# 2023 Canadian Premier League season

The 2023 Canadian Premier League season was the fifth season of the Canadian Premier League, the top level of Canadian soccer. The CPL Shield was won by Cavalry FC who finished first in the regular season by a 13 point margin. In the CPL final, Forge FC defeated Cavalry FC 2–1 in Hamilton to capture the North Star Cup. In doing so, Forge became league champions for the fourth time in five seasons. Both title winning clubs qualified for the newly expanded 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup.

## Team and rule changes

Eight teams competed in the 2023 season with the debut of Vancouver FC, and the dissolution of FC Edmonton. The league's playoff structure changed to a five-team Page playoff system with four elimination matches and one non-elimination match.
The league's player compensation budget increased by $175,000 compared to 2022. Teams were required to spend between $750,000 and $1,025,000 on their 20–23 player rosters with a minimum of $30,000 per player. A team making full use of the U-21 salary rule could reach a compensation maximum of $1,125,000. In July 2023, the CPL introduced the Exceptional Youth Talent (EYT) designation which teams can apply to two U-18 players who are on standard contracts. EYT players do not count towards the 23 player roster limit and a portion of their salaries do not count towards the cap.

## Teams
### Stadiums and locations

| Club | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
| Atlético Ottawa | Ottawa | TD Place Stadium | 24,000 |
| Cavalry FC | Foothills County | ATCO Field | 6,000 |
| Forge FC | Hamilton | Tim Hortons Field | 23,218 |
| HFX Wanderers FC | Halifax | Wanderers Grounds | 6,500 |
| Pacific FC | Langford | Starlight Stadium | 6,000 |
| Valour FC | Winnipeg | IG Field | 33,000 |
| Vancouver FC | Langley | Willoughby Community Park Stadium | 6,560 |
| York United FC | Toronto | York Lions Stadium | 4,000 |

### Personnel and sponsorship

| Team | Head coach | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor (chest) | Shirt sponsor (sleeve) |
| Atlético Ottawa | Carlos González | Carl Haworth | Macron | Maple Lodge Farms | CIBC |
| Cavalry | Tommy Wheeldon Jr. | Marco Carducci | Macron | WestJet | CIBC |
| Forge | Bobby Smyrniotis | Kyle Bekker | Macron | Tim Hortons | CIBC |
| HFX Wanderers | Patrice Gheisar | Andre Rampersad | Macron | Volkswagen | CIBC |
| Pacific | James Merriman | Josh Heard | Macron | Telus | CIBC |
| Valour | Phillip Dos Santos | Andrew Jean-Baptiste | Macron | OneSoccer | CIBC |
| Vancouver | Afshin Ghotbi | Callum Irving | Macron | CIBC | Carlsberg 0.0% |
| York United | Martin Nash | Roger Thompson | Macron | Carlsberg 0.0% | CIBC |

### Number of teams by province or territory

| Rank | Province or territory | Number | Teams |
| 1 | Ontario | 3 | Atlético Ottawa Forge York United |
| 2 | British Columbia | 2 | Pacific Vancouver FC |
| 3 | Alberta | 1 | Cavalry |
| 3 | Manitoba | 1 | Valour |
| 3 | Nova Scotia | 1 | HFX Wanderers |

### Coaching changes

| Team | Outgoing coach | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming coach | Date of appointment |
| HFX Wanderers | Stephen Hart | End of contract | October 13, 2022 | Pre-season | Patrice Gheisar | November 30, 2022 |
| Vancouver FC | N/A (inaugural season) | N/A (inaugural season) | N/A (inaugural season) | Pre-season | Afshin Ghotbi | November 2, 2022 |
| FC Edmonton | Alan Koch | Team folded | November 21, 2022 | N/A | N/A | N/A |

## Regular season
### Format

The regular season was played as a quadruple round-robin, with each team playing the other seven teams twice at home and twice away between April 15 and October 7. The regular season winner (the team ranked first after all 28 games) qualified for the 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup and the top five teams qualified for the playoffs.

### Standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Playoff qualification |
| 1 | Cavalry (S) | 28 | 16 | 7 | 5 | 46 | 27 | +19 | 55 | First semifinal |
| 2 | Forge (C) | 28 | 11 | 9 | 8 | 39 | 32 | +7 | 42 | First semifinal |
| 3 | HFX Wanderers | 28 | 11 | 9 | 8 | 39 | 32 | +7 | 42 | Quarterfinal |
| 4 | Pacific | 28 | 11 | 7 | 10 | 42 | 35 | +7 | 40 | Play-in round |
| 5 | York United | 28 | 11 | 5 | 12 | 35 | 44 | −9 | 38 | Play-in round |
| 6 | Atlético Ottawa | 28 | 10 | 6 | 12 | 38 | 34 | +4 | 36 | |
| 7 | Vancouver | 28 | 8 | 5 | 15 | 28 | 50 | −22 | 29 | |
| 8 | Valour | 28 | 6 | 8 | 14 | 25 | 38 | −13 | 26 | |
* 1 2 Tie resolved by away goal differential; Forge: +4, Wanderers: −2

### Results

| Home \ Away | ATO | CAV | FOR | HFX | PAC | VAL | VFC | YRK |
| Atlético Ottawa | | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–4 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 |
| | 1–2 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 3–3 |
| Cavalry | 2–0 | | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 2–1 |
| 0–2 | | 3–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 |
| Forge | 4–3 | 2–2 | | 1–1 | 0–1 | 3–2 | 0–0 | 1–2 |
| 0–1 | 0–0 | | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 3–3 |
| HFX Wanderers | 1–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 | | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–3 |
| 3–2 | 1–2 | 2–1 | | 1–2 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 1–2 |
| Pacific | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | | 1–0 | 1–0 | 4–1 |
| 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 |
| Valour | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | | 1–0 | 1–1 |
| 1–3 | 3–2 | 2–3 | 0–1 | 0–3 | | 0–1 | 1–2 |
| Vancouver | 0–5 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 3–6 | 0–0 | | 1–2 |
| 2–1 | 1–5 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 0–0 | | 1–2 |
| York United | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 1–2 | |
| 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–4 | 0–2 | 1–4 | 1–3 | 2–1 | |

### U-21 minute standings

In order to qualify for the playoffs, clubs were also required to accumulate at least 2,000 minutes played by U-21 domestic players during the regular season. Additionally, only 1,000 of these minutes could be played by players on loan from other clubs. Clubs that do not meet the 2,000 minute threshold may also incur financial penalties from the league.
| Pos | Team | Pld | Min | Playoff eligibility |
| 1 | Vancouver | 28 | 5,203 | Eligible |
| 2 | Valour | 28 | 4,390 | Eligible |
| 3 | Pacific (Q) | 28 | 2,674 | Eligible |
| 4 | Forge (Q) | 28 | 2,052 | Eligible |
| 5 | Cavalry (Q) | 28 | 2,044 | Eligible |
| 6 | Atlético Ottawa | 28 | 2,034 | Eligible |
| 7 | HFX Wanderers (Q) | 28 | 2,032 | Eligible |
| 8 | York United (Q) | 28 | 2,006 | Eligible |

## Playoffs

The 2023 season used the Page playoff system. The team who finished first in the regular-season table would play the team who finished second, and the winner would host the final. The fourth- and fifth-placed teams would play in a play-in round, and the winner of this game would then play the third-placed team in a quarter-final. The quarter-final winner would play the loser of the game between the first and second-placed teams for the other spot in the final.

### Bracket

| Play-in round | Play-in round | Play-in round | First semifinal | First semifinal | First semifinal | Second semifinal | Second semifinal | Second semifinal | Final | Final | Final |
| | | | October 14 | October 14 | October 14 | | | | October 28 | October 28 | October 28 |
| | | | 1 | Cavalry FC | 1 | | | | 2 | Forge FC | 2 |
| | | | 2 | Forge FC | 2 | October 21 | October 21 | October 21 | 1 | Cavalry FC | 1 |
| | | | | | | 1 | Cavalry FC | 2 | | | |
| | | | Quarterfinal | Quarterfinal | Quarterfinal | 4 | Pacific FC | 1 | | | |
| | | | October 14 | October 14 | October 14 | | | | | | |
| October 11 | October 11 | October 11 | 3 | HFX Wanderers FC | 0 | | | | | | |
| 4 | Pacific FC | 1 | 4 | Pacific FC | 1 | | | | | | |
| 5 | York United FC | 0 | | | | | | | | | |

