The 2026 Canadian Premier League season is the eighth season of the Canadian Premier League, the top men's professional level of the Canadian Soccer Association's league system. Atlético Ottawa are the defending champions and Forge FC are the CPL Shield holders.
Rule changes
The league is the first senior competition in the world to trial a new version of the offside rule, where offside is only called when there is "clear daylight" between the attacker and the last defender, following proposals from FIFA Chief of Global Football Development, Arsène Wenger.[1] The proposed trial was approved by the IFAB in February 2026.[2] The league is also implementing football video support (FVS).[3] To enhance match tempo and reduce time wasting, rules changes such as a five-second countdown on throw-ins and goal kicks, ten seconds to leave the field for a substitution, and a one minute holdout period to return from an injury, are also being implemented.[4][5][6] The playoff structure was reduced from five to four teams, returning to the format used in 2022.
Roster rule changes
The CPL's total player compensation budget was increased by $33,500 to a total of $1,217,500 (or $1,337,500 for teams maximizing the U-21 salary incentive).[7] A U-22 salary incentive known as the "U-21 Graduate Provision" was introduced this season. Players who are in their age-22 season and have spent at least two years with their club will have only 80% of their salary count towards the compensation budget.[8]
Beginning in 2026, teams can now designate a third U-18 domestic player under the Exceptional Young Talent (EYT) rule. Players on EYT contracts do not occupy a roster spot or count towards the player compensation budget.[9]
Teams
Eight teams are competing in the 2026 season with the debut of FC Supra du Québec, and the dissolution of Valour FC.[10][11] Inter Toronto FC is playing its first season after being renamed, having previously competed as York9 FC and more recently York United FC.[12]
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[13] | ||
| HFX Wanderers FC | Patrice Gheisar |
Contract expiration | October 24, 2025[14] |  Vanni Sartini |
December 10, 2025[15] | |
| Pacific FC | James Merriman |
Sacked | May 21, 2026[16] | 8th | Yiannis Tsalatsidis (interim) |
May 21, 2026 |
| Atlético Ottawa |  Diego Mejía |
Resigned | May 31, 2026[17] | 4th | Drew Beckie (interim) |
May 31, 2026 |
Regular season
Format
The regular season is 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 CPL Shield and qualify for Round one of the 2027 CONCACAF Champions Cup. The top four teams qualify for the playoffs.
Standings
Results
Positions by match week
Playoffs
The 2026 playoffs will feature four teams. There will be a pair of two-leg semifinals followed by a single match final hosted by the highest seeded team remaining to crown the league champion, who collect the North Star Cup, and qualify for the 2027 CONCACAF Champions Cup.[18]
In the playoffs, if the aggregate scores are equal at the end of normal time of the second match, or end of the single match for the final, 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.[9]
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.[9]
Bracket
|
| |||||||||
| First place | ||||||||||
| Fourth place | ||||||||||
| Higher seed | ||||||||||
| Lower seed | ||||||||||
| Second place | ||||||||||
| Third place | ||||||||||
Statistical leaders
- As of July 5, 2026
Top scorers
Hat-tricks
| Player | For | Against | Result | Date | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Mohamed Amissi | Vancouver | Inter Toronto | 4–0 (H) | July 4 | [20] |
Top assists
Clean sheets
| Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets[19] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Dimitry Bertaud |
Forge | 7 |
| 2 | Nathan Ingham |
Cavalry | 6 |
| 3 | Marco Carducci |
HFX Wanderers | 2 |
| Diego Urtiaga |
Inter Toronto | ||
| 5 | Tristan Crampton |
Atlético Ottawa | 1 |
 Garissone Innocent |
Atlético Ottawa | ||
| Henrik Regitnig |
Vancouver | ||
Attendance
- As of July 7, 2026, up to matchweek 12
| Pos | Team | Total | High | Low | Median | Average | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Forge FC | 40,534 | 15,122 | 4,178 | 5,437 | 6,756 | −2.5% |
| 2 | HFX Wanderers | 34,570 | 6,120 | 5,475 | 5,854 | 5,762 | −10.8% |
| 3 | Atlético Ottawa | 19,937 | 5,259 | 2,019 | 4,007 | 3,987 | −15.3% |
| 4 | FC Supra du Québec | 21,944 | 5,322 | 1,718 | 3,905.5 | 3,657 | n/a |
| 5 | Cavalry FC | 14,718 | 4,106 | 3,001 | 3,805.5 | 3,680 | −13.8% |
| 6 | Pacific FC | 19,211 | 3,383 | 2,150 | 2,452 | 2,744 | −7.3% |
| 7 | Inter Toronto | 10,640 | 3,154 | 1,135 | 2,200 | 2,128 | +3.6% |
| 8 | Vancouver FC | 13,998 | 3,528 | 1,348 | 1,820 | 2,000 | +44.0% |
| League total | 175,552 | 15,122 | 1,135 | 3,547.5 | 3,816 | −4.6% |
Awards
Monthly Awards
| Month | Manager of the Month | Player of the Month | Goalkeeper of the Month | U-21 Player of the Month | References | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manager | Club | Player | Club | Player | Club | Player | Club | ||
| April | Bobby Smyrniotis |
Forge FC | Sean Rea |
FC Supra du Québec | Dimitry Bertaud |
Forge FC | Alessandro Biello |
FC Supra du Québec | [21][22][23][24] |
| May |  Tommy Wheeldon Jr. |
Cavalry FC |  Tobias Warschewski |
Cavalry FC | Diego Urtiaga |
Inter Toronto | Adam Pearlman |
Cavalry FC | [25][26][27][28] |
| June | Martin Nash |
Vancouver FC | Goteh Ntignee |
Cavalry FC | Dimitry Bertaud |
Forge FC | Kian Proctor |
Vancouver FC | [29][30][31][32] |
Weekly Awards
Players of the week are in bold.
