2023 Canadian Premier League season

The 2023 Canadian Premier League season was the fifth season of the Canadian Premier League, the top level of Canadian soccer. The CPL Shield was won by Cavalry FC who finished first in the regular season by a 13 point margin. In the CPL final, Forge FC defeated Cavalry FC 2–1 in Hamilton to capture the North Star Cup. In doing so, Forge became league champions for the fourth time in five seasons. Both title winning clubs qualified for the newly expanded 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup.

Canadian Premier League

Season	2023
Dates	April 15 – October 7 (regular season)
Champions	Forge FC
CPL Shield	Cavalry FC
CONCACAF Champions Cup	Forge FC Cavalry FC
Matches played	112
Goals scored	292 (2.61 per match)
Top goalscorer	Ollie Bassett Myer Bevan (11 goals each)
Biggest home win	Pacific 4–1 York United (May 14) Cavalry 3–0 Forge (August 4) HFX Wanderers 3–0 Vancouver (August 12) HFX Wanderers 3–0 Valour (August 26) Cavalry 3–0 Pacific (October 7)
Biggest away win	Vancouver 0–5 Atlético Ottawa (May 13)
Highest scoring	Vancouver 3–6 Pacific (June 2)
Longest winning run	5 matches Cavalry (September 12 – October 7)
Longest unbeaten run	9 matches Pacific (May 6 – June 30) Cavalry (August 20 – October 7)
Longest winless run	8 matches HFX Wanderers (April 15 – June 3)
Longest losing run	3 matches (8 teams tied)
Highest attendance	7,042 Atlético Ottawa 1–1 HFX Wanderers (April 15)
Lowest attendance	822 York United 1–2 Vancouver (April 22)
Total attendance	421,247
Average attendance	3,865
← 2022 2024 → All statistics correct as of October 7, 2023.

Team and rule changes

Eight teams competed in the 2023 season with the debut of Vancouver FC, and the dissolution of FC Edmonton.^[1][2] The league's playoff structure changed to a five-team Page playoff system with four elimination matches and one non-elimination match.

The league's player compensation budget increased by $175,000 compared to 2022.^[3] Teams were required to spend between $750,000 and $1,025,000 on their 20–23 player rosters with a minimum of $30,000 per player. A team making full use of the U-21 salary rule could reach a compensation maximum of $1,125,000. In July 2023, the CPL introduced the Exceptional Youth Talent (EYT) designation which teams can apply to two U-18 players who are on standard contracts. EYT players do not count towards the 23 player roster limit and a portion of their salaries do not count towards the cap.^[4]

Teams

Stadiums and locations

See also: List of soccer stadiums in Canada

Forge

Cavalry

Pacific

Wanderers

York

Valour

Vancouver

Ottawa

Location of the 2023 Canadian Premier League teams

Club	Location	Stadium	Capacity
Atlético Ottawa	Ottawa	TD Place Stadium	24,000
Cavalry FC	Foothills County	ATCO Field	6,000[5]
Forge FC	Hamilton	Tim Hortons Field	23,218
HFX Wanderers FC	Halifax	Wanderers Grounds	6,500
Pacific FC	Langford	Starlight Stadium	6,000
Valour FC	Winnipeg	IG Field	33,000
Vancouver FC	Langley	Willoughby Community Park Stadium	6,560
York United FC	Toronto	York Lions Stadium	4,000

Personnel and sponsorship

Team	Head coach	Captain	Kit manufacturer	Shirt sponsor (chest)	Shirt sponsor (sleeve)
Atlético Ottawa	Carlos González	Carl Haworth	Macron	Maple Lodge Farms[6]	CIBC[7]
Cavalry	Tommy Wheeldon Jr.	Marco Carducci		WestJet
Forge	Bobby Smyrniotis	Kyle Bekker		Tim Hortons
HFX Wanderers	Patrice Gheisar	Andre Rampersad		Volkswagen
Pacific	James Merriman	Josh Heard		Telus[8]
Valour	Phillip Dos Santos	Andrew Jean-Baptiste		OneSoccer
Vancouver	Afshin Ghotbi	Callum Irving		CIBC[7]	Carlsberg 0.0%[9]
York United	Martin Nash	Roger Thompson		Carlsberg 0.0%[10]	CIBC[7]

Number of teams by province or territory

Rank	Province or territory	Number	Teams
1	Ontario	3	Atlético Ottawa Forge York United
2	British Columbia	2	Pacific Vancouver FC
3	Alberta	1	Cavalry
	Manitoba	1	Valour
	Nova Scotia	1	HFX Wanderers

