The 2019 Canadian Championship final was a two-legged series to determine the winner of the
2019 Canadian Championship, Canada's primary domestic cup competition in men's soccer. The series was played between
Canadian Classique rivals
Montreal Impact and three-time defending champions
Toronto FC, both members of
Major League Soccer. It was the third time Montreal and Toronto have met in the finals since the cup format was adopted in 2011; with the Impact winning in
2014, and Toronto winning in
2017.[1]
The first leg was hosted by the Impact at
Saputo Stadium in
Montreal on September 18, while the second leg was played at
BMO Field in
Toronto on September 25.[2] Montreal Impact won their fourth title and first since 2014, following a 3–1 victory on penalties after both legs finished 1–0 to the home side.
Saputo Stadium in Montreal hosted the first leg Capacity: 19,619
BMO Field in Toronto hosted the second leg Capacity: 30,991
Background
This was the third time Montreal Impact and Toronto FC faced one another in the Canadian Championship final. The first time, in 2014, Montreal Impact won 2–1 over two legs to win the
Voyageurs Cup and advance to the
2014–15 CONCACAF Champions League. Montreal subsequently made it to the
Champions League final, where they were ultimately defeated by Mexican club
América.
The more recent finals meeting took place in 2017, where Toronto FC won 3–2 on aggregate. Toronto also advanced to the
CONCACAF Champions League final after having qualified through the Canadian Championship, losing to
Guadalajara on penalties.
Montreal Impact were drawn into the third qualifying round where they played
Canadian Premier League side
York9 FC from
Toronto. Over two legs, they defeated York9 3–2 on aggregate to advance to the semi-finals.[4] In the semi-finals they went on to play another CPL side,
Cavalry FC from
Calgary, who had just defeated fellow MLS side
Vancouver Whitecaps FC to advance to play the Impact. Montreal defeated Cavalry 2–1 in Montreal, and 1–0 in Calgary for a 3–1 aggregate victory to advance to the finals.[5]
As the defending champions,
Toronto FC qualified directly to the semi-finals where they played the
Ottawa Fury of the
USL Championship. Toronto won the first leg 2–0 in
Ottawa at
TD Place Stadium, followed by a 3–0 victory at home one week later August 14 to win the series 5–0 on aggregate and advance to the finals.[6]