What Sports Teams Does Montreal Have?

Located in the Canadian province of Quebec in eastern Canada, Montreal is a city saturated with rich French-Canadian history. As the second-most populated city in Canada, sports organizations in Montreal often intertwine with American sports leagues. Overall, nine teams are located in Montreal, and they participate in a wide variety of competitions. Read on to learn about the teams that call Montreal home.

What Are the Biggest Sports Teams in Montreal?

Below are the professional teams located in Montreal:

• CF Montréal
• Montreal Alliance
• Montreal Alouettes
• Montreal Blitz
• Montreal Canadiens
• Montreal Force
• Montreal Royal
• Quebec Saints

CF Montréal

• Sport: Soccer
• League: Major League Soccer (MLS)
• Location: Montreal, Quebec
• Stadium: Saputo Stadium
• Founded: 1993
• Championships: 0

Formerly known as the Montreal Impact, this club became known as CF Montréal prior to the 2021 season. After this rebrand by the front office, CF Montréal will now feature a new logo in 2023 with a tribute to the country’s French roots. Although the club has yet to claim an MLS Cup, they have secured four Canadian Championship titles (2013, 2014, 2019, and 2021).

Prior to joining Major League Soccer in 2012, CF Montréal participated in several semi-professional leagues in Canada and the United States. In their inaugural season in 1993, the then-Montreal Impact joined the American Professional Soccer League (APSL) for two seasons. Later, the club joined the A-League (1995-2004), United Soccer League 1 (2005-2009), the Division 2 Professional League (2010), and finally, the North American Soccer League (2011). 

When in Montreal, be on the lookout for matches against CF Montréal’s biggest rival, Toronto FC. After each goal scored at Saputo Stadium, a massive bell labeled L’Étoile du Nord (“Star of the North”) is rung by 1642 MTL, the club’s passionate supporters section.

Montreal Alliance

• Sport: Basketball
• League: Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL)
• Location: Verdun, Quebec
• Stadium: Verdun Auditorium
• Founded: 2021
• Championships: 0

In February 2021, the Montreal Alliance became the ninth franchise in the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL). During the Alliance’s first season in 2022, Vincent Lavandier was hired as head coach, and the team became the first professional basketball organization to exist in Montreal since 2012. Interestingly, the Alliance are also led by general manager Joel Anthony, a former Canadian basketball player who won two NBA titles with the Miami Heat during his 12-year career.

Montreal Alouettes

• Sport: Football
• League: Canadian Football League (CFL)
• Location: Montreal, Quebec
• Stadium: Percival Molson Memorial Stadium
• Founded: 1946
• Championships: 7 (1949, 1970, 1974, 1977, 2002, 2009, and 2010)

The Montreal Alouettes are a historic franchise in Canadian football that has captured seven Grey Cup titles. Most recently, the Alouettes emerged victorious in 2009 and 2010 and became the first CFL franchise to secure consecutive Grey Cup victories since the Toronto Argonauts (1996 and 1997). 

When the organization was founded in 1946, the team was named after Alouette, the popular French song, and the Alouettes, the 425th Squadron of the Royal Canadian Air Force, who earned nearly 200 medals in World War II. After filing for bankruptcy in 1987, Canadian football fans were granted their wish as the Baltimore Stallions relocated to Montreal, and the team has successfully operated since.

Montreal Blitz

• Sport: Football
• League: Central Canadian Women’s Football League (CCWFL)
• Location: Lachine, Quebec
• Stadium: Dalbé-Viau High School
• Founded: 2001
• Championships: 4 (2008, 2010, 2012, and 2013)

Currently, the Montreal Blitz are one of four teams in the Central Canadian Women’s Football League (CCWFL). After participating as the sole Canadian team in the Independent Women’s Football League from 2001 to 2016, the organization joined the Women’s Football Alliance in 2017. In franchise history, the team has secured four championships and has operated as a non-profit organization since 2015.

Montreal Canadiens

• Sport: Men’s Hockey
• League: National Hockey League (NHL)
• Location: Montreal, Quebec
• Stadium: Bell Centre
• Founded: 1909
• Championships: 24

Known as the “Habs,” the Montreal Canadiens are the most successful franchise in the history of the National Hockey League (NHL) and the league’s oldest franchise still in existence. After calling the Montreal Forum home from 1924 to 1996, a “Passing the Torch” ceremony by former team captains in 1996 paved the way for a move to the Bell Centre and celebrated a historic venue’s importance to the franchise.

In total, the Canadiens have secured 24 Stanley Cup titles, 33 playoff appearances, and 85 playoff victories, all of which are league records. While the franchise has struggled to achieve success and lift the Stanley Cup in recent years, a rich history as one of the six original NHL founders makes the Canadiens a household name in the world of professional hockey.

Montreal Force

• Sport: Women’s Hockey
• League: Premier Hockey Federation (PHF)
• Location: Montreal, Quebec
• Training Site: Center 21.02
• Founded: 2022
• Championships: 0

In 2022, the Montreal Force became the seventh franchise in the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF). Without a specific home venue for their first season, the Force played all 24 regular-season games across Quebec and the United States. The Force are currently one of two Canadian franchises in the PHF and are owned by BTM Partners, a Massachusetts company that owns four teams in the league.

Montreal Royal

• Sport: Ultimate Frisbee
• League: American Ultimate Disc League (AUDL)
• Location: Montreal, Quebec
• Stadium: Complexe Sportif Claude-Robillard
• Founded: 2014
• Championships: 0

Although the Montreal Royal have yet to capture a title in the American Ultimate Disc League (AUDL), the organization was victorious in the Canada Cup in 2021. In a competitive league of 25 teams, the Royal have made two playoff appearances in franchise history, with their last visit to the playoffs in 2017.

Quebec Saints

• Sport: Australian Rules Football
• League: United States Australian Football League (USAFL)
• Location: Montreal, Quebec
• Founded: 2008
• Championships: 0

The Quebec Saints participate in the United States Australian Football League (USAFL). Currently, the club offers one male team, one female team, and recently began sanctioning 11 teams in the Metro division (Concordia, Laval Bombers, McGill, Montreal City Blues, Montreal Demons, NDG Giants, Northern Blue Bombers, Old Port Dockers, Plateau Eagles, West Island Eagles, and West Island Wooders).

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