Coaching changes

Team	Outgoing coach	Manner of departure	Date of vacancy	Position in table	Incoming coach	Date of appointment
HFX Wanderers	Stephen Hart	End of contract	October 13, 2022	Pre-season	Patrice Gheisar	November 30, 2022
Vancouver FC	N/A (inaugural season)				Afshin Ghotbi	November 2, 2022
FC Edmonton	Alan Koch	Team folded	November 21, 2022	N/A

Regular season

Format

The regular season was played as a quadruple round-robin, with each team playing the other seven teams twice at home and twice away between April 15 and October 7. The regular season winner (the team ranked first after all 28 games) qualified for the 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup and the top five teams qualified for the playoffs.

Standings

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Playoff qualification
1	Cavalry (S)	28	16	7	5	46	27	+19	55	First semifinal
2	Forge (C)	28	11	9	8	39	32	+7	42[a]
3	HFX Wanderers	28	11	9	8	39	32	+7	42[a]	Quarterfinal
4	Pacific	28	11	7	10	42	35	+7	40	Play-in round
5	York United	28	11	5	12	35	44	−9	38
6	Atlético Ottawa	28	10	6	12	38	34	+4	36
7	Vancouver	28	8	5	15	28	50	−22	29
8	Valour	28	6	8	14	25	38	−13	26

Source: CanPL
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Total wins; 3) Goal difference; 4) Goals scored; 5) Away goal differential; 6) Away goals scored; 7) Home goal differential; 8) Home goals scored; 9) Total minutes played by U-21 players; 10) Coin toss (2 teams tied) or drawing of lots (3+ teams tied).^[11]
(C) Champion (qualified to Champions Cup); (S) CPL Shield winner (qualified to Champions Cup)
Notes:

1. Tie resolved by away goal differential; Forge: +4, Wanderers: −2

Results

Home \ Away	ATO	CAV	FOR	HFX	PAC	VAL	VFC	YRK
Atlético Ottawa		1–0	0–1	1–1	1–4	2–0	1–0	0–1
	1–2	0–0	2–0	1–1	0–1	3–1	3–3
Cavalry	2–0		1–1	2–2	1–0	1–1	3–1	2–1
0–2		3–0	1–0	3–0	2–1	2–1	2–1
Forge	4–3	2–2		1–1	0–1	3–2	0–0	1–2
0–1	0–0		1–1	3–1	1–1	2–0	3–3
HFX Wanderers	1–0	3–1	2–1		2–1	2–0	1–1	0–3
3–2	1–2	2–1		1–2	3–0	3–0	1–2
Pacific	2–2	1–1	0–1	1–1		1–0	1–0	4–1
0–1	1–2	0–2	1–1		2–1	1–2	1–0
Valour	1–1	0–2	2–0	0–0	1–1		1–0	1–1
1–3	3–2	2–3	0–1	0–3		0–1	1–2
Vancouver	0–5	1–1	2–0	2–1	3–6	0–0		1–2
2–1	1–5	0–3	2–1	3–2	0–0		1–2
York United	2–1	1–0	0–1	2–2	0–0	0–2	1–2
1–0	0–1	0–4	0–2	1–4	1–3	2–1

Source: CanPL.ca
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

U-21 minute standings

In order to qualify for the playoffs, clubs were also required to accumulate at least 2,000 minutes played by U-21 domestic players during the regular season. Additionally, only 1,000 of these minutes could be played by players on loan from other clubs.^[12] Clubs that do not meet the 2,000 minute threshold may also incur financial penalties from the league.

Pos	Team	Pld	Min	Playoff eligibility
1	Vancouver	28	5,203	Eligible
2	Valour	28	4,390
3	Pacific (Q)	28	2,674
4	Forge (Q)	28	2,052
5	Cavalry (Q)	28	2,044
6	Atlético Ottawa	28	2,034
7	HFX Wanderers (Q)	28	2,032
8	York United (Q)	28	2,006

Source: CanPL
(Q) Qualified for the playoffs

Playoffs

The 2023 season used the Page playoff system. The team who finished first in the regular-season table would play the team who finished second, and the winner would host the final. The fourth- and fifth-placed teams would play in a play-in round, and the winner of this game would then play the third-placed team in a quarter-final. The quarter-final winner would play the loser of the game between the first and second-placed teams for the other spot in the final.^[13]

