The Montreal Alouettes and the Edmonton Elks will meet in the 113th Grey Cup on Sunday at McMahon Stadium in Calgary. Both teams arrived in the city on Tuesday, with the Alouettes travelling by air and the Elks by bus, setting the stage for the Canadian Football League's championship game.
For Montreal, it is a return to the title game for the third time in four years. The Alouettes lost the 2025 Grey Cup to Saskatchewan and won the 2023 edition over Hamilton. A victory on Sunday would give the club its ninth Grey Cup, a total that would still trail Toronto's 19 and Edmonton's 14. The Alouettes finished the regular season 14-4, the best record in the league, and advanced by beating Winnipeg 33-23 in the East Division final.
Edmonton's path has been less frequent. The Elks last reached the championship game in 2015. They finished first in the West Division at 13-5, ending a five-year playoff drought, and then beat the B.C. Lions 28-16 in the West final. More than 40,000 fans attended that West Division final in Edmonton, a figure that underlines the strong support the club has drawn this season.
The matchup carries personal threads for both sidelines. Alouettes head coach Jason Maas has stressed focus and asked his team to treat the week with seriousness. Elks head coach Mark Kilam spent 20 years on the coaching staff of the Calgary Stampeders. Quarterback Cody Fajardo, who won the 2023 Grey Cup with Montreal, was traded to Edmonton in 2024. Davis Alexander has taken over at quarterback for the Elks and was named the league's Most Outstanding Player. Tyson Philpot, the Most Outstanding Canadian, played his college football at Calgary.
Calgary is hosting the Grey Cup for the sixth time and the first since 2019. The city sits about a two-hour drive from Edmonton, which makes it a close regional destination for Elks supporters. The forecast for Sunday calls for a high near 12 C with part sun and cloud.
Away from the field, one detail from the teams' arrival has drawn attention. Elks players, according to reports from the week, have been superstitious about touching the Grey Cup trophy before winning it, a tradition the squad is keeping as the game approaches. The Alouettes and Elks will now turn their attention to Sunday's kickoff at McMahon Stadium.
4
