# 2023 Canadian Championship

The 2023 Canadian Championship (French: Championnat canadien 2023) was the sixteenth edition of the Canadian Championship, the premier men's domestic cup competition in Canadian soccer, and the 22nd competition staged to determine the winner of the Voyageurs Cup. It was a knockout tournament with all eleven professional men's soccer teams in Canada, from Major League Soccer and the Canadian Premier League, competing, along with the champions of the three semi-professional League1 Canada competitions. The tournament marked the first Voyageurs Cup campaign for FC Laval, TSS FC Rovers and Vancouver FC.
This tournament was notable for the TSS FC Rovers' performance, as they made the quarter-finals in their debut appearance by upsetting Valour FC in the first round. In doing so, they became the first non-professional team in the history of the competition to advance past a fully professional opponent.

## Format

The winner of the 2022 Canadian Championship, Vancouver Whitecaps FC, and runner-up Toronto FC, both received byes to the quarter-finals. The remaining 12 teams began the competition from the first round in April. Qualification to the Canadian Championship for 2023 was automatic for Canadian teams within Major League Soccer and for all teams within the Canadian Premier League, Canada's tier-one national league. The 2022 champions from the three regional pro-am leagues of League1 Canada (League1 Ontario, PLSQ, and League1 British Columbia) also qualified.
The 2023 Canadian Championship determined a place in the continental 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup tournament. If the winner had already qualified for the Champions Cup via berths in the 2023 Major League Soccer, 2023 Leagues Cup or 2023 Canadian Premier League, the place would have gone to the runners-up in the final, and then to the "higher-ranked" semi-finalist based on league points totals, if the runners-up had also already qualified.
Matches in the 2023 tournament were each played as a single 90-minute match with additional time. If a match ended in a draw, no extra time was played, and the match went straight to a penalty shoot-out to decide the winner. Each team competing in the tournament could select up to 30 players to their tournament roster. If a player already nominated to a team's tournament roster was transferred to a competing team during the tournament, they were disqualified from further play in the tournament. For each match, teams could select up to 18 players for a match roster, while their starting lineup had to include at least three Canadian players. Both teams could make up to five substitutions and two concussion substitutions throughout the match at up to three stoppages of play, excluding half-time.

### Teams

* Vancouver teams:
* TSS Rovers
* Vancouver FC
* Vancouver Whitecaps
* Toronto teams:
* Toronto FC
* Vaughan Azzurri
* York United
* Montreal teams:
* CF Montréal
* FC Laval
| League | Team | Location | Entry round | App. | Previous best performance |
| Major League Soccer | Toronto FC | Toronto | Quarter-finals as 2022 finalist | 16th | Winners (8 times; 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020) |
| Major League Soccer | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | Vancouver | Quarter-finals as 2022 finalist | 15th | Winners (2 times; 2015, 2022) |
| Major League Soccer | CF Montréal | Montreal | Preliminary round | 15th | Winners (4 times; 2013, 2014, 2019, 2021) |
| Canadian Premier League | Atlético Ottawa | Ottawa | Preliminary round | 3rd | Preliminary round (2 times; 2021, 2022) |
| Canadian Premier League | Cavalry FC | Foothills | Preliminary round | 4th | Semi-finals (2019) |
| Canadian Premier League | Forge FC | Hamilton | Preliminary round | 5th | Runners-up (2020) |
| Canadian Premier League | HFX Wanderers FC | Halifax | Preliminary round | 4th | Quarter-finals (3 times; 2019, 2021, 2022) |
| Canadian Premier League | Pacific FC | Langford | Preliminary round | 4th | Semi-finals (2021) |
| Canadian Premier League | Valour FC | Winnipeg | Preliminary round | 4th | Quarter-finals (2021) |
| Canadian Premier League | Vancouver FC | Langley | Preliminary round | 1st | — |
| Canadian Premier League | York United FC | Toronto | Preliminary round | 4th | Semi-finals (2022) |
| League1 Canada (division champions) | FC Laval (PLSQ) | Laval | Preliminary round | 1st | — |
| League1 Canada (division champions) | TSS FC Rovers (L1BC) | Burnaby | Preliminary round | 1st | — |
| League1 Canada (division champions) | Vaughan Azzurri (L1O) | Vaughan | Preliminary round | 2nd | First qualifying round (2019) |

