The seventeenth edition of the Canadian Championship will officially kick off on April 23, with Canada Soccer revealing the single-elimination preliminary round schedule on Monday.

Halifax Wanderers host the final preliminary round matchup on Thursday, May 2 at the Wanderers Grounds. It will be the fourth time in club history that they face a semi-pro side as they host Ligue1 Québec champions CS Saint-Laurent.

The coast-to-coast competition begins in Calgary on Tuesday, April 23, where 2023 Canadian Premier League regular season champions Cavalry FC will host expansion side Vancouver FC, who are looking for their first Canadian Championship victory.

The following day, Toronto FC take on a semi-professional side for the first time in this competition as they host League1 Ontario champions Simcoe County Rovers at BMO Field in Toronto.

Wednesday, May 1 then features a trio of matches, including a 905 derby between Forge FC and York United, as well as Atlético Ottawa hosting Valour FC — both at 7 p.m. ET. Later that night on the west coast, Pacific FC host a Vancouver Island derby against League1 BC side Victoria Highlanders FC at Starlight Stadium.

The Vancouver Whitecaps and CF Montréal, the finalists of the 2023 Canadian Championship, have both been given byes to the quarter-finals. The Whitecaps will face the winner of Cavalry FC vs. Vancouver FC, while CF Montréal host the victor of Forge and York. Those matches are scheduled to be played over the month of May. The semifinal first legs will be played July 9-10 with the second legs set for August 27-28. A single-match final will be played on either September 24 or 25.

All preliminary round matchups are one-match single elimination, while the quarter and semifinal rounds of the competition will be home-and-away fixtures. The full preliminary round schedule with dates, venues and times can be found below: