The 2025 CFL season kicks off in Regina as two teams that returned to the playoffs last season look to build on their momentum.
The Saskatchewan Roughriders will host the Ottawa Redblacks at Mosaic Stadium on June 5 to kick off the long road to the 112th Gray Cup on November 16 in Winnipeg. The league schedule was announced on Thursday.
Ottawa ended a four-season playoff drought in 2024 and aimed to take another step after losing to the Gray Cup champion Toronto Argonauts 58-38 in the East Division semifinals.
The Roughriders returned to the postseason two years later and defeated the BC Lions 28–19 in the Western Division semifinals before falling to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 38–22 in the division final.
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Toronto opens its Gray Cup title defense on June 6 with a game at 2023 champion Montreal.
Hamilton and BC entertain Edmonton in a June 7 doubleheader in Calgary to close out Week 1.
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The Roughriders host the Lions in the final regular-season game on October 25, making 2025 the first season that Saskatchewan hosts both the opener and finale.
The playoffs begin on November 1 with the East and West semifinals. The division finals will be played on November 8 with the Gray Cup the following week.
Other key dates include the traditional Labor Day weekend rivalry games, with Saskatchewan hosting Winnipeg on August 31 and Hamilton hosting Edmonton on September 1 and Toronto and Calgary entertaining.
The league also announced that the Stampeders would host the Blue Bombers in the first Stampede Bowl on July 3, one day before the start of the Calgary Stampede.
The 2025 schedule has 23 games that will start at or before 4 pm (local time). That’s a 44-percent increase from 2024, the league says.
The league also said no team will have a four-day turnaround in 2025 and none will have more than two five-day turnarounds. Clubs shall not play the visiting opponent more than three times in a bye-week.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
