Canada Soccer conducted the draw for the final two rounds of the TELUS Canadian Championship on Wednesday night at the OneSoccer studio, determining the path to the Voyageurs’ Cup for the final four teams. The first semifinal matchup will see the back-to-back champion Vancouver Whitecaps take on Pacific FC, with the Tridents hosting the first leg followed by a return fixture at BC Place. On the other side of the bracket, Forge FC will host Toronto FC before the two sides contest the second leg at BMO Field. The winner of the first semi-final between the Vancouver Whitecaps and Pacific FC will host the 2024 final, which is a single match. Seeding for the draw, which determined which club hosts the second leg of each tie, was established by the TELUS Canadian Championship Club Ranking Index, which ranks all competing clubs based on performance in this tournament over the previous three years, with the 2023 competition weighted the heaviest. In both semifinals, the higher-ranked club will host the second match. The semifinals are set to begin with first legs the week of July 9-10, before the ties wrap up with second legs the week of Aug. 28-29. The final, a single-elimination match, will be played the week of Sept. 24-25 and will be hosted by whichever of the Vancouver Whitecaps or Pacific FC wins their tie. For the third time, this year’s Canadian Championship features two Canadian Premier League teams in the final four. Forge FC earned their spot in the semis by defeating Major League Soccer side CF Montréal as well as CPL foe York United FC. Pacific FC beat League1 BC side TSS Rovers in the first round, before knocking out fellow CPL club Atlético Ottawa in the quarters. Toronto FC, the tournament’s all-time most successful club with eight titles, defeated Simcoe County Rovers of League1 Ontario and CS Saint-Laurent of Ligue1 Québec en route to the semifinals. They’ll hope to reclaim the Voyageurs’ Cup for the first time since winning the 2020 Final against Forge (played at Tim Hortons Field in 2022). The Vancouver Whitecaps, meanwhile, are looking to win a third straight Canadian Championship after lifting the trophy in 2022 and 2023. They defeated Cavalry FC in the quarter-final to get to this stage. All remaining TELUS Canadian Championship matches will be available to watch on OneSoccer, as well as TELUS channel 980 and Fubo TV.
Written by:Charlie O'Connor Clarke