The Vanier Cup () is the trophy awarded annually to the champion Canadian football team in U Sports, the governing body for university sports in Canada. The U Sports football champion is determined in a one-game playoff (the Vanier Cup game), played by the winners of the Uteck Bowl and the Mitchell Bowl. In turn, the participating teams are determined by the winners of four bowl games: the Loney Bowl (AUS), Hardy Cup (Canada West), Dunsmore Cup (RSEQ), and Yates Cup (OUA). The Vanier Cup game is played at a neutral site that changes every year; the hosting university is determined months or years in advance.
The Laval Rouge et Or have won the most Vanier Cups (12), while the Western Mustangs have the most appearances (15). Eighteen teams have won the Vanier Cup, while three others have played for the championship but never won. There are six active teams that have never appeared in the championship game. The most recent game was the 60th Vanier Cup game which was played on November 22, 2025, at Mosaic Stadium in Regina. The Montreal Carabins won their third championship in franchise history, defeating the Saskatchewan Huskies, 30–16.
History The Vanier Cup was created in 1965 as the championship trophy of the Canadian College Bowl. For the first two years of competition, the Canadian College Bowl was an invitational event, with a national panel selecting two teams to play, similar to other U.S. collegiate bowl games. In 1967, the Canadian College Bowl was declared the national football championship of the Canadian Intercollegiate Athletic Union, later Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) and now U Sports, with a playoff system determining the two participants.
The Vanier Cup was played in Toronto, Ontario, from its inception in 1965 through 2003. However, after the CIS opened the game to host conference bids in 2001, the possibility arose to have games held outside Toronto. As of 2025, 41 of the 61 Vanier Cups have been played in Toronto, eight in Quebec City, five in Hamilton, two in Kingston, one in Regina (November 22, 2025), one in Saskatoon, one in Vancouver, one in London, Ontario, and one in Montreal. No games have been staged in the Atlantic region. Four times, the game has been played in the same city and during the same weekend as the Grey Cup: 1973, 2007 and 2012 in Toronto and in 2011 in Vancouver at BC Place Stadium.
The winners' trophy is named after Georges Vanier (governor general of Canada 1959–1967) and was first awarded in 1965 to the winner of an invitational event contested between two teams that were selected by a panel. In 1967, the trophy was declared the official "CIAU National Football Championship" and a playoff system was instituted. From its creation until 1982, it was known as the Canadian College Bowl. The game typically occurs in late November, although it is occasionally played in December.
On June 8, 2020, U Sports announced that all fall athletics championships for the 2020–21 season had been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Results
Key Number of times that team has won the Vanier Cup. Note: All Ted Morris Trophy and Bruce Coulter Award winners played for the winning team, unless otherwise noted.
Game Date Champion Score Runner up Stadium City Ted Morris Memorial Trophy(Game MVP) Bruce Coulter Award(starts in 1992) Attendance1stNovember 20, 1965Toronto14–7AlbertaVarsity StadiumTorontoGerry Sternberg —3,4882ndNovember 19, 1966St. F.X.40–14Waterloo LutheranVarsity Stadium TorontoTerry Gorman —13,6783rdNovember 25, 1967Alberta10–9McMasterVarsity StadiumTorontoVal Schneider —16,1674thNovember 22, 1968Queen's42–14Waterloo LutheranVarsity Stadium TorontoDon Bayne —16,0515thNovember 21, 1969Manitoba24–15McGillVarsity Stadium TorontoBob Kraemer —9,3476thNovember 21, 1970Manitoba 38–11OttawaVarsity Stadium TorontoMike Shylo —10,5507thNovember 20, 1971Western15–14AlbertaVarsity Stadium TorontoBob McGregor —13,0418thNovember 25, 