the national champion.
The winner will qualify for the 2027 Concacaf Champions Cup.
Ranking index
Teams are seeded based on their performance in the Canadian Championship over the past four editions (2025, 2024, 2023, and 2022), with more recent results weighted more heavily to reflect current form.
For semi-professional clubs, rankings are instead calculated using the historical performances of teams that previously represented their respective leagues over the same four-season window.
Excluding the final, the Preliminary Round matches, as well as the 2nd leg of the quarter-finals and semi-finals series, will be hosted by the higher-ranked team.
- Vancouver Whitecaps FC
- Forge FC
- Toronto FC
- CF Montréal
- Pacific FC
- Atlético Ottawa
- Vancouver FC
- Inter Toronto FC
- Cavalry FC
- Halifax Wanderers FC
- FC Supra du Québec
- Langley United (BC Premier League)
- CS Saint-Laurent (Ligue1 Québec)
- Woodbridge Strikers (Ontario Premier League)
- Calgary Blizzard (Alberta Premier League)
Semi-pro teams, who cannot face each other in the first round, can't move ahead of a professional club, and as a result, won't host a match until the potential quarter-finals.
Preliminary round
The preliminary round of the Canadian Championship is a single-elimination stage, with all matches decided in one game. The reigning champions, the Vancouver Whitecaps, enter at a later stage, as is customary for the previous year’s winners.
If a match is tied after 90 minutes, it goes to extra time, and if still level, it is decided by penalties.
The fixtures are:
Pacific vs. Cavalry
Saturday, May 9 (4:00 pm PT / 5:00 pm PT)
Starlight Stadium, Victoria
CF Montréal vs. Calgary Blizzard SC
Wednesday, May 6 (7:30 pm ET / 5:30 pm MT)
Stade Saputo, Montreal
Vancouver FC vs. Langley United
Sunday, May 10 (3:00 pm PT / 6:00 pm ET)
Willoughby Community Park, Langley
Forge vs. Halifax Wanderers
Saturday, May 9 (4:00 pm ET / 5:00 pm AT)
Hamilton Stadium, Hamilton
Inter Toronto vs. CS Saint-Laurent
Sunday, May 10 (3:00 pm ET / 12:00 pm PT)
York Lions Stadium, Toronto
Toronto FC vs. Atlético Ottawa
Tuesday, May 5 (7:30 pm ET / 4:30 pm PT)
BMO Field, Toronto
FC Supra du Québec vs. Woodbridge Strikers FC
Friday, May 8 (7:00 pm ET / 4:00 pm PT)
Stade Boréale, Laval
Seven knockout ties, all decided on the night.
Quarter-finals
The quarter-final stage of the Canadian Championship is played over two legs, meaning each team hosts one match.
The winner is decided over two legs using aggregate score across both matches.
If the aggregate score is tied after the two games, the second leg goes to extra time, and if the tie is still not broken, it is decided by a penalty shootout.
The Vancouver Whitecaps will begin their Voyageurs Cup campaign in this round, taking on the winner of Pacific vs. Cavalry
Semi-finals
The semi-finals are played under the same format as the quarter-finals.
The final
October 21st brings the final of the Canadian Championship, a single-match showdown to decide the champions of Canadian football.
The Vancouver Whitecaps have dominated the competition in recent years, winning the last four editions in a row. However, the gap is narrowing. Last season marked the first time a Canadian Premier League side reached the final, and MLS teams have already been eliminated by CPL opposition in earlier rounds, signalling a more competitive landscape.
There is also always room for “cup magic,” with regional league sides capable of making deep runs. Even if they are outmatched on paper, knockout football leaves space for surprises, where a single perfect performance over 90 minutes can rewrite expectations entirely.
Must-watch
Vancouver FC takes on partner side Langley United at Willoughby Community Park, a shared home venue for both clubs.
Langley’s head coach, Azad Palani, has strong ties to Vancouver: He served as assistant coach there last season and continues to work within the club’s academy structure, giving this matchup an added layer of familiarity on both benches.
Vancouver striker Lys Mousset, who made his debut last weekend, also featured for Langley earlier this season while building match fitness ahead of his first-team arrival. That overlap adds another unique storyline to an already closely linked fixture.
With shared personnel, shared facilities, and intertwined development pathways, this match carries plenty of narrative weight beyond the pitch.
How to watch the Canadian Championship
OneSoccer will broadcast all 20 matches.
