Just a couple weeks remain in 2025, which means it's time to look back at the year that was. Thankfully, in the Canadian Premier League, we have a lot to look back on.
The seventh season of Canada's top-flight professional league was arguably the best yet.
Over 112 matches, plus five postseason clashes, the league made its mark on the Canadian soccer landscape from coast to coast, right up until that unforgettable night in the capital when Atlético Ottawa were crowned champions.
CPL sides took their talents across the country and the continent. Not just Halifax, Ottawa, Toronto, Hamilton, Winnipeg, Calgary, Langley and Langford; CPL sides played this year in Québec City, Montréal, Mexico City and Monterrey — not to mention downtown Vancouver and Victoria.
The league also brought a new club into the fold, welcoming FC Supra du Québec, who will begin play in 2026 at the Stade Boréale in Laval.
David Rodríguez may have iced the cake that was Year 7 in the CPL, but he wasn't the only star that shone in 2025.
Here's one last look back at the season that was, and what made it so special.
Scoring explosion: The CPL's highest-scoring year ever
If it felt like you were seeing more high-scoring games than usual this year, you were right.
The 2025 CPL regular season was the highest-scoring in league history, with 336 goals scored in total — an average of exactly three per game. That absolute shatters the previous record of 292 goals, set in 2023.
For the first time, the CPL had over 100 different players score a goal (107, to be exact), but a few individuals also made heavy contributions.
Sam Salter, of course, set a new league record for goals in a season with his Golden Boot-winning 19, but it was also the first season in which five players scored 10 or more (Salter, Tiago Coimbra, Brian Wright, Ballou Tabla and Julian Altobelli). Salter also set a single-match record when he scored four goals in once game against Valour, but Shaan Hundal matched him a few months later by doing the same against Pacific.
In addition to the Golden Boot, Salter picked up the CPL's Player of the Year and Players' Player of the Year honours, making him the second CPLer to win three individual awards in a year.
Five clubs set their own team record for goals: Forge (51); Atlético Ottawa (54); Inter Toronto, formerly known as York United (43); the Halifax Wanderers (41); and Vancouver FC (35).
Ottawa, of course, set the new CPL record for a team with their 54 goals, beating the 2019 Cavalry side. Forge tied the Cavs' 51 this year, as well. That said, Atleti's higher-powered attack was not enough to stop Forge from lifting the CPL Shield as regular season title winners.
That Forge side set records of their own, going a remarkable 20 games unbeaten to begin the campaign. Their quest for an invincible run met its end in August, though, when they suffered their first loss of the season at the hands of Cavalry... perhaps foreshadowing what would come later?
This year's CPL Playoffs were also the highest-scoring on record (not counting the group stage of the 2020 Island Games); 16 goals were scored across the five matches. Should it count double if it's a bicycle kick in the snow, though?
Speaking of which...
Best Final Ever; Best Playoffs Ever?
Few would argue against the notion that the 2025 CPL Final was the most entertaining yet.
Played in freezing conditions as a heap of snow fell on TD Place, Atlético Ottawa lifted the North Star Cup after beating Cavalry FC 2-1 in an extra time classic.
Drama, controversy, several snow-shovelling delays and a Puskás Award-worthy 'Icicle Kick' (especially that) put the CPL's marquee match in front of millions across the whole world.
For an in-depth, behind-the-scenes account of how exactly it all happened and what it was like to be at that Final, check out this story.
Perhaps overshadowed by that Final, however, was how compelling the rest of the playoffs were this year. We saw CPL Shield winners Forge, who hadn't lost at home all year, defeated at Hamilton Stadium twice in a row by Ottawa and Cavalry. In the Championship Semifinal, Forge took an early lead before Atleti stormed back to take it, and the following week it was perpetual dragon-slayer Tobias Warschewski who scored to beat the Hammers again.
Cavalry ousted York United (now Inter Toronto) in the Semifinal Qualifier with a resounding 4-1 win, which was something of a surprise given the Cavs' many injuries, including to Sergio Camargo.
To begin the whole postseason, though, Toronto and Halifax played an instant classic knockout match. That game saw a last-minute equalizer, a goal on either side in extra time, and a thrilling penalty shootout as Toronto beat the Wanderers in Nova Scotia.