### Matches
#### Final
## Attendance

    As of end of regular season
| Pos | Team | Total | High | Low | Average | Change |
| 1 | HFX Wanderers | 81,951 | 6,413 | 4,907 | 5,854 | +0.5%$^†$ |
| 2 | Forge FC | 74,458 | 6,917 | 3,827 | 5,318 | +55.0%$^†$ |
| 3 | Atlético Ottawa | 69,423 | 7,044 | 3,074 | 4,959 | +21.9%$^†$ |
| 4 | Cavalry FC | 57,265 | 4,990 | 3,189 | 4,090 | +17.1%$^†$ |
| 5 | Pacific FC | 45,376 | 4,825 | 2,455 | 3,241 | +2.0%$^†$ |
| 6 | Valour FC | 45,084 | 4,036 | 2,665 | 3,220 | +3.5%$^†$ |
| 7 | Vancouver FC | 39,030 | 6,177 | 2,099 | 2,788 | n/a$^†$ |
| 8 | York United | 17,382 | 1,783 | 822 | 1,242 | +0.6%$^†$ |
| | League total | 429,969 | 7,044 | 822 | 3,839 | +20.9%$^†$ |
Source:

## Statistical leaders
### Top scorers

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Ollie Bassett | Atlético Ottawa | 11 |
| 1 | Myer Bevan | Cavalry | 11 |
| 3 | Terran Campbell | Forge | 10 |
| 3 | Woobens Pacius | Forge | 10 |
| 5 | Massimo Ferrin | HFX Wanderers | 8 |
| 6 | Samuel Salter | Atlético Ottawa | 7 |
| 6 | Ayman Sellouf | Pacific | 7 |
| 8 | Molham Babouli | York United | 6 |
| 8 | Gabriel Bitar | Vancouver | 6 |
| 8 | Sergio Camargo | Cavalry | 6 |
| 8 | Mikaël Cantave | Cavalry / Vancouver | 6 |
| 8 | Osaze De Rosario | York United | 6 |
| 8 | Shaan Hundal | Vancouver | 6 |
| 8 | Daniel Nimick | HFX Wanderers | 6 |
| 8 | Kévin dos Santos | York United | 6 |

### Top assists

| Rank | Player | Club | Assists |
| 1 | Ayman Sellouf | Pacific | 8 |
| 2 | Kyle Bekker | Forge | 7 |
| 3 | Lorenzo Callegari | HFX Wanderers | 6 |
| 3 | Ali Musse | Cavalry | 6 |
| 5 | Manny Aparicio | Pacific | 5 |
| 5 | Aidan Daniels | HFX Wanderers | 5 |
| 5 | Jérémy Gagnon-Laparé | York United | 5 |
| 5 | Kian Williams | Valour | 5 |
| 9 | Myer Bevan | Cavalry | 4 |
| 9 | Gabriel Bitar | Vancouver | 4 |
| 9 | Tristan Borges | Forge | 4 |
| 9 | Jesse Daley | Cavalry | 4 |
| 9 | Carl Haworth | Atlético Ottawa | 4 |
| 9 | Wesley Timoteo | HFX Wanderers | 4 |

### Clean sheets

| Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets |
| 1 | Triston Henry | Forge | 9 |
| 2 | Marco Carducci | Cavalry | 8 |
| 3 | Yann Fillion | HFX Wanderers | 7 |
| 3 | Nathan Ingham | Atlético Ottawa | 7 |
| 3 | Rayane Yesli | Valour | 7 |

### Hat-tricks

| Player | For | Against | Result | Date | Ref |
| Terran Campbell | Forge | York United | 4–0 (A) | July 9 | |
| Woobens Pacius | Forge | Vancouver | 3–0 (A) | September 3 | |

