TORONTO — With WestJet Canada Day Weekend just around the corner, what better way to celebrate the holiday weekend than with one of the most unique things about our country; Canadian football.
The game we know and love has 12 players on a 150-yard long, 65-yard wide field, which boasts 20-yard end zones and uprights on the goal line. And don’t forget about the three downs, pre-snap motion (the waggle), the fan-favourite rouge, and the big men in the trenches lining up a yard off the ball. It’s so uniquely us.
As we get set for a weekend full of exciting Canadian football, CFL.ca’s writers offered up their favourite aspects of the Canadian game, their favourite Canadian players, and their early picks to win Most Outstanding Canadian.
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WHAT IS THE BEST ASPECT OF THE CANADIAN GAME?
Don Landry: I just love the 20-yard end zones. Keeps the playbook opened up even if you’re scrimmaging from the doorstep. The defence has to respect that even on goal-to-go from the one, a 20-yard pass is still in play. A big, beautiful, Hudson Bay-sized end zone and the possibilities it provides is my favourite thing about Canada’s game.
Kristina Costabile: I love the three downs. Offences are forced to be more aggressive and take more risks, usually resulting in more passing plays and/or big plays. Exciting!!
Jamie Nye: The final three minutes is the best part of the CFL. You’re never out of it and you can’t take your foot off the gas. Wild finishes are common and can turn average games into classics.
Pat Steinberg: The unpredictability! We see it week after week after week, but we know leads aren’t safe and we know things can turn on a dime even in the final minutes of a game.
Matthew Cauz: That it looks and feels different than the NFL or the NCAA. That is not a knock at all, I love college football on Saturday and the NFL on Sunday but variety is the spice of life and I love watching a game that truly feels unique.
José Ferraz: How dynamic the passing game is, especially the waggle. It allows playmakers to fully display their athleticism and makes it for a very entertaining battle both physically and mentally between receivers and defensive backs.
Vicki Hall: The wide-open space and room for the fleet-of-foot to run. So entertaining, so rewarding. And I love that the more diminutive players shine on the Canadian field of play.
WHO IS YOUR EARLY PICK FOR MOST OUTSTANDING CANADIAN?
Landry: Nathan Rourke. Rough start for the Lions and for Rourke, but I remain pretty certain that by the end of the season, the team will be in the thick of it and the BC quarterback will be in position to make strong cases for both MOC and MOP.
Costabile: Tyson Philpot. It was supposed to be his year last year before his season-ending injury and I think he’ll make up for it in 2025 even more than he already has.
Nye: There are already injuries to Rourke, Emilus and Oliveira, but hopefully not too long term. My hunch it will be one of those three but if their injuries persist, I’ll go with Tyson Philpot in Montreal.
Steinberg: Tyson Philpot. He would have contended for this award last year if not for an injury sustained in Week 10. With a pair of touchdown catches and 186 receiving yards already this season, Philpot is showing once again he’s one of the league’s most dynamic receivers, Canadian or not.
Cauz: If it is strictly about what we have seen up till now I’m sticking with Adeyemi-Berglund. However, by the end of the year, as long as Rourke is healthy, he should be the odds-on favourite to win it.
Ferraz: I’ll go with Tyson Philpot. It’s easy to forget he’s coming off a season-ending injury and is just now starting to develop his chemistry with quarterback Davis Alexander. Once these two are firmly on the same page, the sky is the limit.
Hall: Injuries will play a huge factor, but I’ll go with Nathan Rourke. The Victoria, B.C. product will get more comfortable as the weeks go by, and I expect we’ll see a return to the dominance we saw in 2022.
WHO IS THE BEST CANADIAN PLAYER IN THE CFL RIGHT NOW?
Landry: My vote for best Canadian player in the CFL, right now, goes to Montreal Alouettes defensive end Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund. He was terrific in 2024 and he has been dominant to start the 2025 season. Tied for the league lead in sacks, he’s been around the ball constantly, with a fumble recovery touchdown to his credit. Everything’s coming up Isaac!
