Canadian Football League Canada Day Games

Canada Day games in the Canadian Football League are an occasional part of the league's schedule and occur only when the league schedule begins on or before July 1. The games are not an annual occurrence, unlike the Labour Day or Thanksgiving Day games and they are typically only scheduled when Canada Day falls on a Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. As of the 2017 CFL season, there have been 20 Canada Day games played.

History

In 1984, the CFL played regular season games in June for the first time in league history.^[1] Consequently, the league also had its first Canada Day regular season game that year, with the Toronto Argonauts defeating the host Saskatchewan Roughriders 25–10. After the league expanded to an 18-game schedule in 1986, the chances of a Canada Day game became greater with an earlier start to the season and a second one was played in 1987. When the Montreal Alouettes franchise folded after the 1987 pre-season and the league reverted to eight teams, the regular season schedule didn't start until the second week of July.

When the league expended to 13 teams in 1995, scheduling difficulties necessitated an earlier start to the season, on June 28, 1995. This included the first Canada Day doubleheader and also the first and, to-date, only appearance by CFL USA teams when the Shreveport Pirates hosted the San Antonio Texans. Following the collapse of the CFL American teams and the Ottawa Rough Riders, the CFL was once again an eight-team league and typically started after July 1. The league did, however, have another Canada Day doubleheader in 1998, which was also the first time that the league began the regular season on Canada Day.^[2]

When the CFL returned to Ottawa in 2002, it again meant that the regular season schedule would begin in June and Canada Day games would return. Games were played on July 1 in 2003, 2005, and 2006, with the league originally scheduling the Montreal Alouettes and Ottawa Renegades to play in Ottawa in 2006.^[3] However, the Ottawa franchise again ceased operations, leaving the league to again start the season later. Despite previous trends of a later schedule start, the CFL made more of an effort to include Canada Day games, promoting a Canada Day season opener in 2009 that also featured the first Canada Day Grey Cup rematch.^[4] The league also played Canada Day games in 2010, 2011, and 2012, with the Calgary Stampeders hosting for four consecutive years.

As of the 2017 CFL season, Calgary has been the most frequent host having hosted eight of 20 Canada Day games while never being a visitor. The Alouettes, Argonauts, and Lions have never hosted a Canada Day game, but have been the visiting team on multiple occasions. Canada Day games have historically been played when Canada Day falls between Wednesday and Sunday, with the exception coming in 2003 when the Tuesday Canada Day game was played during a week that featured five games being played.

Results

References