## Awards
### Canadian Premier League Awards

The 2023 Canadian Premier League Awards were held in Hamilton, Ontario, on October 26, 2023.
| Award | Recipient | Finalist |
| Golden Boot | Myer Bevan (Cavalry FC) Ollie Bassett (Atlético Ottawa) | N/A |
| Golden Glove | Triston Henry (Forge FC) | Marco Carducci (Cavalry FC) Rayane Yesli (Valour FC) |
| Coach of the Year | Tommy Wheeldon Jr. (Cavalry FC) | Patrice Gheisar (Halifax Wanderers) Bobby Smyrniotis (Forge FC) |
| Player of the Year | Daan Klomp (Cavalry FC) | Manny Aparicio (Pacific FC) Kyle Bekker (Forge FC) Lorenzo Callegari (Halifax Wanderers) Ali Musse (Cavalry FC) |
| Best Under 21 Canadian Player of the Year | Matteo De Brienne (Valour FC) | James Cameron (Vancouver FC) Kwasi Poku (Forge FC) |
| Defender of the Year | Daan Klomp (Cavalry FC) | Manjrekar James (Forge FC) Daniel Nimick (Halifax Wanderers) |
| Players' Player of the Year | Ali Musse (Cavalry FC) | Kyle Bekker (Forge FC) Daan Klomp (Cavalry FC) |

### Canadian Premier League Best XI

| Goalkeeper | Defenders | Midfielders | Forwards | Ref |
| Triston Henry (Forge) | Daan Klomp (Cavalry) Manjrekar James (Forge) Daniel Nimick (HFX) | Lorenzo Callegari (HFX) Manny Aparicio (Pacific) Kyle Bekker (Forge) Ollie Bassett (Ottawa) | Béni Badibanga (Forge) Terran Campbell (Forge) Ali Musse (Cavalry) | |