Costabile: I’m going with defensive end Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund. The Alouette defender has nabbed a pair of fumble recoveries, including one for a TD, and a trio of sacks (tied for league-lead). According to PFF, he’s also sixth-best in the CFL in pressures with 10 through three weeks of play.
Nye: I think the best Canadian is still Brady Oliveira. That’s who I voted for TSN’s Top 50 list and I’m sticking to it!
Steinberg: It has to be Brady Oliveira of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, with some tough competition. He’s the league’s best tailback and the reigning MOP.
Cauz: Have to go with Montreal Alouettes defensive lineman Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund. He’s on a three game sack streak and already has two fumble recoveries, one of which he returned for a touchdown against the Toronto Argonauts. No team is playing better ball right now than the Alouettes and Adeyemi-Berglund just happens to be one of the scarier members of that defence.
José Ferraz: Tyson Philpot. He was unstoppable in 2024 before the injury and is heating up towards a potential Most Outstanding Canadian season in 2025.
Hall: Winnipeg RB Brady Oliveira. Regardless of injuries, he’s the CFL’s reigning Most Outstanding Player and Most Outstanding Canadian. When healthy — at present — there’s no one better.
WHO IS THE MOST UNDERRATED CANADIAN PLAYER IN THE CFL RIGHT NOW?
Landry: Toronto Argonauts receiver Dejon Brissett is the most underrated Canadian player in the CFL. Might even be underrated by his own team. With limited opportunities playing field side, Brissett makes the most of what comes his way. And last Friday, when he was flipped to the boundary side in place of the injured DaVaris Daniels, he thrived.
Costabile: I’m going with Calgary’s Adrian Greene. The DB nabbed two picks against the Argos, one of which he returned for a TD, and was PFF’s highest graded defender after Week 2. He’s also only allowed 42.9 per cent of the passes throw his way to be completed, good for fourth-best in the CFL, and has three pass breakups, tied for tops in the CFL, according to PFF.
Nye: Samuel Emilus. He’s a star in this league, you all just don’t know it yet.
Steinberg: I’ll go with Montreal’s Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund, who already has three sacks this season. With 20 sacks over the last three seasons with the Als and Stamps, the Nova Scotia product has quietly put himself amongst the league’s best pass rushers.
Cauz: Winnipeg Blue Bombers right guard Patrick Neufeld. Neufeld has made over 130 starts in this league and has been a part of three All-CFL teams but it’s hard to stand out on an offensive line that features Stanley Bryant. As for this season, it’s a tiny sample size but you have to be impressed with an offensive line that is first in rushing yards despite the Brady Oliveira injury.
Ferraz: Adrian Greene, who might not even be underrated anymore after his two-interception outing against the Argos in Week 2. The Calgary Stampeders defensive back is keeping opposing passers to a 42.9 completion percentage while also tying for second in forced incompletions with three, according to PFF.
Hall: I’ll go with OL Justin Lawrence, of the Montreal Alouettes. Dependable and durable. Centres never get the love they deserve, in my opinion.
WHICH CANADIAN QUARTERBACK, TRE FORD OR NATHAN ROURKE, WILL WIN MORE GAMES IN 2025?
Landry: I think Nathan Rourke will win more games in 2025.
Costabile: It’s still early in the season and who knows what will happen as we keep going but at this point, I’m going with Nathan Rourke.
Nye: Nathan Rourke. I’m going to be honest, the way things are set up in Edmonton means there will be pressure on Ford to start winning soon because Mark Kilam won’t let the 2023 Grey Cup Champion Cody Fajardo stand and watch if the wins don’t come.
Steinberg: Nathan Rourke. I just think the Lions are a little closer to being a contender right now.
Cauz: It’s Nathan Rourke and sadly as of now it doesn’t feel like it is close. We all love the flashes of individual brilliance from Tre Ford but both he and the ENTIRE Elks offence needs to find a way to elevate their play.
Ferraz: Nathan Rourke. He already took the head-to-head matchup with Ford in Week 1 while showcasing the special abilities that made him the Most Outstanding Canadian in 2022.
Hall: Nathan Rourke, but that’s not all about the players in question. The Lions, at present, are the better team.