At a time when Canadians have been calling for “elbows up” against the threat of American absorption, the president and board of governors of the Canadian Football League have announced changes to the game that will effectively make it scarcely distinguishable from its NFL counterpart.

Many have applauded the changes as bold, but bold doesn’t necessarily mean good. Taking a sledgehammer to the Pietà would be bold, but hardly laudable.

The changes announced thus far come in two stages. In the first stage, beginning in 2026, single points will no longer be awarded for either a punt or missed field goal that goes through the end zone, although a point will still be awarded if a defender does not take out the ball or takes a knee.

Arguably, the biggest changes come in the second stage, beginning in 2027. The goal posts will be moved to the back of the end zone which will be shortened from 20 yards to 15, bringing the end zones closer to that of the NFL.

In combination with the single-point change made in 2026, the quality of the CFL games will be severely lessened. According to an article in the Penticton Herald, there have been this year 33 returns of missed field goals, at least three going for touchdowns, with 13 or more being returned for more than 30 yards.

Very few field goals are missed because the kick is short. Most are missed because the kick goes wide. With the goal posts moved to the back of the end zone, missed kicks will simply sail out of play — out of the possibility of being returned. The shortening of the end zone further constrains the likelihood of any missed field goals being returned.

A missed field goal in the NFL is surpassed in boredom only by that league’s ridiculous punt-return rules. The changes to the CFL rules bring a similar risk of tedium.

Also in 2027, the CFL field will be shortened from 110 yards to 100 yards, the same as the NFL.

There are other changes as well, notably around the time clock, but these are the main ones. For non-football fans, or those not steeped in CFL lore, these changes may seem innocuous. They are not.

While the width of CFL fields will remain (for now) at 65 yards, versus 55 in the NFL, and the number of downs remains at three, one cannot but feel that these will be the next football cleats to drop.

The closer the CFL moves to be like the NFL, the more likely the league will be folded into the NFL. Many private owners in the CFL, dependent on season-ticket holders and game-day walk-up sales for revenue, are envious of the television money NFL teams obtain. A few dream of NFL franchises. The changing of the CFL rules can be construed as the first step in softening up fans for merger talks.

Canada has few enough cultural markers distinguishing us from the United States. Canadian football is one of them. The loss of the CFL would pave the way for fulfilling Donald Trump’s wishes that Canada become the 51st state.

Trevor W. Harrison is a retired professor of sociology at the University of Lethbridge and a longtime CFL fan.

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