The Canadian Football League has moved closer to expanding into Quebec City, according to reports in the French media this week.
On Wednesday, TVA’s Stephane Turcot reported that a potential franchise owner received unanimous conditional approval from the league’s board of governors earlier this month.
The would-be owner is William Trudel, a former police officer turned real estate developer who is believed to have been meeting with the league since not long after Stewart Johnston became commissioner in the spring of 2025.
The TVA report is believed to be accurate, according to CFL sources.
News of the league having serious discussions about expansion in Quebec City broke back in June. And while the CFL did not confirm or deny those reports, its interest in expansion to the Quebec capital is well known.
Johnston gave an interview to TVA for its story in which he confirmed the league was well down the road with a potential owner.
“We’ve had productive discussions with a very serious and committed group,” Johnston told TSN on Wednesday.
If the business arrangement between the league and its potential 10th team is indeed in place, that’s a positive development and perhaps closer than the CFL has ever been to establishing a 10th franchise.
But the most important piece has always been the funding of a new stadium. And it is on that issue that the league’s 10th team will either come into existence or fall short.
The TVA report states that Trudel wants to build a $350-million multi-use stadium as home to a CFL team. It has also been speculated that Telus Stadium on the campus of Laval University could be used as a temporary home while a new facility is being built.
Such a project would undoubtedly require financial support from both local and provincial governments. And given that there is a Quebec provincial election on Oct. 5, it would seem improbable, if not impossible, that those arrangements are already in place.
Sources confirm the league is to receive a $25-million franchise fee as part of the arrangement between itself and Trudel.