| Week | Team of the Week | Ref | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goalkeeper | Defenders | Midfielders | Forwards | ||
| 1 |
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[33][34] | ||
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[35][36] | |||
| 3 |
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[37][38] | |
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[39][40] | ||
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[41][42] | |||
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[43][44] | ||
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[45][46] | ||
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[47][48] | |||
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[49][50] | ||
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[51][52] | ||
| 11 |
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[53][54] | |
| 12 |
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[55][56] | |||
Player transfers
CPL–U Sports Draft
The 2026 CPL–U Sports Draft took place on November 28, 2025.[57] Sixteen Canadian university student-athletes were selected by Canadian Premier League clubs over two rounds.
Foreign players
Canadian Premier League teams can sign a maximum of seven international players, out of which only five can be in the starting line-up for each match.[58]
The following international players were signed for the 2026 season. To be considered domestic for CPL purposes, players must be Canadian citizens, permanent residents, refugees, or foreign players with at least three seasons spent in the league. Note that domestic players may still hold other nationalities or represent other countries in international competitions.[9]
Players in italic denote players who were new to their respective clubs for the 2026 season, sorted chronologically by their announcement. Players in bold indicate players who have represented their national teams at the senior level.
- ↑ Players who remain under contract but have suffered season-ending injury and may not return to play. They do not count towards roster or cap restrictions and as such can be replaced by another foreign player.
References
- ↑ Johnson, Dale (January 20, 2026). "Canadian league set to trial Wenger's offside idea". BBC Sport. Retrieved January 20, 2026.
- ↑ Johnson, Dale (February 28, 2026). "Laws of football: Wider VAR scope and more countdowns for World Cup". BBC Sport. Retrieved February 28, 2026.
- ↑ "Sources: FIFA to trial daylight offside rule and football video support during 2026 CPL season". HFX Football Post. March 6, 2026. Retrieved March 24, 2026.
- ↑ Jacques, John (March 31, 2026). "Canadian Premier League Confirms New Playoff Format, Wenger's Offside Rule, And More". Northern Tribune. Retrieved March 31, 2026.
- ↑ "CPL to 'shape the future' with offside trial, FIFA collaboration". CPL. March 31, 2026. Retrieved March 31, 2026.
- ↑ "'On the forefront': CPL players, coaches react to 'daylight' offside trial". CPL. March 31, 2026. Retrieved March 31, 2026.
- ↑ "Canadian Premier League to host offside trial in 2026 season". CPL. March 31, 2026. Retrieved March 31, 2026.
- ↑ Jacques, John (March 31, 2026). "Canadian Premier League Confirms New Playoff Format, Wenger's Offside Rule, And More". Northern Tribune. Retrieved April 5, 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "2026 CPL Competition Guidelines". Canadian Premier League. March 1, 2026. Retrieved March 31, 2026.
- ↑ "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.
- ↑ Jacques, John (May 21, 2026). "Pacific Moves On From James Merriman". Northern Tribune. Retrieved May 24, 2026.
- ↑ "Atlético Ottawa head coach leaving partway through 2nd season". CBC News. Retrieved May 31, 2026.
- ↑ CPL (March 31, 2026). "CPL to use four-team playoff format in 2026". CPL. Retrieved March 31, 2026.
- 1 2 3 "CPL players statistics". Canadian Premier League. Retrieved April 4, 2026.
- ↑ "VAN 4-0 INT Vancouver FC v Inter Toronto". Soccerway. Retrieved July 5, 2026.
- ↑ "Forge's Bobby Smyrniotis named CPL Manager of the Month for April". Canadian Premier League. May 6, 2026. Retrieved June 8, 2026.
- ↑ "FC Supra's Sean Rea named CPL Player of the Month for April: 'It's been really fun'". Canadian Premier League. May 5, 2026. Retrieved June 8, 2026.
- ↑ "Forge's Dimitry Bertaud named CPL's Allstate Goalkeeper of the Month for April". Canadian Premier League. May 7, 2026. Retrieved July 10, 2026.
- ↑ "FC Supra's Alessandro Biello named CPL U-21 Player of the Month". Canadian Premier League. May 8, 2026. Retrieved July 10, 2026.