1972Alberta 20–7Waterloo LutheranVarsity Stadium TorontoRoger ComartinAndy MacLeod —10,1929thNovember 24, 1973Saint Mary's14–6McGillExhibition Stadium Toronto Ken Clark —17,00010thNovember 22, 1974Western 19–15TorontoExhibition Stadium TorontoIan Bryans —24,77711thNovember 21, 1975Ottawa14–9CalgaryExhibition Stadium TorontoNeil Lumsden —17,84112thNovember 19, 1976Western 29–13AcadiaVarsity Stadium TorontoBill Rozalowsky —20,30013thNovember 19, 1977Western 48–15AcadiaVarsity Stadium TorontoBill Rozalowsky —19,51414thNovember 18, 1978Queen's 16–3British ColumbiaVarsity StadiumTorontoEd Andrew —19,12415thNovember 17, 1979Acadia34–12WesternVarsity Stadium TorontoDon Ross —19,39716thNovember 29, 1980Alberta 40–21OttawaVarsity Stadium TorontoForrest Kennerd —11,00017thNovember 28, 1981Acadia 18–12AlbertaVarsity Stadium TorontoSteve Repic —11,87518thNovember 20, 1982British Columbia39–14WesternVarsity Stadium TorontoGlenn Steele —14,75919thNovember 19, 1983Calgary31–21Queen'sVarsity Stadium TorontoTim Petros —18,32420thNovember 24, 1984Guelph22–13Mount AllisonVarsity Stadium TorontoParri Ceci —16,32121stNovember 30, 1985Calgary 25–6WesternVarsity Stadium TorontoLew Lawrick —16,32122ndNovember 22, 1986British Columbia 25–23WesternVarsity Stadium TorontoEric Putoto —17,84723rdNovember 21, 1987McGill47–11British ColumbiaVarsity Stadium TorontoMichael Soles —14,32624thNovember 19, 1988Calgary 52–23Saint Mary'sVarsity Stadium TorontoSean Furlong —13,12725thNovember 18, 1989Western 35–10SaskatchewanSkyDome TorontoTyrone Williams —32,84726thNovember 24, 1990Saskatchewan24–21Saint Mary'sSkyDome TorontoDavid Earl —26,84627thNovember 30, 1991Wilfrid Laurier25–18Mount AllisonSkyDome TorontoAndy Cecchini —28,64528thNovember 21, 1992Queen's 31–0Saint Mary'sSkyDome TorontoBrad ElbergEric Dell28,64529thNovember 20, 1993Toronto 37–34CalgarySkyDome TorontoGlenn McCauslandRob Schrauth20,21130thNovember 19, 1994Western 50–40 (OT)SaskatchewanSkyDome TorontoBrent SchneiderXavier Lafont28,65231stNovember 25, 1995Calgary 54–24WesternSkyDome TorontoDon BlairRob Richards29,17832ndNovember 30, 1996Saskatchewan 31–12St. F.X.SkyDome TorontoBrent SchneiderWarren Muzika14,57733rdNovember 22, 1997British Columbia 39–23OttawaSkyDome TorontoStewart ScherckMark Nohra8,18434thNovember 28, 1998Saskatchewan 24–17ConcordiaSkyDome TorontoTrevor LudtkeDoug Rozon15,15735thNovember 27, 1999Laval14–10Saint Mary'sSkyDome TorontoStéphane LefebvreFrancesco Pepe Esposito12,59536th December 2, 2000Ottawa 42–39ReginaSkyDomeTorontoPhill CôtéScott Gordon 18,20937th December 1, 2001Saint Mary's 42–16ManitobaSkyDome TorontoRyan JonesKyl Morrison19,13838thNovember 23, 2002Saint Mary's 33–21SaskatchewanSkyDome TorontoSteve PanellaJoe Bonaventura17,17939thNovember 22, 2003Laval 14–7Saint Mary'sSkyDome TorontoJeronimo Huerta-FloresPhilippe Audet17,82840thNovember 27, 2004Laval SaskatchewanIvor Wynne StadiumHamiltonMatthew LeblancMatthieu Proulx14,22741st December 3, 2005Wilfrid Laurier 24–23SaskatchewanIvor Wynne StadiumHamiltonRyan PyearDavid Montoya16,82742ndNovember 25, 2006Laval 13–8SaskatchewanGriffiths StadiumSaskatoonÉric MarandaSamuel Grégoire-Champagne12,56743rdNovember 23, 2007Manitoba 28–14Saint Mary'sRogers CentreToronto Mike Howard John Makie26,78744thNovember 22, 2008Laval 44–21WesternIvor Wynne StadiumHamiltonJulian Féoli-GudinoMarc-Antoine L. Fortin13,873 45th November 28, 2009Queen's 33–31Calgary Stade du PEPSQuebec CityDanny BrannaganChris Smith18,628 46th November 27, 2010Laval 29–2CalgaryStade du PEPSQuebec CitySébastien LevesqueMarc-Antoine Beaudoin-Cloutier16,237 47th November 25, 2011McMaster41–38 Laval BC PlaceVancouverKyle Quinlan Aram Eisho24,935 48th November 23, 2012Laval 37–14McMasterRogers CentreToronto Maxime BoutinArnaud Gascon-Nadon37,098 49th November 23, 2013Laval 25–14CalgaryStade TelusQuebec CityPascal LochardVincent Desloges18,543 50th November 29, 2014Montréal20–19McMasterMolson StadiumMontrealRegis CibasuAnthony