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'There is not a single aspect of any of this that our league office or our board of governors that is for changing the essence of Canadian football.'
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Published Nov 14, 2025 • 7 minute read
CFL commissioner Stewart Johnston speaks inside Mosaic Stadium after the announcement that Regina will host the championship game in 2027.
CFL commissioner Stewart Johnston speaks inside Mosaic Stadium after the announcement that Regina will host the championship game in 2027. Kayle Neis/Postmedia Network
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Stewart Johnston’s first season as commissioner of the Canadian Football League has been controversial, explosive and chock full of online arguments — and now he would like to put all the noise to rest.
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He could like to be as clear as possible by explaining his vision for today and for the future of the CFL.
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Despite the screaming and overreaction elsewhere, there is no plan to Americanize the game.
There is no plan to go from three downs to four or 12 players to 11.
There is no plan to shrink the width of the CFL field or change the yard between offence and defence, or change the motion that make Canadian football so unique.
There is no plan to take the basics of Canadian football and change any of them.
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“I wish I had been more clear from the beginning,” said Johnston, the former president of TSN and now overseeing his first Grey Cup Week as commissioner.
“A narrative came out and grew but it wasn’t based on fact,” Johnston said. “There was a fear of Americanization of our game and our league. And that surprised me because Americanizing our game couldn’t have been further from our thought process.
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“We want to take what makes our game so great — our three downs, our 12 players, our wide field, our motion — and take the opportunity to make our game shine even brighter.
“Our game consists of three downs, now take this seriously, there is no thought of anything other than three downs. Our game consists of 12 players, a wide field, a deep end zone, our defence a yard off the ball — and that’s what makes it uniquely Canadian football.
“There is not a single aspect of any of this that our league office or our board of governors that is for changing the essence of Canadian football.”
There is slight exasperation in Johnston’s voice as he speaks prior to his first State of the CFL address in Winnipeg this Grey Cup Week. He dropped a bomb at mid-season not necessarily knowing it would be considered an attack against history, he offered up changes for the future that includes a smaller end zone, a shorter field, the movement of goal posts from the front of the end zone to the back, and with the extra point no longer automatic for a missed field goal that resulted in a rouge.
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The rouge still exists — it has just been improved, no matter what the yellers may say.
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Some of what Johnston announced was applauded by those who saw progress in the rule changes. But a lot of it was taken as an attack on Canadian football, an attack on the CFL, an attack on the history of the game — not necessarily a logical attack, but an attack nonetheless. The old-school, ‘we want nothing to change’ type of CFL voices carried online and made a controversy larger than it needed to be.
These are the same voices screaming about Johnston’s apparent Americanization of the game when they revel in the history of Doug Flutie, Warren Moon, George Reed, Ron Lancaster and so many more. All of those players American.
Most of the greatest player in Canadian football history have been American. The old school accepts that without blinking an eye. It’s Johnston’s view — and that of the CFL board of governors — that is still getting debated.
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The uniqueness of Grey Cup Week
This is Grey Cup Week across Canada, the championship game is Sunday in Winnipeg and very little about the week ever changes. Part of the charm of Grey Cup Week is that it has a ‘same time next year’ kind of feel. You go to Grey Cup and you see the same faces, year after year, the same jerseys, the same places to drink and dance and party, and frankly, there is nothing quite like it in Canadian sport.
The lead up to the game almost always is the same, no matter who is playing. Different cities, same people, same old fans at their 20th or 30th. Same people meeting friends once a year.
Johnston has been many times as a CFL broadcaster from his years at TSN and many times as a fan himself. It’s the best sporting event in Canada and has been forever. The week sometimes separate from the season itself.
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Only this time was different. This time everybody recognized the commissioner. This time he heard the comments — many of them critical, some of them supportive. But there were lots of comments.
Johnston has no interest in selling out CFL values. He’s happy to talk to anyone about this. When all-star quarterback Nathan Rourke was among the most critical voices of his rule changes, he made sure to hear Rourke out in the days following the controversial announcement.
If there is one constant about Canadian football and Grey Cup Week, it’s that it is part party and part political referendum. The CFL undergoes an autopsy of sorts every Grey Cup Week. We sit around and debate the league — what can we do better? — and we love it and tear it apart like nothing else in sports.
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There is nothing more CFL than the annual debate about where this league is going.
We don’t do that for the Stanley Cup or the World Series or the Brier or the Canadian Open golf tournament. But I think I’ve spent more time in my life, sitting in a bar, or a hotel suite, or a Spirit Of Edmonton party room debating what works and doesn’t work with the CFL, and at times long ago, debating whether there would be a league next year or the year after that.
The CFL’s resilience
Of all that is remarkable about the CFL — and a whole lot is — is the resilience of the league that tops everything. The resilience and the shocking entertainment provided annually.
It survives when it shouldn’t have. It will keep kicking when the goal posts get moved back. It is the greatest existential entity in sports — only right now nobody is bankrupt, no teams are on life support, the league isn’t as strong as it has been at other times or as weak as it has been at the worst of times.
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Which means the first-year commissioner is looking to build and strengthen and find ways. This week, some of the creativity of Johnston as commissioner became apparent to those who don’t necessarily know him. He approved — through the board — CFL players being made available to play flag football in the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
This wasn’t a small gesture on Johnston’s part, but it was a building block of sorts. Flag football never has been in the Olympics before. It never really has been seen on television.
Suddenly, a Rourke at quarterback, maybe a Kurleigh Gittens Jr. or a Justin McInnis at receiver, might be available to play — which would be smack in the middle of the regular season.
Some fans might not like giving up their players. But say Rourke winds up as the Canadian quarterback and Canada beats Team USA for gold on American soil — could you imagine the long-term impact?
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This is a wise, no-lose move forward for the CFL. But a move that might not have happened under previous commissioners who were less bold in the past.
Johnston also announced a partnership with a variety of groups to grow football across Canada. There has been an historical disconnect in Canadian football, from the few high schools that still play to the minor football programs to the provincial programs that don’t necessarily connect with the national programs — minor football in Canada has been a runaway train at a time when more Canadians are playing at a higher level than ever before — but Johnston wants to build partnerships and, by doing so, build the sport itself.
Luke Willson brings fresh voice
Johnston’s previous job was as the top man at TSN, which has been the CFL’s chief broadcaster for years. This season, TSN did something it hadn’t done before: It took long-time NFL player Luke Willson, who grew up outside Windsor, and assigned him to work games.
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They also told Willson to be himself, which is unusual from the beginning. The very proper, very polite, very staid CFL broadcast turned rather unpredictable with Willson involved, on the air and online, and it created a conversation — and at times a verbal war of sorts — that was unusual for the league.
Willson fought online with big-name CFL voices, with longtime broadcasters, with rabid fans, when he took on whatever he believed, from poor in-game coaching, to play selection, to characterizing the old school with new humour.
“I thought the addition of Luke Willson brought a fresh perspective and energy that elevated the broadcasts even further.”
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The biggest star of this season was Rourke, the Canadian quarterback. The biggest online and on-air star, coming from a background with no CFL, was Willson.
“That was great to see,” the commissioner said.
But really, Johnston needs to settle the waters, to calm the screamers, to make it clear where he is heading after one year on the job.
“I have to be as clear as possible on this,” Johnston said. “We’re here to protect the CFL, the three-down game. Perhaps I wasn’t clear enough on that.
“We want to settle those fears and if they are still out there, we want to settle them right now.”
ssimmons@postmedia.com
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