### Team of the Week

The Gatorade Team of the Week was selected by the CPL's Kristian Jack and OneSoccer's Oliver Platt.
Team of the Week :
| Dates | Goalkeeper | Defenders | Midfielders | Forwards |
| April 15–16 | Irving (Vancouver) | Ferrazzo (HFX) Nimick (HFX) Samaké (Valour) Vliet (Pacific) | Callegari (HFX) Ohin (Valour) Jensen (Forge) Aparicio (Pacific) | Bevan (Cavalry) Niyongabire (Valour) |
| April 22–23 | Irving (Vancouver) | Bakare (Vancouver) Espejo (Ottawa) Romeo (Vancouver) de Brienne (Valour) | Gutiérrez (Valour) Young (Pacific) Sellouf (Pacific) Bitar (Vancouver) Ferrin (HFX) | Hundal (Vancouver) |
| April 29–30 | Giantsopoulos (York) | Gee (York) James (Forge) Morgan (Forge) | Baquero (Valour) Chung (Vancouver) Sissoko (Forge) Sandoval (Vancouver) | Musse (Cavalry) Babouli (York) Collomb (HFX) |
| May 5–7 | Henry (Forge) | Mukumbilwa (Pacific) Đidić (Pacific) Bakare (Vancouver) | Sellouf (Pacific) Aparicio (Pacific) Campbell (Valour) Borges (Forge) | Daniels (Pacific) Campbell (Forge) Heard (Pacific) |
| May 13–14 | Melvin (Ottawa) | de Brienne (Valour) Đidić (Pacific) Meilleur-Giguère (Pacific) Assi (Ottawa) | Verhoven (Ottawa) Young (Pacific) Bassett (Ottawa) Musse (Cavalry) | Hamilton (Forge) Reid (Pacific) |
| May 19–21 | Baskett (Pacific) | Crawford (Vancouver) Soumaoro (York) Klomp (Cavalry) Kwak (Vancouver) | Daley (Cavalry) Young (Pacific) Musse (Cavalry) Camargo (Cavalry) Niyongabire (Valour) | Ricci (York) |
| May 27–28 | Henry (Forge) | Faye (York) Gee (York) Martínez (Vancouver) Fernandez (HFX) | Callegari (HFX) Young (Pacific) Musse (Cavalry) Daniels (HFX) Bayiha (York) | Reid (Pacific) |
| May 31–June 4 | Melvin (Ottawa) | de Brienne (Valour) Soumaoro (York) Espejo (Ottawa) Baquero (Valour) | Bekker (Forge) Toussaint (Pacific) Bassett (Ottawa) | Sellouf (Pacific) Tahid (Vancouver) Reid (Pacific) |
| June 9–11 | Baskett (Pacific) | Loughrey (HFX) Mourdoukoutas (York) Meilleur-Giguère (Pacific) Grant (York) | Gagnon-Laparé (York) Watson (HFX) Ntignee (Cavalry) Daniels (HFX) Reid (Pacific) | Bevan (Cavalry) |
| June 16–18 | Yesli (Valour) | Campbell (Valour) Đidić (Pacific) Pianelli (Valour) Haworth (Ottawa) | Daniels (HFX) Young (Pacific) Bassett (Ottawa) | Ponce (Valour) Salter (Ottawa) Coimbra (HFX) |
| June 20–25 | Irving (Vancouver) | White (Vancouver) Samaké (Valour) Đidić (Pacific) | Sellouf (Pacific) Sánchez (Valour) Gutiérrez (Valour) Ntignee (Cavalry) | Babouli (York) Campbell (Forge) Daniels (HFX) |
| June 30–July 2 | Carducci (Cavalry) | Gee (York) Klomp (Cavalry) Nimick (HFX) Acosta (Ottawa) | Gagnon-Laparé (York) Bekker (Forge) Bassett (Ottawa) | Sellouf (Pacific) Ferrin (HFX) Bayiha (York) |
| July 7–9 | Henry (Forge) | Aird (Cavalry) Romeo (Vancouver) Klomp (Cavalry) Sacko (Ottawa) | Bassett (Ottawa) Bekker (Forge) Kobza (Cavalry) | Borges (Forge) Cantave (Cavalry) Campbell (Forge) |
| July 12–16 | Giantsopoulos (York) | Aird (Cavalry) Espejo (Ottawa) Meilleur-Giguère (Pacific) Acosta (Ottawa) | Callegari (HFX) Bekker (Forge) Zapater (Ottawa) | Haworth (Ottawa) Campbell (Forge) Ferrin (HFX) |
| July 21–23 | Henry (Forge) | Klomp (Cavalry) James (Forge) Nimick (HFX) | Choinière (Forge) Bekker (Forge) Callegari (HFX) Ferrari (York) | Musse (Cavalry) Collomb (HFX) Ricci (York) |
| July 28–30 | Henry (Forge) | Niba (Ottawa) Ouimette (Ottawa) Fernandez (HFX) | Morgan (Forge) Bekker (Forge) Callegari (HFX) Dada-Luke (Pacific) | Salter (Ottawa) Aparicio (Pacific) Morelli (HFX) |
| August 4–7 | Yesli (Valour) | Cameron (Vancouver) Klomp (Cavalry) Đidić (Pacific) Haworth (Ottawa) | Ntignee (Cavalry) Young (Pacific) Camargo (Cavalry) Aparicio (Pacific) Bayiha (York) | Heard (Pacific) |
| August 11–13 | Ingham (Ottawa) | Timoteo (HFX) Walker (Ottawa) Nimick (HFX) | Williams (Valour) Bekker (Forge) Gutiérrez (Valour) Santos (York) | Ferrin (HFX) Morelli (HFX) Akio (Cavalry) |
| August 18–20 | Ingham (Ottawa) | Loughrey (HFX) Klomp (Cavalry) Nimick (HFX) | Kamdem (Cavalry) Iliadis (Ottawa) Daley (Cavalry) Assi (Ottawa) | Badibanga (Forge) Bassett (Ottawa) Bitar (Vancouver) |
| August 25–27 | Fillion (HFX) | Acosta (Ottawa) Klomp (Cavalry) Nimick (HFX) Kobza (Cavalry) | Gagnon-Laparé (York) Achinioti-Jönsson (Forge) Omar (HFX) | Bitar (Vancouver) Morelli (HFX) Ricci (York) |
| September 2–4 | De Rosario (York) | Mourdoukoutas (York) Thompson (York) Klomp (Cavalry) | Sellouf (Pacific) Trafford (Cavalry) Achinioti-Jönsson (Forge) Akio (Cavalry) | Camargo (Cavalry) Pacius (Forge) Aparicio (Pacific) |
| September 8–9 | Yesli (Valour) | Ferrazzo (HFX) Henry (HFX) Klomp (Cavalry) Campbell (Valour) | Cameron (Vancouver) Wilson (HFX) Gutiérrez (Valour) Shome (Cavalry) | Bitar (Vancouver) Cantave (Vancouver) |

