The Canadian Premier League looks set to expand for the first time since 2023, kickstarting the former commissioner of the league Mark Noonan’s plans to expand the league to 16 teams by 2032. This would be the first team in the Province of Quebec.
Current State of the Canadian Premier League
The Canadian Premier League was founded in 2019 after being granted professional league status by the Canadian Soccer Association.
In its inaugural season, seven clubs were part of the league with Atletico Ottawa, who are owned by La Liga side Atletico Madrid joining the season after.
Since then, only one team from its inaugural season has dropped out, with that side being FC Edmonton before the start of 2023, citing low attendance and poor on-field performances.
However, they were replaced by the most recent edition of the league Vancouver FC, with their owners SixFive Sports and Entertainment LP being granted the rights to an expansion side in 2021.
That being said, out of the current eight sides in the Canadian Premier League, none are based within Quebec.
Quebec is the second most populous Province in The Great White North after Ontario, which is home to Toronto, the most populous city in Canada.
Within the league, three sides (York United, Atletico Ottawa and Forge) and based in Ontario, two sides are based in British Columbia (Pacific FC and Vancouver FC), and three other provinces are home to a single club.
This includes Cavalry which is based in Alberta, Halifax Wanderers which is based in Nova Scotia and Valour which is based in Manitoba.
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Reports of Laval-Based Side
Albeit, as reported by journalist Tony Marinaro, Quebec looks set to have its first club join the league, with plans stating for the side that would be based in Laval, which is the largest suburb of Montreal, to compete from April in the 2026 season.
According to reports, a deal has been reached between the expansion hopefuls and the league in regards to the city gaining their first Canadian Premier League side, with only a few minor details still yet to be finalised.
The ownership group would consist of Matt Rizzetta of the North Sixth Agency, with the agency ranked as one of the 50 most powerful agency groups in the US by the Observer, with Angelo Pasto who is the head of the Stanford Properties Group also joining as an owner.
The club would look to play their home matches at Centre Sportif Bois-de-Boulogne, a modern centre that completed its construction in September 2005.
The centre is also home to Montreal Roses, who are competing in the inaugural season of the Northern Super League, Canada’s new professional top-flight women’s league.
This goes against previous reports back in January, where it was rumoured there would be new expansion sides in both Kelowna and Kingston.
The mayor of Kingston, Bryan Paterson, claimed that the City Council would discuss various proposals regarding building a football-specific stadium for a Canadian Premier League team.
Future of the Canadian Premier League
For many, despite the success of the Canadian Premier League since its conception, as the league plays out the first few match weeks of their sixth season, many feel that expansion is pivotal for the league in order to establish new rivalries and grow player development across Canada.
Noonan has publicly stated that he wants to see Canada’s professional league double to 16 clubs by 2032.
In an interview back in February, he said: “We want to do it systematically, and we have to be careful about the product so due to that we’re going to be systematic about it, but I think 2032, you’ll see a 16-team CPL.”
Main Photo
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Recording Date: 15.05.2025