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
- Vancouver FC
- Halifax Wanderers FC
- FC Supra du Québec
- Inter Toronto
- 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 league shield. It is a separate honour from the playoff title, 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 the number of wins first, 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.
The playoffs
The top of the table goes on to the playoffs, and the playoff final decides the champion. In 2026 the playoff places are the top four. The league publishes the exact bracket and dates once the regular season is settled, and this page will show them when it does.
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 Inter Toronto (5) | Playoff | 6–7 |
| Oct 26 | Forge FC (1) vs Atlético Ottawa (2) | Semifinals | 1–2 |
| Oct 26 | Cavalry FC (3) vs Inter Toronto (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 |
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 play CF Montréal in the 2026 final on Wednesday, October 21.
Forge FC in the playoffs
- 2025: went out in the semi-final
- 2024: lost the final to Cavalry FC
- 2023: won the title
- 2022: won the title
- 2021: lost the final to Pacific FC
- 2020: won the title
From our match archive, which does not yet hold the 2019 final.