The 2026 Canadian Premier League season is the upcoming eighth season of the Canadian Premier League, the top level of Canadian soccer. Atlético Ottawa are the defending champions and Forge FC are the CPL Shield holders.
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. The proposed trial was approved by the IFAB in February 2026. The league will also implement football video support (FVS). 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. The playoff structure will be reduced from five to four teams.
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).
Eight teams will compete in the 2026 season with the debut of FC Supra du Québec, and the dissolution of Valour FC. Inter Toronto FC will play its first season after being renamed, having previously competed as York9 FC and more recently York United FC.
The regular season will be 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 regular season title â the CPL Shield, and qualify for Round one of the CONCACAF Champions Cup. The top four teams qualify for the playoffs.
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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.
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.
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.
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The 2026 CPLâÂÂU Sports Draft took place on November28, 2025. Sixteen Canadian university student-athletes were selected by Canadian Premier League clubs over two rounds.
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.
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 these players may still represent other countries in international competitions.
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.