Voyageurs Cup - History

History

Through its history, the cup has been contested by the Montreal Impact, Toronto Lynx, the USL and MLS incarnations of the Vancouver Whitecaps, Calgary Storm (later renamed Calgary Mustangs), Edmonton Aviators, Toronto FC and FC Edmonton.

The Montreal Impact won the first seven titles, the first six by virtue of their regular-season record in the USL against other Canadian sides. They won the inaugural 2008 Canadian Soccer Championship to retain the trophy, their seventh straight Voyageurs Cup victory. Toronto FC won the 2009 Canadian Soccer Championship to win the Voyageurs Cup for the first time. The Calgary Storm never finished higher than fourth in the competition while the Edmonton Aviators finished third in their lone appearance in the tournament. Both Alberta teams folded after the 2004 season. The Toronto Lynx finished as runners up in four of the five years they participated, eventually dropping down to the Premier Development League in 2007 and effectively withdrawing from the competition. As a result, in 2007 the trophy was decided on regular-season USL results between the Montreal Impact and the Vancouver Whitecaps FC.

The cup is awarded by the Voyageurs, who were founded in 1996 as a national organization of fans of Canada men's national soccer team at all age levels. Until 2008, costs associated with the cup, such as engraving, shipping, maintenance, and promotion had been paid for by private donations from individual members of the Voyageurs. In 2008, the trophy was handed over to the Canadian Soccer Association to be presented to the winners of the Nutrilite Canadian Soccer Championship. The terms of the agreement were to be reviewed in 2010.