How the Canadian Premier League works
The league Forge FC play in, explained in a few minutes: who is in it, how the season runs, how the table is settled and what happens in the playoffs.
The league
The Canadian Premier League is Canada's own professional league. It played its first season in 2019, and Forge FC have been in it from the start. In 2026 there are 8 clubs, from Vancouver Island to Halifax:
- Cavalry FC
- Forge FC
- Atlético Ottawa
- FC Supra du Québec
- Vancouver FC
- Inter Toronto
- Halifax Wanderers FC
- Pacific FC
The regular season
Every club plays every other club four times, twice at home and twice away. That makes 28 matches each. The 2026 regular season runs from Apr 4 to Oct 25, with most matches on weekends and a few midweek rounds.
A win is worth three points and a draw one. The team on top after the last round wins the regular season, which in the CPL is a trophy of its own: the CPL Shield, which also brings a place in the next Concacaf Champions Cup. It is a separate honour from the playoff title, the North Star Cup, and the two do not always go to the same club.
When teams finish level
This is where the CPL differs from what most people expect. Teams level on points are separated by total wins first, then the head-to-head record between them, then goal difference, then goals scored. So a side with more wins finishes above a side with the same points and a better goal difference: that is exactly how Forge took the 2021 Shield from Cavalry, level on 50 points.
The playoffs
The top of the table goes on to the playoffs, and the playoff final decides the champion. In 2026 four teams qualify: the semi-finals are played over two legs, and the final is a single match hosted by the highest remaining seed. The dates follow once the regular season is settled.
The format has changed over the years. From 2023 to 2025 five teams qualified and the bracket rewarded finishing high: first played second, and the winner went straight to the final while the loser got a second chance in the semi-final. Third, fourth and fifth played their way through a knockout path to meet that team.
How the 2025 playoffs went
| Date | Match (league position) | Round | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 22 | Halifax Wanderers FC (4) vs York United FC (5) | Playoff | 2–2 (4–5 pens) |
| Oct 26 | Forge FC (1) vs Atlético Ottawa (2) | Semifinals | 1–2 |
| Oct 26 | Cavalry FC (3) vs York United FC (5) | Quarterfinals | 4–1 |
| Nov 2 | Forge FC (1) vs Cavalry FC (3) | Playoff | 0–1 |
| Nov 9 | Atlético Ottawa (2) vs Cavalry FC (3) | Final | 2–1 (aet) |
Beyond the league
CPL clubs also play in the Canadian Championship, the national cup, against Major League Soccer clubs and the best of the regional leagues. The winner lifts the Voyageurs Cup and earns a place in the Concacaf Champions Cup, the continental competition. Forge FC became the first CPL club to win it in 2026, beating CF Montréal on penalties in the final.