Attendance records fell across the country
A grand total of 447,798 people attended CPL regular season matches this year, which is more than ever before.
Forge FC set the league's new single-game attendance record, when 17,971 showed up for their School Day Match against Atlético Ottawa.
Also, Forge and Halifax set new club records for total attendance in a regular season. Both those sides, as well as Cavalry and Valour, also set single-match records.
Meanwhile, the Wanderers vs. York clash in the CPL On Tour game in Québec City set a new mark for the On Tour series, when 7,218 showed up in a rainstorm to Stade TELUS-Université Laval.
U-21s seized the spotlight
It was a banner year for young players in the CPL, as 54 Canadian U-21 players made an appearance in the league this season.
The league didn't quite break the record of 36,159 eligible U-21 minutes, set back in 2019 when Pacific FC had well over 10,000 on their own. However, this season's mark of 32,557 is the most since then.
An unprecedented five players were nominated for this year's Best U-21 Canadian Player award: Noah Abatneh, Gabriel Antinoro, Thierno Bah, Hoce Massunda and award winner Tiago Coimbra. All of them, plus many more, made enormous impacts on their clubs this year.
A total of 57 goals and 39 assists were contributed by U-21 players this season, 12 of them by Coimbra who had a breakout year in Halifax.
Vancouver FC led the way with 10 different U-21 players appearing for them this year. Ottawa, however, had the most total minutes, as they had a whopping 8,575 minutes of playing time by their youngsters. Atleti's championship run was, in part, fuelled by the talent of their young defensive core: U-21 players Abatneh, Loïc Cloutier and Sergei Kozlovskiy typically formed the foundation of their back three, with youngster Antinoro playing a massive role at wingback.
CPL clubs thrived on the biggest stages
It wasn't just in league play where CPL clubs impressed. Several teams carried the banner at home and abroad in some high-level competitions.
All the way back in February — two months before the CPL season started — Cavalry and Forge took on two of Mexico's biggest clubs in the Concacaf Champions Cup. Forge, playing in the tournament for the third time, took on CF Monterrey, and went down admirably over two legs.
Cavalry, meanwhile, were matched up with Pumas UNAM, and made history in Leg 1 by becoming the first CPL side to beat a Mexican opponent over 90 minutes. Tobias Warschewski's dramatic late winner at a frigid Starlight Stadium gave Cavalry the 2-1 triumph in the opening match.
Unfortunately, Pumas clawed back in a very tense second leg in Mexico City, but the Cavs showed that they could compete with even the region's toughest opposition.
Later in the year, the TELUS Canadian Championship offered some further drama. Forge FC, for the second year in a row, eliminated MLS side CF Montréal at Stade Saputo en route to the semifinals.
History was made on the other side of the bracket, where Vancouver FC — who had never won a CanChamp match before — beat local rivals Pacific, then Cavalry, both on penalties. They then stunned Atlético Ottawa in the semis, and became the first CPL side ever to qualify for a Canadian Championship final in a full tournament.
VFC enjoyed a high-profile derby clash with the Vancouver Whitecaps, who needed a massive performance from legendary midfielder Thomas Müller (not to mention Canadian international Ali Ahmed) to knock out the CPL side. On that night at BC Place, Vancouver FC's Thierno Bah claimed his own share of the spotlight, collecting a goal and an assist in a 4-2 defeat.
Thanks to the Whitecaps' qualification for the Concacaf Champions Cup via their MLS standings position, Vancouver FC earned themselves a spot in the region's top club competition, despite finishing bottom of the CPL table.
That's one more piece of history, then: for the first time ever, three CPL sides will compete in the next Concacaf tournament, as VFC join Forge and Atlético Ottawa this February to begin a 2026 that promises to be even more special.
Thanks to the Whitecaps' qualification for the Concacaf Champions Cup via their MLS standings position, Vancouver FC earned themselves a spot in the region's top club competition, despite finishing bottom of the CPL table.
That's one more piece of history, then: for the first time ever, three CPL sides will compete in the next Concacaf tournament, as VFC join Forge and Atlético Ottawa this February to begin a 2026 that promises to be even more special.
