Canada Soccer announced the competition format on February 22. The tournament consists of four rounds with the quarter-finals and semi-finals being two-legs and the preliminary round and the finals being single legs. The winner of the 2023 Canadian Championship, Vancouver Whitecaps FC, and runner-up CF Montréal, both received byes to the quarter-finals. The remaining 12 teams began the competition in the preliminary round starting in April. Hosting privileges up to the semi-finals will be determined based on a three-year Canadian Championship ranking index.[1][2]
An earlier report suggested that Canada Soccer was reviewing a Canadian Premier League format proposal that would include a May start date, byes for Vancouver Whitecaps FC (2023 Canadian Championship winners) and Forge FC (2023 Canadian Premier League champions), and replace the draw with set regional matchups.[3][4]
^Victoria Highlanders FC had qualified for the Canadian Championship as the League1 BC regular season winners. However, on April 8, 2024, the club announced that it had withdrawn from the competition.[5][6] On April 19, 2024, they were replaced by TSS Rovers FC.[7]
Ranking Index
Ahead of this edition of the competition, Canada Soccer created the Canadian Championship Club Ranking Index. The index uses a weighted ranking of the past three years' competitive results in the Canadian Championship. Each professional team receives its own ranking while League1 Canada's component leagues each receive a league ranking that is used by their representative team. In the preliminary round, the team with the highest ranking will host the single knockout game; in the quarter and semi-final rounds, the team with the highest ranking will host the second game of the two-legged tie.[1][2]
Draw
Canada Soccer will be conducting two draws to determine the matchups of the tournament: one draw to determine the preliminary round and quarter-final matchups, and another to determine the semi-final and final rounds.[8]
First draw
The first draw was held on February 23, 2024 and was conducted behind closed doors. Canada Soccer placed each participating team in the following pots. Prior to the main draw, one team from the east pot was randomly drawn to play in the west bracket. They were automatically scheduled to host Valour FC in the preliminary round due to geographical considerations.[8]
^Victoria Highlanders FC withdrew from the competition on April 8, 2024, after the first draw had been completed. They were replaced by the TSS Rovers FC.[5][6]
The second draw will take place on May 29 during halftime of the Pacific FC vs. Atlético Ottawa quarter-final second-leg match.[9] It will determine the matchups for the semi-finals and hosting rights for the single-leg final.[9][8]
Schedule
The preliminary round schedule was announced on March 11;[10] the quarter-final schedule was announced on May 3.[11]
Round
Dates
Preliminary round
April 23 – May 2
Quarter-finals
Leg 1
May 7–8
Leg 2
May 21–29
Semi-finals
Leg 1
July 9–10
Leg 2
August 27–28
Final
September 24–25
Bracket
For two-legged ties, the team listed above in the bracket will host the second match.
OneSoccer, a Canadian video streaming service owned by Mediapro, had been the Canadian Championship's broadcaster in recent editions of the tournament.[12][13] This status was put into doubt on January 25, 2024 when Canadian Soccer Business launched legal action against Mediapro, taking back the broadcast rights of several properties including the Canadian Championship.[14] However, on April 2, OneSoccer began promoting a "2024 Season Pass" that included "exclusive access" to the Canadian Championship, suggesting a breakthrough had been reached.[15] The following day, Canadian Soccer Business issued a statement saying that they and Mediapro were "are on a positive path toward resolving our differences and expect to come to a finalized agreement in the near future."[15]