### Monthly Awards

| Month | Manager of the Month | Manager of the Month | Player of the Month | Player of the Month | Goalkeeper of the Month | Goalkeeper of the Month | References |
| Month | Manager | Club | Player | Club | Goalkeeper | Club | References |
| April | Bobby Smyrniotis | Forge FC | Diego Gutiérrez | Valour FC | Callum Irving | Vancouver FC | |
| May | James Merriman | Pacific FC | Sean Young | Pacific FC | Triston Henry | Forge FC | |
| June | Patrice Gheisar | HFX Wanderers FC | Ayman Sellouf | Pacific FC | Rayane Yesli | Pacific FC | |
| July | Carlos González | Atlético Ottawa | Kyle Bekker | Forge FC | Triston Henry | Forge FC | |
| August | Tommy Wheeldon Jr. | Cavalry FC | Daniel Nimick | HFX Wanderers FC | Nathan Ingham | Atlético Ottawa | |
| September | Tommy Wheeldon Jr. | Cavalry FC | Daan Klomp | Cavalry FC | Marco Carducci | Cavalry FC | |
| October | Bobby Smyrniotis | Forge FC | Ali Musse | Cavalry FC | Triston Henry | Forge FC | |

## Player transfers
### U Sports Draft

The 2023 CPL–U Sports Draft took place on December 15, 2022. Each team made two picks in the draft for a total of 16 selections with expansion club Vancouver FC selecting first.

### Foreign players

Canadian Premier League teams can sign a maximum of seven international players, out of which only five can be in the starting line-up for each match. At least 50% of a team's international players must be U-23 at all times. If a club wishes to utilize the maximum 7 slots, the 7th player must be U-21.
The following international players were signed for the 2023 season. Note that players may be considered domestic for CPL purposes (Canadian citizens, permanent residents, or refugees) while still representing other countries in international competitions.
| Club | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 | Player 4 | Player 5 | Player 6 | Player 7 | Former players |
| Atlético Ottawa | Miguel Acosta | Ollie Bassett | Diego Espejo | Gianni dos Santos | Aboubakary Sacko | Alberto Zapater | Rubén del Campo | |
| Cavalry | Daan Klomp | Joe Mason | Roberto Alarcón | Jesse Daley | Udoka Chima | Tom Field | | José Escalante |
| Forge | Alexander Achinioti-Jönsson | Malik Owolabi-Belewu | Rezart Rama | Béni Badibanga | | | | |
| HFX Wanderers | Andre Rampersad | João Morelli | Lifumpa Mwandwe | Lorenzo Callegari | Callum Watson | Théo Collomb | | Kosi Nwafornso |
| Pacific | Djenairo Daniels | Bradley Vliet | Ayman Sellouf | David Brazão | Kekuta Manneh | | | |
| Valour | Andrew Jean-Baptiste | Walter Ponce | Kevin Rendón | Pacifique Niyongabire | Kian Williams | Jaime Siaj | | |
| Vancouver | Nicky Gyimah | Min-jae Kwak | Ibrahim Bakare | Alejandro Díaz | Renan Garcia | | | Emmanuel Robe Gael Sandoval Eugene Martínez |
| York United | Tass Mourdoukoutas | Kévin dos Santos | Brem Soumaoro | | | | | Lassana Faye Oussama Alou |
Players in italic denote players who were new to their respective clubs for the 2023 season, sorted chronologically by their announcement. Players in Bold indicate players who have represented their national teams at the senior level.

## 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup

Forge FC and Cavalry FC both earned berths in the newly expanded 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup as CPL champions and regular season champions respectively. The newly expanded tournament has teams from across North America, Central America, and the Caribbean compete for a spot in the FIFA Club World Cup. Qualification for the CONCACAF Champions Cup was also available to CPL clubs if they won the Canadian Championship; however, the 2023 Canadian Championship was not won by a CPL team.
| Method | Qualified team |
| CPL champion | Forge FC |
| CPL regular season winner | Cavalry FC |