List of Canadian Championship finals

Canadian Championship finals
First played2011
Editions14
RegionCanada[a]
Most recent winnersVancouver Whitecaps FC
(2024, 4th win)
Most finals wonToronto FC (6)[n 1]
Most appearancesToronto FC (11)
Top scorer(s)Jozy Altidore
Sebastian Giovinco
(4 goals each)
Television broadcastersOneSoccer (since 2019)
2024 Canadian Championship final

The Canadian Championship final is the championship match or two match aggregate series to determine the winner of the Canadian Championship. It was first held in 2011 following Canada Soccer's decision to replace the round-robin format with a knockout competition to reduce fixture congestion for the participating teams.

From 2008 to 2010, the Canadian Championship was played as a round-robin tournament between Canada's three professional soccer clubs: the Montreal Impact, Toronto FC, and Vancouver Whitecaps FC.[1] In 2011, the addition of FC Edmonton to Canadian professional soccer meant that a league format would require each participant to play six matches instead of four, something that was unpopular with the participating clubs' players and staff.[2] The round-robin format was also responsible for the controversial end of the 2009 Canadian Championship, which brought about further demand for a change in format, where a team could not suffer due to the results of a match between two other teams.[citation needed] The addition of a fourth team also meant that they could instead run the competition as an even two round tournament with no team requiring byes. It was decided in 2011 that the competition would be reformatted to have a two-legged semifinal round, of which the winners would then face each other in a single match final hosted by the higher seeded team.[citation needed] Before the beginning of the competition, this format was slightly amended once more so that the final would also be played over two legs.[3]

As more Canadian teams were created and gained access into the Canadian Championship in the late 2010s, all rounds including the final would start to be played as a single match starting in 2021, with the host team being determined by draw at the beginning of the competition.[4]

In 2024, Canada Soccer brought back the usage of two-legged ties for the quarter-final and semi-final rounds, but the final remained as a single match.

Toronto FC are the most successful team in the finals, having won it six times.[n 1] Since its inception, a non-Major League Soccer club has only reached the final once, due to a revised competition format for the shortened 2020 season where the Canadian Premier League automatically gained a berth into the final.

Despite playing in five semi-finals, FC Edmonton were never able to reach the finals during their eleven seasons of professional soccer.

Finals

[edit]
Key
† Match went to extra time
‡ Match decided by a penalty shoot-out after extra time
§ Match decided by a penalty shoot-out with no extra time
& Series decided by away goals rule
^ Attendance record
Year Date(s) Winner Score(s) Runner-up Venue City Attendance
2008 round-robin format, no final held
2009
2010
2011 May 18, 2011 Toronto FC 1–1 Vancouver Whitecaps FC Empire Field Vancouver, BC 15,474
July 2, 2011[b] 2–1 BMO Field Toronto, ON 18,212
2012 May 16, 2012 Toronto FC 1–1 Vancouver Whitecaps FC BC Place Vancouver, BC 14,878
May 23, 2012 1–0 BMO Field Toronto, ON 13,777
2013 May 15, 2013 Montreal Impact &0–0 & Vancouver Whitecaps FC Stade Saputo Montreal, QC 12,016
May 29, 2013 &2–2 & BC Place Vancouver, BC 18,183
2014 May 28, 2014 Montreal Impact 1–1 Toronto FC BMO Field Toronto, ON 18,269
June 4, 2014 1–0 Stade Saputo Montreal, QC 13,423
2015 August 12, 2015 Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2–2 Montreal Impact Stade Saputo Montreal, QC 12,395
August 26, 2015 2–0 BC Place Vancouver, BC 19,616
2016 June 21, 2016 Toronto FC &1–0 & Vancouver Whitecaps FC BMO Field Toronto, ON 20,011
June 29, 2016 &1–2 & BC Place Vancouver, BC 19,376
2017 June 21, 2017 Toronto FC 1–1 Montreal Impact Stade Saputo Montreal, QC 14,329
June 27, 2017 2–1 BMO Field Toronto, ON 26,539 ^
2018 August 8, 2018 Toronto FC 2–2 Vancouver Whitecaps FC BC Place Vancouver, BC 16,833
August 15, 2018 5–2 BMO Field Toronto, ON 14,994
2019 September 18, 2019 Montreal Impact 1–0 Toronto FC Stade Saputo Montreal, QC 10,807
September 25, 2019 §0–1 §
(3–1 p) 		BMO Field Toronto, ON 21,365
2020 June 4, 2022[c] Toronto FC §1–1 §
(5–4 p) 		Forge FC Tim Hortons Field Hamilton, ON 13,715
2021 November 21, 2021 CF Montréal 1–0 Toronto FC Stade Saputo Montreal, QC 12,000
2022 July 26, 2022 Vancouver Whitecaps FC §1–1 §
(5–3 p) 		Toronto FC BC Place Vancouver, BC 24,307
2023 June 7, 2023 Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2–1 CF Montréal BC Place Vancouver, BC 20,072
2024 September 25, 2024 Vancouver Whitecaps FC §0–0 §
(4–2 p) 		Toronto FC BC Place Vancouver, BC 12,516

Statistics

[edit]

Team records

[edit]

As of the 2024 season

Club App. W L W% Years won Years lost
Toronto FC 11 6 5 54.5 2011, 2012, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020 2014, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2024
CF Montréal 7 4 3 57.1 2013, 2014, 2019, 2021 2015, 2017, 2023
Vancouver Whitecaps FC 9 4 5 44.4 2015, 2022, 2023, 2024 2011, 2012, 2013, 2016, 2018
Forge FC 1 0 1 0.0 – 2020

Player records

[edit]

As of the 2024 final

Top finals goalscorers
Rank Player Club Nationality Goals
1 Jozy Altidore Toronto FC  USA 4
Sebastian Giovinco Toronto FC  ITA
2 Eric Hassli Vancouver Whitecaps FC  FRA 2
Kei Kamara Vancouver Whitecaps FC  SLE
Felipe Martins Montreal Impact  BRA
Tim Parker Vancouver Whitecaps FC  USA
Camilo Sanvezzo Vancouver Whitecaps FC  BRA
Brian White Vancouver Whitecaps FC  USA

Bold indicates that player is still active for a Canadian club.

See also

[edit]

Notes

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  1. ^ a b Toronto FC have won the Canadian Championship final 6 times. They have won the Canadian Championship a total of 8 times, as two titles were won during the usage of the round-robin format. Similarly, CF Montréal have won the Voyageurs Cup, which predates the Canadian Championship as a whole, a total of 11 times, but have only won 4 finals.
  1. ^ As of the 2024 season, the finals have only been held in the provinces of British Columbia, Ontario, and Quebec.
  2. ^ Match was originally played on May 25, but had to be abandoned in the 60th minute and postponed due to severe weather.
  3. ^ The 2020 Canadian Championship final was played in the summer of 2022, due to scheduling difficulties in the 2020 and 2021 seasons associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Canada to create new club championship". Canadian Soccer Association. January 31, 2008. Archived from the original on February 29, 2008. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
  2. ^ Rollins, Duane (December 12, 2010). "Format of Canadian Championship may change". Major League Soccer. Archived from the original on March 22, 2011. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
  3. ^ "Association confirms 2011 Nutrilite Canadian Championship schedule". Canada Soccer. February 18, 2011. Archived from the original on March 23, 2014. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
  4. ^ "Canada Soccer announces 2021 Canadian Championship format and schedule". Canada Soccer. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
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