TORONTO — The 2025 CFL season will kick off in Regina as two teams who returned to the playoffs last season will look to build on their momentum.
The Saskatchewan Roughriders will welcome the Ottawa Redblacks on June 5 at Mosaic Stadium to start the long road to the 112th Grey Cup on Nov. 16 in Winnipeg, according to the league schedule released Thursday.
Ottawa ended a four-season playoff drought in 2024 and aims to take another step after losing 58-38 to the Grey Cup champion Toronto Argonauts in the East Division semifinal.
The Roughriders returned after two years out of the post-season and defeated the B.C. Lions 28-19 in the Western Division semifinal before falling 38-22 to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the division final.
Toronto kicks off its Grey Cup title defence with a game at 2023 champion Montreal on June 6.
Calgary hosts Hamilton and B.C. entertains Edmonton in a June 7 doubleheader to cap Week 1. Winnipeg starts with a bye before opening its season at home June 12 against the Lions.
The Roughriders host the Lions on Oct. 25 in the final regular-season game, making 2025 the first season Saskatchewan has hosted both the opener and the finale.
The playoffs begin Nov. 1 with the East and West semifinals. The division finals will be played Nov. 8 with the Grey Cup the following week.
Other key dates include the traditional Labour Day weekend rivalry games, with Saskatchewan hosting Winnipeg on Aug. 31 and Hamilton welcoming Toronto and Calgary entertaining Edmonton on Sept. 1.
The league also announced the Stampeders will host the Blue Bombers in the first-ever Stampede Bowl, on July 3, a day before the Calgary Stampede gets underway.
The 2025 schedule features 23 games that will kick off at 4 p.m. (local time) or earlier. The league says that's a 44-per-cent increase over 2024.
The league also said no teams have a four-day turnaround in 2025 and none have more than two five-day turnarounds. Clubs will not play an opponent coming off a bye week more than three times.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 16, 2025.
The Canadian Press
