It will be a historic CFL first Saturday night in Vancouver.
The B.C. Lions will host the Edmonton Elks at B.C. Place in the season opener for both teams. This will mark the first opening week featuring two Canadian starting quarterbacks (B.C.'s Nathan Rourke, Edmonton's Tre Ford) since 1968 and the first time it's occurred in the same game.
The 2025 season will kick off Thursday night with the Ottawa Redblacks visiting the Saskatchewan Roughriders. On Friday night, the Toronto Argonauts begin their Grey Cup defence in Montreal versus the Alouettes before the Calgary Stampeders entertain the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Saturday night.
Also of note in Vancouver, B.C.'s Buck Pierce and Edmonton's Mark Kilam will make their CFL head-coaching debuts.
Rourke, 27, of Victoria, rejoined the Lions last season following NFL stints with Jacksonville, New England, the New York Giants and Atlanta. He was the league's top Canadian in 2022 with B.C.
Ford, also 27, was Edmonton's '22 first-round pick out of Waterloo. The Hec Crighton Trophy winner from Niagara Falls, Ont., was 9-9 in 18 starts over the last three years before signing an extension with the CFL club this off-season.
Ford and Kilam are looking to lead Edmonton to the CFL playoffs for the first time since 2019. Pierce joined the Lions following 10 seasons as an assistant with Winnipeg, helping the Bombers make five straight Grey Cup appearances, winning in 2019 and '21.
Some other season-opening facts:
— The overwhelming majority of players on CFL rosters are veterans. According to the league, just 67 of the 493 total players on teams are in their first year (13.6 per cent) compared to 93 at this time last year.
— Players have an average of 41 games (2 1/2 seasons) of CFL experience and 22 starts.
— The average age in the CFL is 28.2 years.
