SportsFootball

Momentum building for CFL expansion into new Canadian city: report

Colton Pankiw
Colton Pankiw
|
Jun 5 2026, 9:35 pm
Momentum building for CFL expansion into new Canadian city: report
John E. Sokolowski/Imagn Images

The CFL may not be a nine-team league for much longer.

The league has undergone many changes since Stewart Johnston was named commissioner roughly 14 months ago.

Not only have there been several rule changes, but the league also recently announced some major changes to its playoff format. One of those changes is that eight of the nine current teams will compete in the playoffs, though the changes won’t be implemented until the 2027 season.

Now, the CFL appears to be looking at expanding.

Earlier this week, sports journalist Sylvain Bouchard of FM93 stated that positive momentum is building for an expansion team in Quebec City. As per Bouchard, conversations about placing a team in Quebec City have been going on for more than a year.

Talks between the league and city officials have focused on a new stadium being built on the site where the ColisƩe, the former home of the Quebec Nordiques, remains standing.

Bouchard did note that there is still some way to go before an expansion team would be agreed upon by both parties.

Should a deal be agreed upon, it will still take some years for a new stadium to be built. The newest CFL building is Mosaic Stadium, which opened in October 2016. It has a standard seating capacity of 33,350, but can be expanded to 40,000 for larger events such as the Grey Cup.

“When it comes to expansion, Iā€™ve often been asked that question,” Johnston told reporters last November. “While itā€™s not a top priority ā€” Iā€™ve outlined what my three top priorities in the league office are ā€” of course, itā€™s incredibly important. We would love to have a 10th team in this league, but when I say 10th team, I mean a Canadian 10th team. That is our focus.”

The last expansion team to join the CFL was the Ottawa Redblacks, who began play in 2014. Since then, Quebec City has been one of the most discussed locations when it comes to adding a tenth team to the league.

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