Bracket

	Play-in round					First semifinal					Second semifinal					Final
						October 14										October 28
						1	Cavalry FC	1								2	Forge FC	2
						2	Forge FC	2			October 21					1	Cavalry FC	1
											1	Cavalry FC	2
						Quarterfinal					4	Pacific FC	1
						October 14
	October 11					3	HFX Wanderers FC	0
	4	Pacific FC	1			4	Pacific FC	1
	5	York United FC	0

Matches

Play-in round

Pacific FC v York United FC

October 11	Pacific FC	1–0	York United FC	Langford, British Columbia
7:00 pm PDT (10:00 pm EDT)	Reid 90+1'	Report		Stadium: Starlight Stadium Attendance: 2,780

Quarterfinal

HFX Wanderers FC v Pacific FC

October 14	HFX Wanderers FC	0–1	Pacific FC	Halifax, Nova Scotia
3:00 pm ADT (2:00 pm EDT)		Report	Fernandez 37' (o.g.)	Stadium: Wanderers Grounds Attendance: 6,254

First semifinal

Cavalry FC v Forge FC

October 14 Cavalry–Forge rivalry	Cavalry FC	1–2	Forge FC	Foothills County, Alberta
3:00 PM MDT (5:00 PM EDT)	Mason 80'	Report	Hojabrpour 29' Bekker 50'	Stadium: ATCO Field Attendance: 4,385

Second semifinal

Cavalry FC v Pacific FC

October 21	Cavalry FC	2–1	Pacific FC	Foothills County, Alberta
2:00 PM MDT (4:00 PM EDT)	Klomp 27' Musse 61'	Report	Manneh 66'	Stadium: ATCO Field Attendance: 4,066

Final

Main article: 2023 Canadian Premier League final

October 28, 2023

6:00 pm ET

Forge FC	2–1 (a.e.t.)	Cavalry FC
Badibanga 105+2' Borges 111'	Recap Report	Musse 101'

Tim Hortons Field, Hamilton, Ontario

Attendance: 13,925

Referee: Marie-Soleil Beaudoin

Attendance

As of end of regular season

Pos	Team	Total	High	Low	Average	Change
1	HFX Wanderers	81,951	6,413	4,907	5,854	+0.5%†
2	Forge FC	74,458	6,917	3,827	5,318	+55.0%†
3	Atlético Ottawa	69,423	7,044	3,074	4,959	+21.9%†
4	Cavalry FC	57,265	4,990	3,189	4,090	+17.1%†
5	Pacific FC	45,376	4,825	2,455	3,241	+2.0%†
6	Valour FC	45,084	4,036	2,665	3,220	+3.5%†
7	Vancouver FC	39,030	6,177	2,099	2,788	n/a†
8	York United	17,382	1,783	822	1,242	+0.6%†
	League total	429,969	7,044	822	3,839	+20.9%†

Source:

Statistical leaders

See also: Canadian Premier League records and statistics § Career player records

Top scorers

Rank	Player	Club	Goals[14]
1	Ollie Bassett	Atlético Ottawa	11
	Myer Bevan	Cavalry
3	Terran Campbell	Forge	10
	Woobens Pacius	Forge
5	Massimo Ferrin	HFX Wanderers	8
6	Samuel Salter	Atlético Ottawa	7
	Ayman Sellouf	Pacific
8	Molham Babouli	York United	6
	Gabriel Bitar	Vancouver
	Sergio Camargo	Cavalry
	Mikaël Cantave	Cavalry / Vancouver
	Osaze De Rosario	York United
	Shaan Hundal	Vancouver
	Daniel Nimick	HFX Wanderers
	Kévin dos Santos	York United

Top assists

Rank	Player	Club	Assists[15]
1	Ayman Sellouf	Pacific	8
2	Kyle Bekker	Forge	7
3	Lorenzo Callegari	HFX Wanderers	6
	Ali Musse	Cavalry
5	Manny Aparicio	Pacific	5
	Aidan Daniels	HFX Wanderers
	Jérémy Gagnon-Laparé	York United
	Kian Williams	Valour
9	Myer Bevan	Cavalry	4
	Gabriel Bitar	Vancouver
	Tristan Borges	Forge
	Jesse Daley	Cavalry
	Carl Haworth	Atlético Ottawa
	Wesley Timoteo	HFX Wanderers

