"A Canadian is a Canadian is a Canadian" — Justin Trudeau to Stephen Harper, September 28, 2015
Duane Forde likely understands the Canadian ratio based on his colour analysis on the CFL on TSN. Forde and Glen Suitor was "national" players meaning they were Canadian. Matt Dunigan was considered an American player. (Forde, Suitor, and Dunigan are colour analysts on CFL games on TSN.)
We haven't brought up the Canadian ratio in all the years in covering the CFL. We have mentioned when some CFL players are Canadian, such as Jon Cornish and Andrew Harris. The Grey Cup has a Most Valuable Canadian award for the championship game.
While the details are extensive, all you really need to remember is 7 and 21. Each CFL team must have 21 nationals, 7 of them being starters. The quarterback, on the rare occasion where a Canadian quarterback plays, is excluded from the 7 number.
Canadian starters tend to be on the offence and defence line. The beauty of a Canadian running back or a wide receiver, such as Ben Cahoon and Chris Getzlaf, is that you can add an American in another position.
In the new CBA with the CFL and CFLPA, the Canadian ratio remains at 21 on the roster and 7 starters for 2022. Teams add a nationalized Canadian on top of the other 7 Canadian starters and can rotate 2 nationalized Canadians — Americans with either 4 years in the CFL or at least 3 with the same team — in 2023 for up to 49% of snaps on either side of the ball.
Teams can move to 3 nationalized Canadians in 2024; the 2 franchises that play the most Canadians at the end of the season will receive additional draft picks.
The changes might give Duane Forde a headache. We suggest a couple of "2222" (aka Canadian pain reliever with codeine) pills.
2022 CFL preseason schedule
The CFL owners made modifying the Canadian ratio a significant issue in negotiations. They know this is a concern for Canadian players to lose starting positions.
The requirement for national players is as follows:
- (a) Canadian citizens at the time of signing of the Player's first contract;
- (b) A Player classified as a non-import prior to May 31st, 2014; OR
- (c) A Player who was physically resident in Canada for an aggregate period of five (5) years prior to attaining the age of eighteen (18) years.
The CFL is able to have the Canadian ratio because the teams play in Canada. When the CFL expanded to the United States, those U.S. based teams (Sacramento Gold Miners; San Antonio Texans; Las Vegas Posse; Baltimore Stallions; Shreveport Pirates; Birmingham Barracudas; and Memphis Mad Dogs) were exempt from maintaining the Canadian ratio.
Final @CFL post of the day (barring a settlement): Why not have 7 starting Canadians plus a nationalized American or 3 of them. The #Canadian players would take that. The #American players would take that. Owners might take that. https://t.co/be3tEpadOw
— Chad Rubel (@canadian_xing) May 25, 2022
My genius is sometimes practical. American players should get rewarded for sticking with the CFL. They should get points for staying in Canada in the offseason. Rewarding loyalty for staying with the same team. All good.
The first word in CFL is "Canadian." Canadian players need to be a significant part of the league. Teams need incentives to recruit Canadian players, especially if they are not on the line of scrimmage.
While Canadians make up almost 50% of the league, Americans make up the majority of the starting positions (17 vs. 7). Virtually every quarterback is American.
The Canadian ratio hasn't been an issue until now.
The most lucrative contracts go to quarterbacks, who are virtually all American. A Canadian at a skill position is valuable because having them in the lineup means you can slip in an American on a line. Canadians aren't fighting to get more starting positions. Canadians aren't fighting the concept of the "nationalized American." The Canadians don't want to lose starting positions because that diminishes their value in the league.
CanadianCrossing.com CFL coverage
Canadian radio stations have to play a certain number of Canadian songs. Their artists get noticed as a result. The Canadian content in music and the Canadian ratio help get Canadians noticed.
The argument is that younger fans don't care about the Canadian ratio. Possible. They may not even know about the Canadian ratio. CFL owners want to save money and messing with the ratio helps them. They will likely save some money signing their American veterans instead of signing an American free agent.
Play football with Canadians, Americans, and global players. Keep them all happy.
video credit: CBC News
photo credit: TSN
Twitter capture: @canadian_xing
Excellent analysis, Chad!
Posted by: ChiCdn | June 06, 2022 at 01:28 PM