Photo courtesy: Paul Yates/B.C. Lions

The 2026 CFL schedule has officially been unveiled, which means it’s time to analyze how the year’s football calendar compares to previous ones. There are plenty of changes to discuss, so let’s jump right into it.

Slow start

The league has scheduled only three games for Week 1 and Week 2, which means the 2026 season will start at a bit of a crawl.

The B.C. Lions, Saskatchewan Roughriders, and Toronto Argonauts have a bye in the first week of the season, then the Calgary Stampeders, Edmonton Elks, Ottawa Redblacks have a bye in the second week.

This might seem like odd timing — and it is, in a way — but with the FIFA World Cup being held in North America and games being played at BMO Field in Toronto and BC Place Stadium in Vancouver, an unusually back-loaded CFL schedule isn’t a bad idea.

Season-opener not a Grey Cup rematch

It’s pretty common for professional sports leagues to start the regular-season schedule with a rematch of the previous year’s championship game, but that won’t happen in the CFL in 2026.

Instead, the year will open with a rematch of the East Final with the Montreal Alouettes visiting the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. The two teams played a solid, low-scoring postseason game in November, so hopefully they’ll both be sharp come Thursday, June 4.

We won’t get a Grey Cup rematch until Week 19 when Saskatchewan visits Montreal, then again when Montreal visits Saskatchewan in Week 20.

Quadruple-header

If you’re a hardcore CFL fan, be sure the butt-shaped groove in your favourite couch or chair is ready for Saturday, September 12 when the league will play for 12 straight hours.

The day will start with the Ottawa Redblacks and Toronto Argonauts at 1:00 p.m. ET, then gradually head west with the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the Banjo Bowl at 4:00 p.m. ET, Calgary Stampeders and Edmonton Elks at 7:00 p.m. ET, and Montreal Alouettes and B.C. Lions at 10:00 p.m. ET.

According to the league, this is its first quadruple-header since 1995. There is also a triple-header scheduled for Week 3.

Road warriors

The Argonauts are essentially playing three extra road games in 2026 with the World Cup taking over BMO Field for the first half of the summer. MLSE president and CEO Keith Pelley defended the decision to 3DownNation in September, calling it the best solution after looking at “every possible option.”

As such, Toronto will not play a game at home until Week 10 when they host the Calgary Stampeders on Thursday, August 6. If you’re a diehard Argonauts fan — and yes, there are many — you’ve got eight months to wait to see your team at home.

It’s unclear which is the team’s “home” game and which is its usual away game, but the Argonauts are scheduled to visit Regina in Week 4 and Week 13, Winnipeg in Week 6 and Week 17, and Hamilton in Week 7 and Week 14.

Gobble, gobble

The Redblacks have visited the Alouettes for the loosely-dubbed ‘Thanksgiving Day Classic’ each year since 2021 but that’s set to change in 2026.

Instead, Montreal will host Saskatchewan for the Thanksgiving Day game on Monday, October 12 in a Grey Cup rematch. The teams will then play the second half of a home-and-home the following week in Regina.

Ottawa will make two trips to Montreal during the regular-season, which are set for Week 4 and Week 12, while Montreal will visit Ottawa in Week 9. It seems odd to not concentrate games between geographical rivals later in the year, but here we are.

Short weeks

The 2026 CFL schedule appears to have slightly more “short weeks” — games played on only four days of rest — than there were in 2025.

According to our count, B.C., Calgary, and Edmonton all have three short weeks, Montreal has two, and Saskatchewan, Winnipeg, Toronto, and Ottawa each have one. Hamilton is the only team with zero.

In 2025, Winnipeg, Hamilton, Ottawa, Montreal had the most short weeks with two apiece, while B.C., Calgary, Edmonton, and Toronto each had one. Saskatchewan was the only team with zero.

For what it’s worth, teams coming off short weeks went 2-4 in 2025 when playing against more well-rested opponents.

Overlapping

It’s not uncommon for the CFL to overlap preseason games, which will happen again this year between multiple contests on Saturday, May 23 and Friday, May 29.

What is uncommon, however, is that two regular-season games are overlapping. The Ottawa Redblacks and Hamilton Tiger-Cats will face-off on Saturday, October 24 at 3:00 p.m. ET and the Edmonton Elks and Saskatchewan Roughriders will start at exactly the same time.

I’ve confirmed with the league that this is not an error or oversight. The games will happen simultaneously. Granted, these are the last two matchups before the playoffs, but it’s highly unusual to see CFL regular-season games not spread out for maximum exposure.

Spooky season

The East and West Semi-Finals will be played on Saturday, October 31, so get your costumes ready — and, if you live on the prairies, make sure they can fit over a parka.

Halloween is always a great time to watch or attend major sporting events, given all the creative costumes you see out in the crowd. In 2026, the festivities will be ratcheted up thanks to the added intensity of playoff football.

Balanced byes

Each team in the CFL gets three bye weeks and it’s generally preferred that they’re spread evenly over the course of the 21-week season.

With that being the case, the Alouettes probably got the best bye weeks as they’re slated for Week 5, Week 11, and Week 17. The team never has to play more than five consecutive contests without a break, which seems pretty darn good.

The longest stretch any team will go without a bye is 10 weeks, as the Elks will play consecutively from Week 3 to Week 12.

Below is a list of each team’s bye weeks:

B.C. Lions — 1, 6, 16

Calgary Stampeders — 2, 12, 21

Edmonton Elks — 2, 13, 18

Saskatchewan Roughriders — 1, 7, 16

Winnipeg Blue Bombers — 3, 10, 16

Hamilton Tiger-Cats — 4, 15, 20

Toronto Argonauts — 1, 9, 19

Ottawa Redblacks — 2, 8, 14

Montreal Alouettes — 5, 11, 17