Clean sheets

Rank	Player	Club	Clean sheets[16]
1	Triston Henry	Forge	9
2	Marco Carducci	Cavalry	8
3	Yann Fillion	HFX Wanderers	7
	Nathan Ingham	Atlético Ottawa
	Rayane Yesli	Valour

Hat-tricks

Player	For	Against	Result	Date	Ref
Terran Campbell	Forge	York United	4–0 (A)	July 9	[17]
Woobens Pacius	Forge	Vancouver	3–0 (A)	September 3	[18]

Awards

Canadian Premier League Awards

The 2023 Canadian Premier League Awards were held in Hamilton, Ontario, on October 26, 2023.^[19]

Award	Recipient	Finalist
Golden Boot	Myer Bevan (Cavalry FC) Ollie Bassett (Atlético Ottawa)	N/A
Golden Glove	Triston Henry (Forge FC)	Marco Carducci (Cavalry FC) Rayane Yesli (Valour FC)
Coach of the Year	Tommy Wheeldon Jr. (Cavalry FC)	Patrice Gheisar (Halifax Wanderers) Bobby Smyrniotis (Forge FC)
Player of the Year	Daan Klomp (Cavalry FC)	Manny Aparicio (Pacific FC) Kyle Bekker (Forge FC) Lorenzo Callegari (Halifax Wanderers) Ali Musse (Cavalry FC)
Best Under 21 Canadian Player of the Year	Matteo De Brienne (Valour FC)	James Cameron (Vancouver FC) Kwasi Poku (Forge FC)
Defender of the Year	Daan Klomp (Cavalry FC)	Manjrekar James (Forge FC) Daniel Nimick (Halifax Wanderers)
Players' Player of the Year	Ali Musse (Cavalry FC)	Kyle Bekker (Forge FC) Daan Klomp (Cavalry FC)

Canadian Premier League Best XI

Goalkeeper	Defenders	Midfielders	Forwards	Ref
Triston Henry (Forge)	Daan Klomp (Cavalry) Manjrekar James (Forge) Daniel Nimick (HFX)	Lorenzo Callegari (HFX) Manny Aparicio (Pacific) Kyle Bekker (Forge) Ollie Bassett (Ottawa)	Béni Badibanga (Forge) Terran Campbell (Forge) Ali Musse (Cavalry)	[20]

Team of the Week

The Gatorade Team of the Week was selected by the CPL's Kristian Jack and OneSoccer's Oliver Platt.

