The so called “Battle of the North,” featuring the largest field of clubs and the earliest start date ever, will take place at the 2023 Canadian Championship, which will begin on Tuesday, April 18, 2023. The major event will be a top choice for fans of online sportsbooks in the country including SIA Ontario Sportsbook.
The Canadian Championship will include fourteen clubs within four rounds that will run from April – June 2023, including Vancouver Whitecaps FC which is the defending champion and three new clubs.
Three new Canadian soccer clubs will be joining one of the most exciting contests in professional sports in Canada. The Canadian Championship is an exciting contest that crowns our Canadian champion on the route to Concacaf, with every match an elimination encounter over four rounds.
2023 Competition Overview
The 2023 Canadian Championship consists of four rounds, with the Final taking place in early June.
MLS – Major League Soccer, CPL – Canadian Premier League, L1BC – League1 BC, L1O – League1 Ontario (L1O) and Québec’s Premier League are among the five leagues that the fourteen clubs represent.
As we mentioned – there are three new teams entering the Championship – Vancouver FC, TSS Rovers FC of League 1 BC, and FC Laval are all new to the competition in 2023.
The teams from Major League Soccer – Halifax’s HFX Wanderers FC, Atlético Ottawa, York United FC, Forge FC Hamilton, Winnipeg’s Valour FC, Calgary’s Cavalry FC, Pacific FC – are returning to the Championship.
Vancouver Whitecaps FC, the champion of the 2022 Canadian Championship, and Toronto FC, the runner-up, will both receive byes into the competition’s second round.
The remaining 12 clubs will start the competition in the First Round in April.
The First Round will take place between April 18 and April 20, the Quarterfinals between May 9 and May 11, the Semifinals between May 23 and May 25, and the Final will take place in June.
What we need to know about the Canadian Championship
The highest men’s domestic soccer competition in the country, also known as the Battle of the North, features clubs from coast to coast as well as teams from Major League Soccer, the Canadian Premier League, League 1 BC, League 1 Ontario, and the Premier League of Québec (Première ligue de soccer du Québec).
The Canadian Championship champions in 2023 get the Voyageurs Cup and earn a spot in the Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League, an annual international competition.