## Draw

On January 17, 2023, Canada Soccer announced that the draw for the championship would be held on January 31 at 8:00 pm ET. The draw details and pots were announced on January 24. Due to the early start of the tournament, only 5 of 12 teams were able to host to host a match in the first round. Teams were assigned into pots based on geography (east or west) and hosting ability.
Prior to the commencement of the draw, one club from Pot B1 was moved into Pot A1, then one club from Pot B2 was moved to B1, and then both clubs from Pot C were moved to Pot B2, resulting in an even distribution of three teams in each of the first round pots. Atlético Ottawa and the HFX Wanderers were placed in Pot B2 prior to the draw as the eastern teams that did not commit to hosting a match in the first round. The Wanderers were eventually drawn from Pot A1 as the designated home team for their first round match against Ottawa, and Canada Soccer determined a neutral venue for the match.
| Pot A1 | Pot A2 | Pot B1 | Pot B2 | Pot C | Pot D |
| Pacific FCTSS FC Rovers | Cavalry FCValour FCVancouver FC | Forge FCYork United FCCF Montréal | Atlético OttawaHFX Wanderers FC | FC LavalVaughan Azzurri | Toronto FCVancouver Whitecaps FC |
Final positions
| West (home) | West (away) | East (home) | East (away) | Byes |
| Pacific FCTSS FC RoversYork United FC | Cavalry FCValour FCVancouver FC | Forge FCCF MontréalHFX Wanderers FC† | Atlético OttawaFC LavalVaughan Azzurri | Toronto FCVancouver Whitecaps FC |
†: Could not host a Preliminary Round match.

## Schedule

| Round | Match dates |
| Preliminary round | April 18–20 |
| Quarter-finals | May 9–10 |
| Semi-finals | May 24 |
| Final | June 7 |

## Bracket

| Preliminary roundApril 18–20 | Preliminary roundApril 18–20 | Quarter-finalsMay 9–10 | Quarter-finalsMay 9–10 | | Semi-finalsMay 24 | Semi-finalsMay 24 | | FinalJune 7 | FinalJune 7 |
| Langford, BC | Langford, BC | | | | | | |
| Pacific FC (p) | 1 (5) | | | | | | |
| Pacific FC (p) | 1 (5) | Langford, BC | Langford, BC | | | | | |
| Cavalry FC | 1 (3) | Langford, BC | Langford, BC | | | | |
| Cavalry FC | 1 (3) | Pacific FC | 2 | | | | |
| Burnaby, BC | Burnaby, BC | | Pacific FC | 2 | | | | |
| Burnaby, BC | Burnaby, BC | TSS FC Rovers | 0 | | | | |
| TSS FC Rovers | 3 | TSS FC Rovers | 0 | | | | |
| TSS FC Rovers | 3 | | | | Langford, BC | Langford, BC | | |
| Valour FC | 1 | | | | Langford, BC | Langford, BC | |
| Valour FC | 1 | | | | Pacific FC | 0 | |
| Toronto, ON (York Lions) | Toronto, ON (York Lions) | | | | | Pacific FC | 0 | |
| Toronto, ON (York Lions) | Toronto, ON (York Lions) | | | | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 3 | |
| York United FC | 1 | | | | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 3 | |
| York United FC | 1 | Toronto, ON (York Lions) | Toronto, ON (York Lions) | | | | | |
| Vancouver FC | 0 | Toronto, ON (York Lions) | Toronto, ON (York Lions) | | | | |
| Vancouver FC | 0 | York United FC | 1 | | | | |
| | | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 4 | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | Vancouver, BC | Vancouver, BC |
| | | | | | | | | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 2 |
| | | | | | | | | CF Montréal | 1 |
| | | Toronto, ON (BMO) | Toronto, ON (BMO) | | | | | | |
| | | Toronto FC | 1 | | | | | | |
| Montreal, QC | Montreal, QC | | Toronto FC | 1 | | | | | |
| Montreal, QC | Montreal, QC | CF Montréal | 2 | | | | | | |
| CF Montréal | 2 | CF Montréal | 2 | | | | | | |
| CF Montréal | 2 | | | | Montreal, QC | Montreal, QC | | | |
| Vaughan Azzurri | 0 | | | | Montreal, QC | Montreal, QC | | | |
| Vaughan Azzurri | 0 | | | | CF Montréal | 2 | | | |
| Hamilton, ON | Hamilton, ON | | | | | CF Montréal | 2 | | |
| Hamilton, ON | Hamilton, ON | | | | Forge FC | 0 | |
| Forge FC | 3 | | | | Forge FC | 0 | |
| Forge FC | 3 | Hamilton, ON | Hamilton, ON | | | | | |
| FC Laval | 0 | Hamilton, ON | Hamilton, ON | | | | |
| FC Laval | 0 | Forge FC (p) | 1 (3) | | | | |
| Toronto, ON (York Lions) | Toronto, ON (York Lions) | | Forge FC (p) | 1 (3) | | | | |
| Toronto, ON (York Lions) | Toronto, ON (York Lions) | Atlético Ottawa | 1 (2) | | | | |
| HFX Wanderers FC | 1 | Atlético Ottawa | 1 (2) | | | | |
| Atlético Ottawa | 3 | | | | | | |

