The Canadian Premier League launched with seven teams in 2019, and despite adding three more, it shed two of them to land at eight overall for 2026.
In its early years, the league projected having 14-16 clubs by the time Canada co-hosted the World Cup, and while that metric was whiffed, the CPL is still hungry to feed off the generational momentum brought in from Canada co-hosting the World Cup.
With the league still in its relative infancy compared to the storied likes of top flights in other countries, expansion news has seen plenty of churn throughout the years: the league’s first commissioner, David Clanachan, frequented the subject and left after awarding himself expansion rights, after which we had plenty of bullish talk from his predecessor Mark Noonan. With succession of the throne passing to James Johnson, the Australian is doing his due diligence in stoking that fire now, too.
“We’re preparing for more expansion stories in the next one to two months,” revealed Johnson on the Footy Prime podcast. “We’ll be looking to announce expansion teams in 2027 and also 2028.”
Those are multiple clubs he’s talking about, though it appears that the league is aiming to add specifically one new club to the fold next season.
“For us that is legacy, and that’s what we’re focused on. We can’t wait to be back on the show and talking about our expansion team in 2027,” adds Johnson. “We’re not ready to do that yet, but we’re not too far away.”
So, who would be the frontrunners for expansion bids over the next two seasons? Let’s take a look at what we know so far:
Photo Credit: Beau Chevalier
Kelowna
The Canadian Premier League has been high on Kelowna for many years now – in fact, internal league investor documents we obtained back in 2022 even included Kelowna as a CPL location. Since then, the league has run a litmus test for Kelowna with the first of their ‘CPL On Tour’ league matches in 2024, and just this month Pacific FC and Vancouver FC co-founder Rob Friend told local media that the league’s expansion to Kelowna was a when, not if.
So, when it comes to likely expansion candidates, it’s hard to look beyond a third club in British Columbia as one of the most likely spots.
“There’s lots of potential investors out there that are very interested in the Kelowna market,” says Friend. “But there are infrastructure requirements, such as a suitable stadium, that still have to be met. Still, I’d say it’s only going to be a couple years before a franchise comes to Kelowna, and I think it’s going to be wildly successful.”
While the 2,300-seater Apple Bowl not a permanent solution, we know that prospective owners have previously looked into Recreation Avenue Park, located on city-owned parklands near Okanagan Lake within walking distance of downtown.
Quebec City
The Canadian Premier League has worked hard digging out inroads to Quebec City, long before FC Supra du Quebec swooped in and was fast-tracked to its multi-stadium debut season this year.
In fact, league officials met with city leadership to discuss multiple stadium solutions for Quebec City, with the city itself pitching multiple locations. It’s been a positive collaboration, with the league also soft-launching logistics through a CPL On Tour league match and a U-19 showcase both being held in Quebec City.
We have heard concrete plans this summer from Luc Blouin, Martin Lavallee, and Fergus Brett, who intend to assemble a larger investor group to plant a permanent stadium at the Le Colisee de Quebec, with TELUS Stadium being a temporary solution until the Colisee site construction finishes in 2031.
Unlike locations like Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal, the league would also plant its flags without the noise of other professional soccer teams in the city, lending itself a big advantage in terms of buy-in from locals.
The Greater Toronto Area
While ‘York9 FC / York United / Inter Toronto Football Club’ has had rebrands aplenty and now looks to join AFC Toronto in a potential move downtown to Lamport Stadium, Toronto and its surrounding metropolitan cities have been a hotbed of interest. Mississauga has long seemed like a plausible destination held back by one big missing stadium plan, while Brampton and Scarborough have been proverbial football factories, whether the CPL can tap into those markets or not.
Related: League1 Ontario Commissioner Says CPL In Mississauga Would Be A ‘Smashing Success’
While it remains to be seen if Inter Toronto can spark higher attendances, surely the Canadian Premier League must ponder if, in a market with some seven million-plus people, another venture may be able to exceed those attendance numbers. It’s probably too salivating a thought to pass up, particularly with the league’s own headquarters situated downtown.
Photo Credit: Canadian Premier League
Winnipeg
While Valour FC didn’t pan out – in no small part due to a complete lack of interest from Winnipeg Football Club – the league remains steadfast in its belief that Winnipeg is a pro soccer city, though a renewed venture would need to abandon the idea of a CFL Stadium and introduce a more suitably sized venue.
Enter the Northern Super League, which will be planting a flag in Winnipeg come 2027 with former Valour boss Rob Gale and Canadian national team icon Desiree Scott behind the venture. The duo are sorting out a new stadium solution that they told us could also help land a CPL team in Manitoba, with one league’s big success potentially leading to a collaborative expansion site for their male counterpart.
The Northern Super League is getting plenty of a lot more investment, and the CPL is paying attention to what the NSL is doing with it.
“There’s definitely conversations, coordination, and that’s a good thing,” adds James Johnson about the ‘Peg. “Those announcements are fantastic. I’m very happy to read when we’re seeing the NSL expand and we’re seeing investment coming into the sport.”
Edmonton
While we don’t expect Edmonton in the same timeline, it’s another city once occupied by a Canadian Premier League club in which the Northern Super League has been making recent inroads behind the scenes. Edmonton Mayor Andrew Knack met with NSL officials this month and described ‘incredible momentum’ behind women’s professional soccer in the country. If the NSL can repeat what we’re seeing in Winnipeg, perhaps the Canadian Premier League can also benefit from the NSL’s success here – though there are still a lot of details to sort out.
When FC Edmonton folded at the end of 2022, the CPL assured fans that the league would be back once conditions for a more sustainable venture were met. We miss Cavalry having a local rival, and could only dream of an Eddies side – or whatever a new team may be called – that might prove to be a more competitive derby.
Of course, there are other ventures that the league has circulated too: Kitchener-Waterloo has been identified as a potential city the CPL could flourish, and former league analyst Steven Marc Scott once named locations like Niagara / St. Catharines, London, and even Gatineau as having high potential for expansion, amongst others.
Flashback: Ten Locations For Soccer Clubs In Canada (And Some Honourable Mentions)
Having shouldered a pandemic in its infancy and with the league set for a traditional television deal in the very near future, the post-World Cup may be of significant stature for the CPL – something it has always banked on.
While clubs that joined the Canadian Premier League early did so at relatively minor costs, modern investors can now expect a much larger buy-in to be part of the pack:
“Halifax paid one million at the start of the league. The figure circulating for FC Supra, which arrived in Laval this year, is 10 to 12 million. There is clearly a significant added value,” says Luc Blouin of the prospective Quebec City ownership group.
While we won’t know who has truly made gains over the last few months – FC Supra du Quebec is proof in the pudding that things can happen quickly – James Johnson has painted a picture that we won’t have to wait much longer to have at least some of the ‘expansion stories’ bound for our top flight.
Header Image Photo Credit: Canadian Premier League
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