Team of the Week
Dates	Goalkeeper	Defenders	Midfielders	Forwards	Ref
April 15–16	Irving (Vancouver)	Ferrazzo (HFX) Nimick (HFX) Samaké (Valour) Vliet (Pacific)	Callegari (HFX) Ohin (Valour) Jensen (Forge) Aparicio (Pacific)	Bevan (Cavalry) Niyongabire (Valour)	[21]
April 22–23	Irving (Vancouver)	Bakare (Vancouver) Espejo (Ottawa) Romeo (Vancouver) de Brienne (Valour)	Gutiérrez (Valour) Young (Pacific) Sellouf (Pacific) Bitar (Vancouver) Ferrin (HFX)	Hundal (Vancouver)	[22]
April 29–30	Giantsopoulos (York)	Gee (York) James (Forge) Morgan (Forge)	Baquero (Valour) Chung (Vancouver) Sissoko (Forge) Sandoval (Vancouver)	Musse (Cavalry) Babouli (York) Collomb (HFX)	[23]
May 5–7	Henry (Forge)	Mukumbilwa (Pacific) Đidić (Pacific) Bakare (Vancouver)	Sellouf (Pacific) Aparicio (Pacific) Campbell (Valour) Borges (Forge)	Daniels (Pacific) Campbell (Forge) Heard (Pacific)	[24]
May 13–14	Melvin (Ottawa)	de Brienne (Valour) Đidić (Pacific) Meilleur-Giguère (Pacific) Assi (Ottawa)	Verhoven (Ottawa) Young (Pacific) Bassett (Ottawa) Musse (Cavalry)	Hamilton (Forge) Reid (Pacific)	[25]
May 19–21	Baskett (Pacific)	Crawford (Vancouver) Soumaoro (York) Klomp (Cavalry) Kwak (Vancouver)	Daley (Cavalry) Young (Pacific) Musse (Cavalry) Camargo (Cavalry) Niyongabire (Valour)	Ricci (York)	[26]
May 27–28	Henry (Forge)	Faye (York) Gee (York) Martínez (Vancouver) Fernandez (HFX)	Callegari (HFX) Young (Pacific) Musse (Cavalry) Daniels (HFX) Bayiha (York)	Reid (Pacific)	[27]
May 31–June 4	Melvin (Ottawa)	de Brienne (Valour) Soumaoro (York) Espejo (Ottawa) Baquero (Valour)	Bekker (Forge) Toussaint (Pacific) Bassett (Ottawa)	Sellouf (Pacific) Tahid (Vancouver) Reid (Pacific)	[28]
June 9–11	Baskett (Pacific)	Loughrey (HFX) Mourdoukoutas (York) Meilleur-Giguère (Pacific) Grant (York)	Gagnon-Laparé (York) Watson (HFX) Ntignee (Cavalry) Daniels (HFX) Reid (Pacific)	Bevan (Cavalry)	[29]
June 16–18	Yesli (Valour)	Campbell (Valour) Đidić (Pacific) Pianelli (Valour) Haworth (Ottawa)	Daniels (HFX) Young (Pacific) Bassett (Ottawa)	Ponce (Valour) Salter (Ottawa) Coimbra (HFX)	[30]
June 20–25	Irving (Vancouver)	White (Vancouver) Samaké (Valour) Đidić (Pacific)	Sellouf (Pacific) Sánchez (Valour) Gutiérrez (Valour) Ntignee (Cavalry)	Babouli (York) Campbell (Forge) Daniels (HFX)	[31]
June 30–July 2	Carducci (Cavalry)	Gee (York) Klomp (Cavalry) Nimick (HFX) Acosta (Ottawa)	Gagnon-Laparé (York) Bekker (Forge) Bassett (Ottawa)	Sellouf (Pacific) Ferrin (HFX) Bayiha (York)	[32]
July 7–9	Henry (Forge)	Aird (Cavalry) Romeo (Vancouver) Klomp (Cavalry) Sacko (Ottawa)	Bassett (Ottawa) Bekker (Forge) Kobza (Cavalry)	Borges (Forge) Cantave (Cavalry) Campbell (Forge)	[33]
July 12–16	Giantsopoulos (York)	Aird (Cavalry) Espejo (Ottawa) Meilleur-Giguère (Pacific) Acosta (Ottawa)	Callegari (HFX) Bekker (Forge) Zapater (Ottawa)	Haworth (Ottawa) Campbell (Forge) Ferrin (HFX)	[34]
July 21–23	Henry (Forge)	Klomp (Cavalry) James (Forge) Nimick (HFX)	Choinière (Forge) Bekker (Forge) Callegari (HFX) Ferrari (York)	Musse (Cavalry) Collomb (HFX) Ricci (York)	[35]
July 28–30	Henry (Forge)	Niba (Ottawa) Ouimette (Ottawa) Fernandez (HFX)	Morgan (Forge) Bekker (Forge) Callegari (HFX) Dada-Luke (Pacific)	Salter (Ottawa) Aparicio (Pacific) Morelli (HFX)	[36]
August 4–7	Yesli (Valour)	Cameron (Vancouver) Klomp (Cavalry) Đidić (Pacific) Haworth (Ottawa)	Ntignee (Cavalry) Young (Pacific) Camargo (Cavalry) Aparicio (Pacific) Bayiha (York)	Heard (Pacific)	[37]
August 11–13	Ingham (Ottawa)	Timoteo (HFX) Walker (Ottawa) Nimick (HFX)	Williams (Valour) Bekker (Forge) Gutiérrez (Valour) Santos (York)	Ferrin (HFX) Morelli (HFX) Akio (Cavalry)	[38]
August 18–20	Ingham (Ottawa)	Loughrey (HFX) Klomp (Cavalry) Nimick (HFX)	Kamdem (Cavalry) Iliadis (Ottawa) Daley (Cavalry) Assi (Ottawa)	Badibanga (Forge) Bassett (Ottawa) Bitar (Vancouver)	[39]
August 25–27	Fillion (HFX)	Acosta (Ottawa) Klomp (Cavalry) Nimick (HFX) Kobza (Cavalry)	Gagnon-Laparé (York) Achinioti-Jönsson (Forge) Omar (HFX)	Bitar (Vancouver) Morelli (HFX) Ricci (York)	[40]
September 2–4	De Rosario (York)	Mourdoukoutas (York) Thompson (York) Klomp (Cavalry)	Sellouf (Pacific) Trafford (Cavalry) Achinioti-Jönsson (Forge) Akio (Cavalry)	Camargo (Cavalry) Pacius (Forge) Aparicio (Pacific)	[41]
September 8–9	Yesli (Valour)	Ferrazzo (HFX) Henry (HFX) Klomp (Cavalry) Campbell (Valour)	Cameron (Vancouver) Wilson (HFX) Gutiérrez (Valour) Shome (Cavalry)	Bitar (Vancouver) Cantave (Vancouver)	[42]