Coady50th Telus Vanier Cup: Hometown Carabins capture first national title from Canadian Interuniversity Sport, 29 November 2014, retrieved 29 November 201422,649 51st November 28, 2015British Columbia 26–23MontréalStade TelusQuebec CityLaval to host 2015 Vanier Cup in Quebec City from Canadian Interuniversity Sport, 8 December 2014, retrieved 9 December 2014Michael O'ConnorStavros Katsantonis12,557 52nd November 26, 2016Laval 31–26CalgaryTim Hortons FieldHamiltonHamilton to host Vanier Cup in 2016 and 2017 from Canadian Interuniversity Sport, January 18, 2016, retrieved July 11, 2016Hugo RichardCédric Lussier-Roy7,115 53rd November 25, 2017Western 39–17 LavalTim Hortons FieldHamiltonChris MerchantFraser Sopik10,754 54th November 24, 2018Laval 34–20WesternStade TelusQuebec CityHugo RichardAdam Auclair12,380 55th November 23, 2019 Calgary 27–13Montréal Stade TelusQuebec CityAdam SinagraRedha Kramdi8,376 2020 game cancelled due to 2019 coronavirus pandemic 56th December 4, 2021Western 27–21SaskatchewanStade TelusQuebec CityEvan HillockDaniel Valente5,840 57th November 26, 2022Laval 30–24SaskatchewanWestern Alumni StadiumLondonKevin MitalCharles-Alexandre Jacques8,420 58th November 25, 2023Montréal 16–9British ColumbiaRichardson Memorial StadiumKingstonJonathan SénécalNicky Farinaccio7,109 59th November 23, 2024Laval 22–17Wilfrid LaurierRichardson Memorial StadiumKingstonFelipe FortezaArnaud Desjardins9,500 60th November 22, 2025Montréal 30–16SaskatchewanMosaic StadiumReginaPepe GonzalezLoui-Philippe Gauthier8,896 61st November 28, 2026Stade TelusQuebec City 62nd November 27, 2027Stade TelusQuebec City
A. Bob McGregor, Ted Morris Trophy winner in 1971, played for the runner-up team. B. In the 1972 game, the Vanier Cup Committee and Canadian Interuniversity Athletic Union officials decided to crown co-winners from the same school. C. Rob Schrauth, Bruce Coulter Award winner in 1993, played for the runner-up team. D. Brent Schneider, Ted Morris Trophy winner in 1994, played for the runner-up team.
Appearances by team +Key OUA Ontario University Athletics RSEQ Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec CanWest Canada West Universities Athletic Association AUS Atlantic University Sport OQIFC Ontario-Quebec Intercollegiate Football Conference 1980–2000 Appearances Team Hometown Conference Wins Losses Win % Most Recent Appearance 15Western Mustangs London, Ontario OUA 8 7 .533 2021 14 Laval Rouge et Or Quebec City, Quebec RSEQ/OQIFC 12 2 .857 202412Saskatchewan HuskiesSaskatoon, SaskatchewanCanWest39.2502025 11 Calgary Dinos Calgary, Alberta CanWest 5 6 .455 2019 9 Saint Mary's Huskies Halifax, Nova Scotia AUS 3 6 .333 2007 7 UBC Thunderbirds Vancouver, British Columbia CanWest 4 3 .571 2023 6 Alberta Golden Bears Edmonton, Alberta CanWest 3 3 .500 1981 Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks Waterloo, Ontario OUA 2 4 .333 20245Montréal CarabinsMontreal, QuebecRSEQ32.6002025 Queen's Gaels Kingston, Ontario OUA/OQIFC 4 1 .800 2009 Ottawa Gee-Gees Ottawa, Ontario OUA/OQIFC 2 3 .400 2000 4 Manitoba Bisons Winnipeg, Manitoba CanWest 3 1 .750 2007 Acadia Axemen Wolfville, Nova Scotia AUS 2 2 .500 1981 McMaster Marauders Hamilton, Ontario OUA 1 3 .250 2014 3 Toronto Varsity Blues Toronto, Ontario OUA 2 1 .667 1993 McGill Redbirds Montreal, Quebec RSEQ/OQIFC 1 2 .333 1987 2 St. Francis Xavier X-Men Antigonish, Nova Scotia AUS 1 1 .500 1996 Mount Allison Mounties Sackville, New Brunswick AUS 0 2 .000 1991 1 Guelph Gryphons Guelph, Ontario OUA 1 0 1.000 1984 Concordia Stingers Montreal, Quebec RSEQ/OQIFC 0 1 .000 1998 Regina Rams Regina, Saskatchewan CanWest 0 1 .000 2000 E. The Wilfrid Laurier record includes three games played as Waterloo Lutheran.
Six active teams have never played for the Vanier Cup: Bishop's Gaiters (AUS/RSEQ/OQIFC), Carleton Ravens (OUA), Sherbrooke Vert-et-Or (RSEQ), Waterloo Warriors (OUA), Windsor Lancers (OUA), and York Lions/Yeomen (OUA).
Awards