League1 Canada (L1C; ) is a national

pro–am Pro–am (or pro/am, pro am, ProAm; a contraction of professional–amateur) refers to a sporting event where both professional career athletes and amateurs compete. It could also refer to a collaboration between professionals and amateu ...

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

organization in Canada. It consists of four regional leagues;

League1 Alberta League1 Alberta (L1AB) is a semi-professional men's and women's soccer league in Alberta, Canada. The league is sanctioned by the Canadian Soccer Association and the Alberta Soccer Association as a third division pro–am league in the Canadi ...

League1 British Columbia League1 British Columbia (L1BC) is a Semi-professional sports, semi-professional men's and women's association football, soccer league in British Columbia, Canada. The league is sanctioned by the Canadian Soccer Association and the British Colu ...

League1 Ontario League1 Ontario (L1ON) is a semi-professional men's soccer league in Ontario, Canada. The league is sanctioned by the Canadian Soccer Association and the Ontario Soccer Association. League1 Ontario consists of three tiers – League1 Premier ...

, and

Ligue1 Québec Ligue1 Québec (L1QC) is a Semi-professional sports, semi-professional men's Association football, soccer league in Quebec, Canada. Founded in 2011 as the Première ligue de soccer du Québec, the league is sanctioned by the Canadian Soccer Asso ...

with each league operating men's and women's divisions. L1C is overseen by Canada Soccer Business, in partnership with participating provincial member federations. League1 Canada is the third tier of the

Canadian soccer league system The Canadian soccer league system, also called the Canadian soccer pyramid, is a term used in soccer to describe the structure of the league system in Canada. The governing body of soccer in the country is the Canadian Soccer Association (CSA), ...

which is the highest level of pro–am soccer in the country. It is below the

Canadian Premier League The Canadian Premier League (CPL or CanPL; ) is a professional Association football, soccer league in Canada and the highest level of the Canadian soccer league system. The league comprises eight teams, from five of provinces and territories of ...

which is the nation's top-tier professional league. Winners of each provincial league gain entry to the

Canadian Championship The Canadian Championship () is an annual soccer tournament contested by Canadian professional teams. The winner is awarded the Voyageurs Cup and a berth in the CONCACAF Champions Cup. It is contested by Major League Soccer sides Toronto FC, Va ...

the following season alongside

teams and Canadian teams from

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

History

In 2011, the

Première ligue de soccer du Québec A premiere, also spelled première, (from , ) is the debut (first public presentation) of a work, i.e. play, film, dance, musical composition, or even a performer in that work. History Raymond F. Betts attributes the introduction of the film ...

was established to begin play in 2012, marking the return of semi-professional soccer in the province of Quebec. In 2013,

was founded as a semi-professional league by the

Ontario Soccer Association Ontario Soccer is a Canadian soccer organization. Established in 1901, Ontario Soccer is one of the oldest sports organizations in Canada. Ontario Soccer is composed of over 350,000 players, as well as coaches, referees, and administrators. Si ...

to begin play in 2014 with a men's division, followed by a women's division in 2015. After multiple years of consideration,

began play in 2022 in both the male and female divisions. On March 31, 2022, League1 Canada was announced as an alliance of the three existing division three pro-am leagues, aligning the national soccer pathway. L1O and L1BC adopted new logos that day, while the PLSQ transitioned to a common logo and rebranded to

in 2023. Dino Rossi became the first league president in May 2022. From August 12 to 14, 2022, the inaugural

Women's Inter-Provincial Championship The Women's Inter-Provincial Championship is an annual soccer tournament organized by League1 Canada. Established in 2022, it is contested by the champions of each of the League1 Canada member leagues. The winner is considered to be the national c ...

was held in

Laval, Quebec Laval is a city in Quebec, Canada. It is in the southwest of the province, north of Montreal. It is the largest suburb of Montreal, the third-largest city in the province after Montreal and Quebec City, and the thirteenth largest city in Can ...

. The competition was a four-team knockout tournament featuring the champions of each of the three divisions, as well as an additional team from the PLSQ (allocated as host).

A.S. Blainville Association de Soccer de Blainville, commonly referred to as A.S. Blainville, is a Canadian semi-professional soccer club based in the Montreal suburb of Blainville, Quebec, that plays in Ligue1 Québec. They are the only club to have participate ...

won the inaugural title. The 2023 tournament was held in British Columbia. In March 2023,

was announced with a five-team exhibition series to be played that summer. The league launched officially in 2024 season with eight teams participating in the inaugural season. In June 2023, League1 Prairies was announced with plans for the league to operate between

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

and

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

; the league plans to launch for the 2025 season. Similarly in early 2023, League1 Canada also announced exploring expanding with a multi-provincial League1 Atlantic for

Atlantic Canada Atlantic Canada, also called the Atlantic provinces (), is the list of regions of Canada, region of Eastern Canada comprising four provinces: New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. As of 2021, the landma ...

in March 2023, but a timeframe for its formal expansion was not announced. An annual showcase tournament, known as the

Maritime Super Series The Maritime Super Series is an annual soccer exhibition tournament contested by three teams in the Maritimes, Canada. The competition is a showcase series for a potential semi-professional League1 Canada competition for teams in the region, t ...

, began play in 2023 as a stepping stone towards the formation of a formal league. On December 7, 2023, League1 Canada announced it had reached an agreement with the

Alberta Soccer Association The Alberta Soccer Association (ASA) is the governing body for soccer in the Canadian province of Alberta. The association was formed in 1911 as the ''Alberta Football Association''. The ASA is a member of the national governing body, the Cana ...

to add League1 Alberta to its national alliance of Division III Pro-Am leagues. Later that week, Dino Rossi resigned from his role as League1 Canada president.

Provincial competitions

Leagues

Each member league determines their own season format and schedules. In 2024, League1 British Columbia and the League1 Alberta men's division determined their league champions via a playoff tournament, while all other leagues determined their champions via regular season standings.

League cups

Not to be confused with a league's playoff phase.

Other secondary competitions

Inter-provincial competitions

Women

The

is a four-team knockout tournament organized by League1 Canada. It is contested annually by the four provincial league champions. The tournament is held over a single weekend at the end of the season and determines a national champion. The winner of the 2023 tournament qualified for the

2024–25 CONCACAF W Champions Cup The 2024–25 CONCACAF W Champions Cup was the first season of the CONCACAF W Champions Cup, the annual continental women's football club competition organized by CONCACAF. The winner qualified for both the inaugural 2026 FIFA Women's Champio ...

Men

The winners of the men's provincial leagues qualify for the following year's

, organized by the

Canadian Soccer Association The Canadian Soccer Association (; branded as Canada Soccer) is the governing body for soccer in Canada. Headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario, the federation is a full member of FIFA and governs Canadian soccer at the international, professional, a ...

. There are plans for a Men's Inter-Provincial Championship to begin in 2024. From 2014 to 2016, prior to the formation of League1 Canada, the winners of

and the

(now Ligue1 Québec) participated in a similar competition known as the Inter-Provincial Cup.

Notes

References

{{Navboxes, title=Member leagues , list= {{League1 Alberta {{League1 British Columbia {{Navboxes, title=League1 Ontario , titlestyle = background: #ccccff , list= {{League1 Ontario {{League1 Ontario (women) {{Navboxes, title=

, titlestyle = background: #ccccff , list= {{Première ligue de soccer du Québec – Men's Division {{Première ligue de soccer du Québec – Women's Division League1 League1 Recurring sporting events established in 2022 2022 establishments in Canada Sports leagues established in 2022

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...