Monthly Awards

Month	Manager of the Month		Player of the Month		Goalkeeper of the Month		References
	Manager	Club	Player	Club	Goalkeeper	Club
April	Bobby Smyrniotis	Forge FC	Diego Gutiérrez	Valour FC	Callum Irving	Vancouver FC	[43][44][45]
May	James Merriman	Pacific FC	Sean Young	Pacific FC	Triston Henry	Forge FC	[46][47][48]
June	Patrice Gheisar	HFX Wanderers FC	Ayman Sellouf	Pacific FC	Rayane Yesli	Pacific FC	[49][50][51]
July	Carlos González	Atlético Ottawa	Kyle Bekker	Forge FC	Triston Henry	Forge FC	[52][53][54]
August	Tommy Wheeldon Jr.	Cavalry FC	Daniel Nimick	HFX Wanderers FC	Nathan Ingham	Atlético Ottawa	[55][56][57]
September	Tommy Wheeldon Jr.	Cavalry FC	Daan Klomp	Cavalry FC	Marco Carducci	Cavalry FC	[58][59][60]
October	Bobby Smyrniotis	Forge FC	Ali Musse	Cavalry FC	Triston Henry	Forge FC	[61][62][63]

Player transfers

Main article: List of Canadian Premier League transfers 2023

U Sports Draft

The 2023 CPL–U Sports Draft took place on December 15, 2022. Each team made two picks in the draft for a total of 16 selections with expansion club Vancouver FC selecting first.^[64]

Foreign players

Main article: List of foreign CPL players

Canadian Premier League teams can sign a maximum of seven international players, out of which only five can be in the starting line-up for each match. At least 50% of a team's international players must be U-23 at all times. If a club wishes to utilize the maximum 7 slots, the 7th player must be U-21.^[65]

The following international players were signed for the 2023 season. Note that players may be considered domestic for CPL purposes (Canadian citizens, permanent residents, or refugees) while still representing other countries in international competitions.^[66]

Club	Player 1	Player 2	Player 3	Player 4	Player 5	Player 6	Player 7	Former players
Atlético Ottawa	Miguel Acosta	Ollie Bassett	Diego Espejo	Gianni dos Santos	Aboubakary Sacko	Alberto Zapater	Rubén del Campo
Cavalry	Daan Klomp	Joe Mason	Roberto Alarcón	Jesse Daley	Udoka Chima	Tom Field		José Escalante
Forge	Alexander Achinioti-Jönsson	Malik Owolabi-Belewu	Rezart Rama	Béni Badibanga
HFX Wanderers	Andre Rampersad	João Morelli	Lifumpa Mwandwe	Lorenzo Callegari	Callum Watson	Théo Collomb		Kosi Nwafornso
Pacific	Djenairo Daniels	Bradley Vliet	Ayman Sellouf	David Brazão	Kekuta Manneh
Valour	Andrew Jean-Baptiste	Walter Ponce	Kevin Rendón	Pacifique Niyongabire	Kian Williams	Jaime Siaj
Vancouver	Nicky Gyimah	Min-jae Kwak	Ibrahim Bakare	Alejandro Díaz	Renan Garcia			Emmanuel Robe Gael Sandoval Eugene Martínez
York United	Tass Mourdoukoutas	Kévin dos Santos	Brem Soumaoro					Lassana Faye Oussama Alou

Players in italic denote players who were new to their respective clubs for the 2023 season, sorted chronologically by their announcement. Players in Bold indicate players who have represented their national teams at the senior level.

2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup

Forge FC and Cavalry FC both earned berths in the newly expanded 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup as CPL champions and regular season champions respectively.^[67] The newly expanded tournament has teams from across North America, Central America, and the Caribbean compete for a spot in the FIFA Club World Cup.^[68] Qualification for the CONCACAF Champions Cup was also available to CPL clubs if they won the Canadian Championship; however, the 2023 Canadian Championship was not won by a CPL team.^[68][69]

Method	Qualified team
CPL champion	Forge FC
CPL regular season winner	Cavalry FC