The Canadian Football League is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a city in Canada. They are divided into two divisions: four teams in the East Division and five teams in the West Division. As of 2024, it features a 21-week regular season in which each team plays 18 games with three bye weeks. This season traditionally runs from mid-June to early November. Following the regular season, six teams compete in the league's three-week playoffs, which culminate in the Grey Cup championship game in late November. The Grey Cup is one of Canada's largest annual sports and television events. The CFL was officially named on January 19, 1958, upon the merger between the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union or "Big Four" and the Western Interprovincial Football Union.
Larry W. Smith, CQ is a Canadian athlete, businessperson and member of the Senate of Canada. He served as Leader of the Opposition in the Senate from April 2017 until November 2019.
Touchdown Atlantic is a series of neutral site Canadian Football League games played in the Maritime provinces of Canada.
Joshua Nathan Bourke is a former Canadian football offensive lineman. He spent the majority of his professional career with the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He also spent time with the Toronto Argonauts (CFL) and the Green Bay Packers (NFL).
Christopher Schultz was a Canadian professional football player who was an offensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL) and Canadian Football League (CFL). He primarily played with the CFL Toronto Argonauts. Schultz played college football at the University of Arizona. He was a sportscaster with Canadian sports television channel TSN.
Larry Crawford is an American former Canadian football player. He was a CFL All-Star four times and was a part of the BC Lions' Grey Cup championship team in 1985.
John Bowman is the defensive line coach for the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He formerly played as a defensive end for 14 seasons with the Montreal Alouettes. He is a two-time Grey Cup champion after winning in 2009 and 2010 and was named a CFL All-Star twice and a Divisional All-Star nine times. Bowman is the Alouettes' all-time leader in sacks with 134 in his career.
The 1979 Calgary Stampeders finished in second place in the Western Conference with a 12–4 record. They appeared in the Western Final where they lost to the Edmonton Eskimos. This would mark the last season in which the Stampeders won a playoff game until 1991; they were the only CFL team during the 1980s that did not win a single playoff game.
The 1982 Calgary Stampeders finished in third place in the West Division with a 9–6–1 record. They appeared in the West Semi-Final where they lost to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
Solomon Elimimian is a former Canadian football linebacker and the current president of the Canadian Football League Players' Association (CFLPA).
The Thanksgiving Day Classic is an annual doubleheader held on Thanksgiving in the Canadian Football League (CFL). It is typically one of two days in which the league plays on a Monday afternoon; the other is the Labour Day Classic. Unlike the Labour Day Classic, the teams in the Thanksgiving Day Classic rotate each year. Purolator is the presenting sponsor of the event as of 2022.
Hénoc Muamba is a Congolese-Canadian football player for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was selected first overall by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the 2011 CFL Draft, becoming the first player from St. Francis Xavier University to be chosen first overall in the draft. In 2022, he won the Grey Cup with the Argonauts and was named the game's most valuable player (MVP) and Grey Cup Most Valuable Canadian; the 2nd player in history to ever earn both awards.
The CFL Combine is a three-day program in which athletes from Canadian universities and Canadians in the NCAA are scouted by general managers, coaches and scouts of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The goal of the camp is for the nine CFL franchises to have a better idea of whom they would like to draft in the CFL draft which usually takes place roughly six weeks after the camp. The first combined Evaluation Camp took place in 2000 in Toronto and continued every year in Toronto until 2016 when it was announced that Regina would host the combine in 2017. It was also suggested that the league would begin rotating the Combine hosts every year. Winnipeg hosted in 2018 and the event returned to Toronto in 2019 and 2020 with the hiatus of the CFL Week event. In 2021, the event was purely remote due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada but was brought back to Toronto in 2022. The event's hosts began to rotate again with Edmonton, Winnipeg, and Regina hosting in the three subsequent years.
Brett Lauther is a professional Canadian football placekicker for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was named a CFL West Division All-Star in 2018 and holds Roughriders franchise record for highest career field goal percentage.
Canadian Football League Canada Day games are an occasional part of the league's schedule and occur only when the league schedule begins on or before July 1. The games are not an annual occurrence, unlike the Labour Day or Thanksgiving Day games. As of the 2023 CFL season, there have been 24 games played on Canada Day.
Kaetochuku "Kay" Okafor is a professional Canadian football offensive lineman who is currently a free agent. He was drafted in the third round, 21st overall, by the Tiger-Cats in the 2017 CFL Draft. He played college football for the St. Francis Xavier X-Men. He has previously played for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League (CFL).
David Ungerer III is a professional Canadian football wide receiver for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at Idaho.
Nathan Rourke is a Canadian professional football quarterback for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He previously played for the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League (CFL). Rourke played college football for the Ohio Bobcats. Rourke set the single-season CFL record for completion percentage (78.7%) during the 2022 CFL season.
Justin Lawrence is a professional Canadian football offensive lineman for the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League (CFL).
Godfrey Onyeka is a professional Canadian football defensive back for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League (CFL).
