CFL 2026 Schedule Released: Alouettes & Tiger-Cats Set To Open Season

By Chris Lawton

The 2026 CFL Schedule release is out earlier this year than last year which means things have got back to normal. Why do I say back to normal? Because whilst last year the schedule came out late, for the previous few years the CFL have been releasing their coming schedule in the run up to Christmas as a stocking filler talking point for 3 Down Football fans alongside the winter negotiation list, giving CFL fans plenty of off-season talking points.

As soon as the last play of the Grey Cup has been blown dead each year CFL fans ask the eternal question ‘Is it June yet?’. So, the sense of excitement and anticipation for those wanting to plan ahead is palpable. But now it is here, and just what does the 2026 schedule have to offer? Let’s take a look.

2026 - What Stands Out?

The season opener will not be a Grey Cup rematch this time around but instead we start out with back-to-back three game weeks to kick things off and the first game of the year will pit the Montreal Alouettes and Hamilton Tiger-Cats against each other in a rematch of the 2025 Eastern Final.

It will be a steady start for some of the teams as the B.C. Lions, Saskatchewan Roughriders, and Toronto Argonauts have a bye in the first week of the season. This will be followed by the Calgary Stampeders, Edmonton Elks, and Ottawa Redblacks having a bye in the second week.

Much of the CFL schedule is moved around and teams will find themselves in different places due to the FIFA world cup being played in North America next year. The Toronto Argonauts will be playing three of their ‘home’ games in different stadia and do not make their first true home debut until well into the season.

By week three the CFL has a triple header on the Saturday to keep fans glued to the screen but by Saturday, September the 12th we will be seeing the first quadruple-header since 1995. The only team not playing on that day is the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

Montreal will host Saskatchewan for the Thanksgiving Day Classic week on Monday, October the 12th in a Grey Cup rematch. The teams will then play the second half of a home-and-home the following week in Regina. This does break what it looked like the league was trying to build into tradition as for the previous four years the Alouettes and RedBlacks had clashed on Thanksgiving Monday.

The East and West Semi-Finals are being played on Saturday the 31st of October. So, it will be tricks for two sets of fans and treats for the other two sets who will see their teams head to the 113th Grey Cup on November the 15th. Which I believe is the earliest by calendar date a Grey Cup has ever been played replacing the 85th, 91st, and 112th Grey Cups as the earliest iterations of the game by a single day.

Schedule Releases

The CFL has already selected five must watch games and five in-season rematches to look out for. Meanwhile each team has had its own take on their upcoming season with a range of opinions and data to look through as you can see below:

BC Lions schedule release.

Edmonton Elks schedule release.

Calgary Stampeders schedule release. 

Saskatchewan Roughriders schedule release.

Winnipeg Blue Bombers schedule release.

Hamilton Tiger-Cats schedule release.

Toronto Argonauts schedule release.

Ottawa RedBlacks schedule release.

Montreal Alouettes schedule release.

Or find them all (ranked) here.

It is a joy that the 2026 CFL schedule is here on time. Fans can start looking ahead to themed nights, event games, and the annual clashes like the Stampede Bowl, Labour Day Classics, Banjo Bowl, Thanksgiving Day classic and more.

The gloom has lifted, the sun is shining on 3 Down Football once more, and fans everywhere are back to asking, ‘Is it June yet?’.

CHRIS LAWTON

CFL ANALYST

Chris originally started following the NFL with the ‘first wave’ of fans when it was shown on Channel 4 in the 1980’s. He has been a keen supporter of the Miami Dolphins since 1983. Chris first encountered the CFL in 2016 and instantly fell in love with the Canadian game. He has been writing about the CFL 2017. Chris has a degree in history, postgraduate degree in librarianship and can be found on twitter as @CFLfanUK

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