Forge and CF Montreal booked Canadian Championship final berths after reversing or defending leads in the two semi-final ties.
The Story
The 2026 Canadian Championship semi-finals concluded with a guaranteed CPL-versus-MLS final, as Forge continued their recent dominance over Supra while the Vancouver Whitecaps were eliminated by CF Montreal across two legs.
Forge’s path to the final came through a 2-1 aggregate win over Supra du Quebec, repeating the pattern of last year in which a CPL side’s season-long momentum was tested by a Quebec-based opponent in a knockout format.
The first leg was played in Laval in early September and ended 1-1, with Supra taking the lead in the first half when Ibrahim Conde converted from close range with less than 10 minutes remaining in the opening period.
Forge appeared set for another narrow defeat after having lost to the same opponents days earlier in league play, but their response arrived late: in stoppage time, a free kick was misjudged by Supra goalkeeper Joakim Milli, allowing Maxime Bourgeois to keep the ball alive and pick out Daniel Krutzen for the equalizer.
The second leg returned to Hamilton for the deciding match, where Supra had the chance to take control early but could not break through against Forge keeper Dmitry Bertaud within the opening 10 minutes, despite having two solid opportunities.
Forge made the breakthrough in the middle of the first half following an injury to captain Kyle Bekker, who was forced off, with Ben Paton replacing him and scoring after he connected with Bourgeois’ pass to put Forge ahead for the aggregate lead.
Supra’s late push nearly swung the tie again, as Riad Bey fired from point-blank range in stoppage time but was unable to force an equalizer that would have changed the outcome.
With Forge advancing, the club will pursue a first Canadian Championship title despite longstanding involvement in the tournament, having appeared in seven full editions and reaching the semi-finals in five of them, including each of the last four years.
In the other semi-final, Vancouver Whitecaps, who had won the last four editions of the Canadian Championship, were knocked out 3-2 over two legs by CF Montreal, a result that underlined how quickly a multi-year run can end in high-stakes playoff football.
The first leg in Burnaby ended 1-1 at Swangard Stadium, where CF Montreal—described as bottom of the MLS Eastern Conference—took a 15th-minute lead through Daneil Pereira before Ryan Gould replied for the Caps midway through the second period; Vancouver had the better of the chances in the match but could not convert to a decisive advantage heading back to Montreal.
CF Montreal also moved ahead in the second leg at Stade Saputo through Prince Owusu, who stepped up to confirm a penalty after the hosts used a Football Video Support challenge card for a foul in the box; Owusu then doubled his tally just before the break after a second successful moment against the Whitecaps.
Vancouver responded with a double change at halftime in an attempt to overturn the deficit, and Emmanuel Sabbi scored in stoppage time with a first-time finish to bring hope late; however, the goal ultimately served as a consolation as CF Montreal held on during the final two minutes to secure their ninth trip to the Canadian Championship final.
For Vancouver, the elimination ended a stretch of repeated tournament success, while for Forge and CF Montreal it set up a final that will be held at Stade Saputo on 21 October, with the winning team earning a place in next year’s CONCACAF Champions Cup.
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