- ↑ "Cavalry's Tommy Wheeldon Jr. named Manager of the Month for May". Canadian Premier League. June 3, 2026. Retrieved June 8, 2026.
- ↑ "Cavalry's Tobias Warschewski named CPL Player of the Month for May: 'Can't be stopped'". Canadian Premier League. June 2, 2026. Retrieved June 8, 2026.
- ↑ "Inter Toronto's Urtiaga named CPL Allstate Goalkeeper of the Month for May". Canadian Premier League. June 4, 2026. Retrieved July 10, 2026.
- ↑ "Cavalry's Adam Pearlman named CPL U-21 Player of the Month for May". Canadian Premier League. June 5, 2026. Retrieved July 10, 2026.
- ↑ "Vancouver FC's Martin Nash named June's Manager of the Month". Canadian Premier League. July 7, 2026. Retrieved June 10, 2026.
- ↑ "Cavalry's Goteh Ntignee named June's CPL Player of the Month". Canadian Premier League. July 6, 2026. Retrieved July 10, 2026.
- ↑ "Dimitry Bertaud named CPL Allstate Goalkeeper of the Month for June". Canadian Premier League. July 8, 2026. Retrieved July 10, 2026.
- ↑ "Kian Proctor named CPL U-21 Player of the Month". Canadian Premier League. July 9, 2026. Retrieved July 10, 2026.
- ↑ "Marco Carducci named Maple Lodge Farms Player of the Week (Matchweek 1)". CPL. April 9, 2026. Retrieved May 22, 2026.
- ↑ "Gatorade Team of the Week 2026 (Week 1)". CPL. April 7, 2026. Retrieved April 22, 2026.
- ↑ "Julain Altobelli named Maple Lodge Player of the Week (Matchweek 2)". CPL. April 14, 2026. Retrieved May 22, 2026.
- ↑ "Gatorade Team of the Week 2026 (Week 2)". CPL. April 13, 2026. Retrieved April 22, 2026.
- ↑ "Garissone Innocent named Maple Lodge Farms Player of the Week (Matchweek 3)". CPL. April 21, 2026. Retrieved May 22, 2026.
- ↑ "Gatorade Team of the Week 2026 (Week 3)". CPL. April 20, 2026. Retrieved April 22, 2026.
- ↑ "Sean Rea named Maple Lodge Farms Player of the Week (Matchweek 4)". CPL. April 28, 2026. Retrieved May 22, 2026.
- ↑ "Gatorade Team of the Week 2026 (Week 4)". CPL. April 27, 2026. Retrieved April 28, 2026.
- ↑ "Tomasz Skublak named Maple Lodge Farms Player of the Week (Matchweek 5)". CPL. May 4, 2026. Retrieved May 22, 2026.
- ↑ "Gatorade Team of the Week 2026 (Week 5)". CPL. May 4, 2026. Retrieved May 13, 2026.
- ↑ "Diego Urtiaga named Maple Lodge Farms Player of the Week (Matchweek 6)". CPL. May 19, 2026. Retrieved May 22, 2026.
- ↑ "Gatorade Team of the Week 2026 (Week 6)". CPL. May 19, 2026. Retrieved May 22, 2026.
- ↑ "Tobias Warschewski named Maple Lodge Farms Player of the Week (Matchweek 7)". CPL. May 26, 2026. Retrieved June 4, 2026.
- ↑ "Gatorade Team of the Week 2026 (Week 7)". CPL. May 25, 2026. Retrieved May 25, 2026.
- ↑ "Ronan Kratt named Maple Lodge Farms Player of the Week (Matchweek 8)". CPL. June 1, 2026. Retrieved June 4, 2026.
- ↑ "Gatorade Team of the Week 2026 (Week 8)". CPL. June 1, 2026. Retrieved June 4, 2026.
- ↑ "Tristan Borges named Maple Lodge Farms Player of the Week (Matchweek 9)". CPL. June 8, 2026. Retrieved June 14, 2026.
- ↑ "Gatorade Team of the Week 2026 (Week 9)". CPL. June 8, 2026. Retrieved June 14, 2026.
- ↑ "Goteh Ntignee named Maple Lodge Farms Player of the Week (Matchweek 10)". CPL. June 16, 2026. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
- ↑ "Gatorade Team of the Week 2026 (Week 10)". CPL. June 15, 2026. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
- ↑ "Ballou Tabla named Maple Lodge Farms Player of the Week (Matchweek 11)". CPL. July 2, 2026. Retrieved July 10, 2026.
- ↑ "Gatorade Team of the Week 2026 (Week 11)". CPL. July 2, 2026. Retrieved July 10, 2026.
- ↑ "Mohamed Amissi named Maple Lodge Farms Player of the Week (Matchweek 12)". CPL. July 7, 2026. Retrieved July 10, 2026.
- ↑ "Gatorade Team of the Week 2026 (Week 12)". CPL. July 6, 2026. Retrieved July 10, 2026.
- ↑ "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.
- ↑ "Canadian Premier League Official Site". CPL. March 1, 2026. Retrieved March 31, 2026.
