Canadian Premier League playoffs
The Canadian Premier League playoffs is the postseason phase of the Canadian Premier League to determine that year's league champion. It was first contested as a multi-round elimination tournament in the 2021 season, to replace previous methods of determining the participants of the Canadian Premier League Finals, which used an Apertura and Clausura format in 2019, and an additional group stage in 2020. The winner of the playoffs is awarded the North Star Cup trophy, and receives the second Canadian berth into the next season's CONCACAF Champions Cup.
Format
Current format
The current format of the CPL playoffs utilizes a Page playoff system, where five of the league's eight teams advance to the playoffs. The system was first used in the 2023 season to replace the conventional Shaughnessy playoff system used in 2021 and 2022. The CPL chose to use the Page playoff system as it puts more emphasis on regular season performances.Past formats
Summary
2019
The 2019 finals were contested between the winners of the spring and fall seasons. The championship was contested as a two-legged tie, with each team hosting one leg at home. The winner was determined by aggregate score but if the aggregate score was tied, the team with the most away goals wins the series. A penalty shoot-out was the final tiebreaker.2020
The 2020 season saw the end of the split season format, with the 2020 finals scheduled to be contested between the top-seeded regular season team and the winner of a playoff between the second and third-placed teams. However, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the season format was scrapped and replaced with a single-site tournament with a two-stage regular season. The 2020 final was contested in a single match between the two top-seeded teams from the four-team second stage.2021–2022
The 2021 season brought in a new four-team single leg knockout playoff with the two first round winners advancing to the final. The higher-seeded finalist hosts the single leg game. If a match is tied at the end of normal playing time, extra time is played and, if necessary, followed by a penalty shoot-out to determine the winners.Prior to the start of the 2022 season, the league announced that playoff semi-finals would switch to a two-legged format but that the final would continue to be played as a single match hosted by the higher-seeded team.
;2021
;2022
Results
Results by team
''Appearances as of the 2025 season. Series and match results as of 2024 season''Year-by-year
Active playoff streaks
Playoff appearances
Updated through 2025 Canadian Premier League season. This list includes the five clubs that made the post-season in 2025. For the purposes of this section, the four-team group stage in 2020 is considered to be part of the post-season.| Club | Last miss of post-season | Length of streak |
| Cavalry FC | 7 seasons | |
| Forge FC | 7 seasons | |
| York United FC | 2022 | 3 season |
| Atlético Ottawa | 2023 | 2 seasons |
| HFX Wanderers FC | 2024 | 1 seasons |
Finals appearances
Updated through 2025 Canadian Premier League final. This list includes the two finalist clubs from 2025.| Club | Last miss of finals | Length of streak |
| Cavalry FC | 2022 | 3 seasons |
| Atlético Ottawa | 2024 | 1 season |
Active playoff droughts
– team is no longer playing in the Canadian Premier League.Playoff appearances
Updated through 2025 Canadian Premier League season. This list does not include clubs that made the post-season in that year. For the purposes of this section, the four-team group stage in 2020 is considered to be part of the post-season.| Club | Last appearance in post-season | Length of drought |
| Valour FC | 7 seasons | |
| 4 seasons | ||
| Vancouver FC | 3 seasons | |
| Pacific FC | 2024 | 1 season |
Finals appearances
Updated through 2025 Canadian Premier League final. This list does not include the clubs that qualified in that year.| Club | Last appearance in finals | Length of drought |
| Valour FC | never | 7 seasons |
| York United FC | never | 7 seasons |
| never | 4 seasons | |
| HFX Wanderers FC | 2020 | 5 seasons |
| Pacific FC | 2021 | 4 seasons |
| Vancouver FC | never | 3 seasons |
| Forge FC | 2024 | 1 season |
Championships
Updated through 2025 Canadian Premier League final. This list does not include the club that won the championship in that year.| Club | Last championship | Length of drought |
| HFX Wanderers FC | never | 7 seasons |
| Valour FC | never | 7 seasons |
| York United FC | never | 7 seasons |
| never | 4 seasons | |
| Pacific FC | 2021 | 4 seasons |
| Vancouver FC | never | 3 seasons |
| Forge FC | 2023 | 2 seasons |
| Cavalry FC | 2024 | 1 season |
Goalscorers
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 |  sortname|Tristan|Borges |