CFL names Quebec City leading contender for 10th team

CFL commissioner Stewart Johnston said Friday that Quebec City has emerged as the league’s leading contender for a 10th franchise, the strongest public signal yet that football could return to the provincial capital.

Johnston made the comments at his second state of the league address in Calgary, two days before the Edmonton Elks and the Montreal Alouettes meet in the Grey Cup at McMahon Stadium. He said the league has held substantive talks with a local ownership group in Quebec City.

“We have been engaged with very productive conversations with a local ownership group in Quebec City,” Johnston told reporters. “We are encouraged by those, and we can say that Quebec City has emerged as the leading contender for the 10th franchise in the CFL.”

He added that there is “still a lot of work to do” and that the league would share more when there is something to report. Johnston declined to name the prospective owner, and he would not say if or when a team might begin play.

Quebec real estate developer William Trudel has spoken to Quebec media about his interest in a CFL expansion club. A spokesperson for the Trudel Group told 3DownNation in September the company would only comment when there was something concrete to discuss.

The CFL’s board of governors voted unanimously on Sept. 9 to allow the league to pursue a Quebec City team if certain requirements are met, 3DownNation reported. That report said a team could start play in 2030 or 2031, contingent on a new stadium estimated at $350 million.

That stadium is the main open question for Quebec residents and taxpayers. Quebec City Mayor Bruno Marchand said on Oct. 1 that a new multi-purpose, domed stadium would be a “golden opportunity” but that the provincial and federal governments must contribute because the city “can’t do this alone” (translated from French). Premier Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, then the Parti Québécois leader, had already pledged some support for a CFL stadium in Quebec City, saying he is convinced it is a football market and that a Quebec-Montreal rivalry would help.

Johnston said the league is also talking to other Canadian markets. He declined to comment when asked directly about Halifax, which previously emerged as a potential expansion city.

Johnston is completing his second season as commissioner after taking over in April 2025. The Alouettes, who will play the Elks on Sunday, are the league’s only Quebec team. Our earlier coverage includes the Alouettes’ East Final win and the Grey Cup date, time and how to watch.

Source: The Canadian Press, 3DownNation.

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