## Preliminary round
### Summary

| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
| TSS FC Rovers | 3–1 | Valour FC |
| Pacific FC | 1–1 (5–3 p) | Cavalry FC |
| York United FC | 1–0 | Vancouver FC |
| Forge FC | 3–0 | FC Laval |
| HFX Wanderers FC | 1–3 | Atlético Ottawa |
| CF Montréal | 2–0 | Vaughan Azzurri |

### Matches
## Quarter-finals
### Summary

| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
| Pacific FC | 2–0 | TSS FC Rovers |
| York United FC | 1–4 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC |
| Forge FC | 1–1 (3–2 p) | Atlético Ottawa |
| Toronto FC | 1–2 | CF Montréal |

### Matches
## Semi-finals
### Summary

| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
| Pacific FC | 0–3 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC |
| CF Montréal | 2–0 | Forge FC |

### Matches
## Top goalscorers

| Rank | Player | Team | Goals | By round | By round | By round | By round |
| Rank | Player | Team | Goals | PR | QF | SF | F |
| 1 | Sunusi Ibrahim | CF Montréal | 3 | 1 | | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Simon Becher | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 2 | | 1 | 1 | |
| 2 | Julian Gressel | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 2 | | 1 | 1 | |
| 2 | Noah Jensen | Forge FC | 2 | 2 | | | |
| 2 | Matteo Polisi | TSS FC Rovers | 2 | 2 | | | |
| 6 | Ali Ahmed | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 1 | | | 1 | |
| 6 | Molham Babouli | York United FC | 1 | 1 | | | |
| 6 | Ollie Bassett | Atlético Ottawa | 1 | | 1 | | |
| 6 | Kyle Bekker | Forge FC | 1 | | 1 | | |
| 6 | Myer Bevan | Cavalry FC | 1 | 1 | | | |
| 6 | Zachary Brault-Guillard | CF Montréal | 1 | | 1 | | |
| 6 | Diego Espejo | Atlético Ottawa | 1 | 1 | | | |
| 6 | Massimo Ferrin | HFX Wanderers FC | 1 | 1 | | | |
| 6 | Ryan Gauld | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 1 | | | | 1 |
| 6 | Josh Heard | Pacific FC | 1 | | 1 | | |
| 6 | Lorenzo Insigne | Toronto FC | 1 | | 1 | | |
| 6 | Levonte Johnson | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 1 | | 1 | | |
| 6 | Ariel Lassiter | CF Montréal | 1 | | | 1 | |
| 6 | Ivan Mejia | TSS FC Rovers | 1 | 1 | | | |
| 6 | Anthony Novak | Valour FC | 1 | 1 | | | |
| 6 | Chinonso Offor | CF Montréal | 1 | | 1 | | |
| 6 | Easton Ongaro | Pacific FC | 1 | 1 | | | |
| 6 | Woobens Pacius | Forge FC | 1 | 1 | | | |
| 6 | Sean Rea | CF Montréal | 1 | 1 | | | |
| 6 | Adonijah Reid | Pacific FC | 1 | | 1 | | |
| 6 | Austin Ricci | York United FC | 1 | | 1 | | |
| 6 | Malcolm Shaw | Atlético Ottawa | 1 | 1 | | | |
| 6 | Maxim Tissot | Atlético Ottawa | 1 | 1 | | | |
| 6 | Brian White | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 1 | | | | 1 |

### Own goals

* 1 own goal - Elijah Adekugbe

## Awards

* George Gross Memorial Trophy: Julian Gressel (Vancouver Whitecaps FC)
* Best Young Canadian Player Award: Ali Ahmed (Vancouver Whitecaps FC)

## Broadcasting rights

| Country | Broadcaster | Ref. |
| Canada | OneSoccer | |
| United States | Fox Sports | |