Kayle Neis/Regina Leader-Post
Saskatchewan Roughriders linebacker Melique Straker (28) runs onto the field during the Labour Day Classic game at Mosaic Stadium on Sunday, August 31, 2025 in Regina.
Taylor Shire
Regina Leader-Post
The schedule for the 2026 Canadian Football League season has been announced.
After winning their first Grey Cup since 2013, the defending champion Saskatchewan Roughriders will begin the season with a bye week in Week 1 before raising the banner and opening the season in Week 2 on June 13 at home against the B.C. Lions in a rematch of the 2025 West final.
The quirk in the schedule, which will see three teams on a bye in Week 1 before another three teams in Week 2, is related to the World Cup taking over stadiums in B.C. and Toronto.
“We all accepted that it was going to potentially be a bit of a different year this year just with the World Cup and I think you’ve sort of seen that with the first week bye,” Roughriders president-CEO Craig Reynolds told the Leader-Post. “When you have a number of venues sort of offline, it just creates some challenges for the schedule maker.
“You’ve got two venues that are just not available, so you just have a limited number of venues. And so it just makes sense, from a schedule perspective, to just play less games.”
Before the season begins, the Roughriders open training camp in Saskatoon on May 10 and will begin the exhibition schedule on May 18 in Calgary. The Green and White will then play their home pre-season game on May 23 in Saskatoon at Griffiths Stadium against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
“Hosting that pre-season game up in Saskatoon, which is something we haven’t done since 1991, we’re just really excited about doing that,” said Reynolds. “It’ll be our game, but we’re certainly going to work very closely and collaborate with the (University of Saskatchewan) Huskies. We had an opportunity to go up there and witness one of their games, their homecoming game, and they put on a great game day already.
“We learned a ton there so we think there’s just an excellent sort of template that we can follow.”
The Roughriders won’t play in the third week of the pre-season before also being off for the first week of the year.
After their first game of the season in Week 2, the Roughriders will visit the Calgary Stampeders in Week 3 on June 20 before hosting Toronto on June 26 in Week 4, which is the bonus home game for the Riders as the Argonauts are being forced to play elsewhere for three games due to the World Cup.
Saskatchewan will play a road game in Week 5 as the Green and White visit the Ottawa Redblacks on July 3 before the Hamilton Tiger-Cats visit Mosaic Stadium on July 12 in Week 6.
The Roughriders will then have their second bye week of the season in Week 7 before hosting the Edmonton Elks on July 23 in Week 8. Saskatchewan will then visit Edmonton for the rematch on Aug. 1 in Week 9.
In Week 10, the Roughriders host the Ottawa Redblacks on Aug. 7 before heading to Hamilton a week later to visit the Tiger-Cats on Aug. 15 in Week 11. A second straight road game follows in Week 12 as the Riders visit B.C. on Aug. 23.
The Green and White will host the Toronto Argonauts on Aug. 29 in Week 13 before the annual Labour Day Classic against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in Week 14 on Sept. 6. Saskatchewan will head to Winnipeg for the Banjo Bowl the following weekend on Sept. 12 in Week 15 before another bye week in Week 16.
The Riders will return in Week 17 on Sept. 25 in B.C. against the Lions before hosting Calgary on Oct. 2 in Week 18. Saskatchewan will then play a home-and-home series in Week 19 and 20 against the Montreal Alouettes on Oct. 12 and Oct. 17, with the first game being played in Montreal and the second in Regina.
Saskatchewan will conclude the regular season Oct. 24 at home against Edmonton.
The CFL divisional semifinals are set to be played Oct. 31 with the divisional finals going Nov. 7. The 113th Grey Cup, to be played in Calgary, is set for Nov. 15.
In total, the Riders will play one Thursday home game, three Friday home games, four Saturday home games and two Sunday home games.
“Overall, I think we’re very happy with it,” Reynolds said of the schedule. “We always try to balance the football perspective and then obviously the perspective of our fans. We’ve got five Saturdays (including the pre-season game), which I think are excellent for our out-of-town fans certainly, but families as well.
“We’ve got some really good, family-friendly times. And a few Friday nights in there, which are always exciting as well.”
The 2026 CFL season begins on June 4 when the Montreal Alouettes visit the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in Week 1.
Roughriders 2026 schedule
Pre-season Week 1: Monday, May 18 @ Calgary (1 p.m.)
Pre-season Week 2: Saturday, May 23 vs Winnipeg (in Saskatoon, 5 p.m.)
Pre-season Week 3: Bye week
Week 1: Bye week
Week 2: Saturday, June 13 vs B.C. (5 p.m.)
Week 3: Saturday, June 20 @ Calgary (5 p.m.)
Week 4: Friday, June 26 vs Toronto (7 p.m.)
Week 5: Friday, July 3 @ Ottawa (5:30 p.m.)
Week 6: Sunday, July 12 vs Hamilton (5 p.m.)
Week 7: Bye Week
Week 8: Thursday, July 23 vs Edmonton (7 p.m.)
Week 9: Saturday, Aug. 1 @ Edmonton (5 p.m.)
Week 10: Friday, Aug. 7 vs Ottawa (7 p.m.)
Week 11: Saturday, Aug. 15 @ Hamilton (5 p.m.)
Week 12: Sunday, Aug. 23 @ B.C. (5 p.m.)
Week 13: Saturday, Aug. 29 vs Toronto (5 p.m.)
Week 14: Sunday, Sept. 6 vs Winnipeg (5 p.m.
Week 15: Saturday, Sept. 12 @ Winnipeg (2 p.m.)
Week 16: Bye week
Week 17: Friday, Sept. 25 @ B.C. (8:30 p.m.)
Week 18: Friday, Oct. 2 vs Calgary (7:30 p.m.)
Week 19: Monday, Oct. 12 @ Montreal (11 a.m.)
Week 20: Saturday, Oct. 17 vs Montreal (1 p.m.)
Week 21: Saturday Oct. 24 vs Edmonton (1 p.m.)
Divisional semifinals: Saturday, Oct. 31
Divisional finals: Saturday, Nov. 7
Grey Cup: Sunday, Nov. 15 @ Calgary
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