Voyageurs Cup

The trophy

The Voyageurs Cup trophy was created by the Voyageurs and first presented in 2002. Veteran Voyageurs member and chief fundraiser since the group's founding in 1996, Dwayne Cole, solicited donations on the Voyageurs internet forum, resulting in $3,500–4,000 donated. The money was used to commission the trophy, made in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The trophy is 40 centimetres tall.

The Voyageurs Cup itself is a handled wine cooler made from solid brass and electroplated in sterling silver. The base is lacquered, solid Canadian Oak and set with die cut polished aluminum maple leaf annual plates. An accompanying solid oak case was also crafted for safe transport. The cost of engraving, shipping, maintenance, and promotion of the trophy continued to be paid for by private donations from individual members of the Voyageurs until 2008.

The winning team keeps the Voyageurs Cup for the rest of the year before they return the trophy to Ottawa before January 1 of the new year. The winning team also receives 30 medals and prize money.

A member of the Voyageurs supporters group takes part in the trophy's presentation to the winning team each year.

History

The Voyageurs Cup competition was first conceived in March 2002 by fans of the Canada men's national team, known as the Voyageurs. The group agreed to award the cup to whichever of the four Canadian clubs in the USL A-League – the Montreal Impact, Vancouver Whitecaps, Toronto Lynx and Calgary Storm – collected the most points against each other during the regular USL season.

Prior to the start of the 2007 USL season, the Toronto Lynx moved to the Premier Development League, and effectively withdrew from the Voyageurs Cup competition in the process. As a result, in 2007 the trophy was decided solely on regular-season results between the Montreal Impact and the Vancouver Whitecaps. This was the last year the cup was awarded based on regular season matches.

In 2008, the Canadian Championship was created to be the qualifying tournament for professional Canadian teams to access the CONCACAF Champions League. The first edition of this competition included the two remaining Canadian clubs from the USL First Division, and Toronto FC of Major League Soccer. The Voyageurs Cup trophy was handed over to the Canadian Soccer Association in 2008 to be presented to the Canadian Championship winners.

The Montreal Impact won the first seven titles, the first six by virtue of their regular-season record in the USL against other Canadian sides. They won the inaugural 2008 Canadian Championship to retain the trophy, their seventh straight Voyageurs Cup victory. Toronto FC won the 2009 Canadian Championship to win the Voyageurs Cup for the first time. After thirteen unsuccessful attempts, the Vancouver Whitecaps FC won their first Voyageurs Cup title in 2015. The Calgary Storm never finished higher than fourth in the competition while the Edmonton Aviators finished third in their lone appearance in the tournament. The Toronto Lynx finished as runners-up in four of the five years they participated. FC Edmonton played in five consecutive Canadian Championship semi-finals from 2011 to 2015, but were never able to reach the final. The closest they came was in 2014, when they had almost defeated the Montreal Impact on away goals, but conceded from a penalty kick in the 90+7th minute to lose 4–5 on aggregate.

The Canadian Championship greatly expanded in size in the late 2010s. In 2018, the champions of the provincial semi-pro leagues were granted entry into the tournament, which gave semi-pro teams a chance to win the Voyageurs Cup for the first time. In 2019, the tournament more than doubled in size when all seven teams from the newly formed Canadian Premier League were added to the competition. In 2025, 15 teams competed for the Voyageurs Cup, which made it the largest tournament to date.

Format

2002–2007: USL era

Prior to 2008, the men's title was decided on regular-season matches between Canada's USL First Division sides.

2008–2010: Canadian Championship, round robin format

The inaugural Canadian Championship was held in 2008, with the three Canadian teams spread across MLS (Toronto FC) and the USL First Division (Montreal Impact and Vancouver Whitecaps) each playing four non-league games in a round robin format.

2011–present: Canadian Championship, knockout format

Beginning with the 2011 tournament, a knockout format has been used. In 2011, with four teams involved, the tournament was changed to be a home-and-away semi-final round and a similar final round between the winners. Toronto, as reigning champions, were assigned the top seed and were matched with Edmonton, which was assigned the fourth seed as newcomers to the tournament. The two remaining teams, Montreal and Vancouver, faced off in the other semi-final.

Champions

Year-by-year

Titles by club

• • denotes team is no longer in operation.
• Bolded teams contested for the Voyageurs Cup in the 2025 Canadian Championship.
• Statistics for CF Montréal include the original Montreal Impact of the USL and NASL, who contested the trophy from 2002 to 2011, before being replaced by a new MLS franchise of the same name and ownership.
• Statistics for Vancouver Whitecaps FC include the original Vancouver Whitecaps of the USL, who contested the trophy from 2002 to 2010, before being replaced by a new MLS franchise of the same name and ownership.

Top goalscorers

Bolded players are still active players with a Canadian team.

References

References

1. (31 July 2002). "Voyageurs Cup Announced For A-League Teams".
2. "2025 Regulations".
3. "About The Voyageurs".
4. Daniel Squizzato. (August 11, 2015). "Canadian Championship: The amazing story behind the fan-created trophy awarded to Canada's best". MLSSoccer.com.
5. (May 23, 2008). "Association announces partners for new Nutrilite Canadian Champions League". [[Canadian Soccer Association]].
6. "Here's the name". forum post by Winnipeg Fury.
7. (May 14, 2014). "Captain Bernier clutch PK sends Impact to Amway Canadian Championship final". Canada Soccer.
8. Rollins, Duane. (December 12, 2010). "Format of Canadian Championship may change". MLSsoccer.com.
9. Jones, Terry. (February 17, 2011). "Early test for FC Edmonton". Toronto Sun.