Format
Prior to 2010, the tournament consisted of the top three professional teams in Canada in a home and away series with the top team winning entry into the qualifying stage of the CONCACAF Champions League. These teams were the only Canadian teams in the two top professional soccer leagues, which for 2010 were Major League Soccer and the temporary USSF Division 2 Professional League. The North American Soccer League has since received provisional sanctioning as the new second-division league beginning in 2011.
When FC Edmonton joined the NASL in 2011, the tournament was expanded to include the four most important professional clubs in the country. The tournament now consists of two two-legged semifinals and a two-legged final. In the first semifinal of 2011, Toronto, as reigning champions, was assigned the first-place seed and played Edmonton, which was assigned the fourth seed as newcomers to the tournament. The two remaining teams, Montreal and Vancouver, faced off in the other semifinal. This was to be followed by a one-game final to be hosted by the highest remaining seed; but the Canadian Soccer Association decided to go with a two-legged final instead. The format was repeated in subsequent years with the previous year's league placement being used to seed the teams.
Read more about this topic: Canadian Championship