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Fifteen teams competing in the 2026 TELUS Canadian Championship will learn their fate on Saturday, Jan. 17, when Canada Soccer hosts the official draw for this year’s tournament.

The draw, which will map out the full preliminary round, will be conducted live on OneSoccer during coverage of the Canadian men’s national team match against Guatemala (10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT).

Four provincial champions from League1 Canada competitions (League1 BC, League1 Alberta, League1 Ontario and Ligue1 Québec) will participate, along with all eight Canadian Premier League clubs and the three Canadian sides competing in Major League Soccer.

Langley United, Calgary Blizzard and Woodbridge Strikers are tournament debutants, alongside new CPL side FC Supra du Québec. Returning to the competition are Ligue1 Québec champions CS Saint-Laurent, who debuted in the 2024 Canadian Championship and defeated the Halifax Wanderers before bowing out against Toronto FC.

This year’s draw features four pre-seeded teams — the four highest-ranked clubs in the Canadian Championship Club Ranking Index. Defending champions Vancouver Whitecaps FC have received a bye to the quarter-final round, while CF Montréal, Toronto FC and Forge FC have been placed in the bracket to ensure none can meet before the semifinals.

The remaining clubs have been placed into two regional pots. The western draw pot features:

Pacific FC (CPL)
Vancouver FC (CPL)
Cavalry FC (CPL)
Langley United (L1BC)
Calgary Blizzard (L1A)

The eastern draw pot includes:

Atlético Ottawa (CPL)
Inter Toronto FC (CPL)
Halifax Wanderers FC (CPL)
FC Supra du Québec (CPL)
CS Saint-Laurent (L1Q)
Woodbridge Strikers (L1O)

The 2026 TELUS Canadian Championship will kick off in May, with single-knockout preliminary round matches played between May 5–10. The two-legged quarter-finals will take place with Leg 1 on July 8, and Leg 2 between July 11–13. The semifinals will be played on Sept. 1–3 and Sept. 15–17, with the Voyageurs Cup Final set for Oct. 21.

In general, the higher-ranked club in the Ranking Index will host preliminary round matches, as well as the second leg of quarter-final and semifinal ties.

The full bracket layout is as follows: