LS Pro

The Ligues senior provinciales (LS Pro) is a semi-professional men's soccer league in Quebec, Canada. The league is sanctioned by the Canadian Soccer Association and Soccer Quebec. Founded in 2011 as the Première ligue de soccer du Québec, it re-branded in 2023 to Ligue1 Québec, before eventually adopting the current name in 2025. In 2025, the league expanded and introduced two new divisions Ligue2 Québec and Ligue3 Québec, following the ending of the amateur Ligue de soccer élite du Québec, with the teams being folded into L1Q. It currently consists of three tiers: Ligue 1, Ligue 2, and Ligue 3.

In the Canadian soccer league system, the men's division is behind the fully-professional Canadian Premier League. It is part of Premier Soccer Leagues Canada, the national third tier with regional divisions, along with four other leagues. The men's league champion qualifies for the Canadian Championship, Canada's domestic cup tournament.

History

Background

The history of soccer in Quebec dates back to 1884, with the first league established in 1886. In 1911, the Province of Quebec Football Association, now known as the Quebec Soccer Federation was founded.^[1] In 1986, a semi-professional league called the Ligue nationale de soccer du Québec (LNSQ) was created, but it merged with different rival leagues to form the Ligue de soccer élite du Québec in 1992.^[2][3] In 1993, five of the former LNSQ clubs Corfinium St-Leonard, Cosmos de LaSalle, Luso Stars Mont-Royal, Montreal Croatia, and Montreal Ramblers joined the Canadian National Soccer League (CNSL) to form the league's Eastern Division.^[4][5] Following this, the amateur Ligue de soccer élite du Québec served as the top level of soccer in the province, although Quebec clubs did play in the United Soccer League (Montreal Impact) and the semi-professional Canadian Soccer League (Laval Dynamites/Trois-Rivières Attak and Montreal Impact Academy).^[6]

Foundation

In 2011, the Première ligue de soccer du Québec was established, marking the return of a semi-professional soccer league to the province for the first time in 20 years.^[2][7] The league was sanctioned by the Canadian Soccer Association as a level 3 league, below Major League Soccer (level 1) and the North American Soccer League and United Soccer League (level 2), which were American-based fully professional leagues featuring some Canadian teams,^[2] including the Montreal Impact of the MLS.

The league had its debut season in 2012 with a men's division featuring five teams – A.S. Blainville, FC Brossard, FC Boisbriand, FC L'Assomption, and FC Saint-Léonard.^[8] FC Saint-Léonard won the inaugural season.^[9] The following season, the league added a league cup to its schedule, the Coupe PLSQ, which would take place annually at the conclusion of the season, unrelated to the results of the regular season.^[10] In 2014, the province of Ontario created its own semi-professional level 3 league, League1 Ontario,^[11] and the Inter-Provincial Cup was established which would be contested between the champions of each league and ran for three years until 2016.^[12] In 2015, the league added its first club from outside of the province of Quebec, with the Ottawa Fury FC Academy joining the league.^[13]

Beginning in 2018, the league champion qualified to participate in the Canadian Championship for the following season.^[14] In 2018, a women's division was added, starting with five teams.^[15] The start of the 2020 season was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic,^[16] but it ultimately resumed with a shortened season, although some teams opted out of playing for the season.^[17] However, the remainder of the men's season was cancelled about three-quarters of the way through the season, due to a resurgence of the pandemic (the female season had already concluded).^[18]

In 2022, the PLSQ joined League1 Canada along with League1 Ontario and League1 British Columbia. On April 19, 2023, the league rebranded to Ligue1 Québec to align with its partner leagues.^[19] In 2024, it was announced that USL League Two club Vermont Green FC would host the reigning L1Q champion each year in a friendly each year, known as the Maple Cup.^[20]

Competition format

Depending on the number of teams in the league, teams play every other team two to four times per season, for a total of between 15 and 20 games. The winner gets the regular season championship. Each team has a minimum of nine paid players and is subject to a salary cap.^{[citation needed]}

Coupe L1QC

At the end of the year, there is a league cup, called the Coupe L1QC (formerly the Coupe PLSQ), which began in 2013. The format varies each season, depending on the number of teams in the league.^[21] The most recent cup competition featured the top four teams from league play in a single-knockout tournament. In the past, the cup has also used a group stage and knockout format where three groups of three teams were formed, and the winner of each group along with the best second-place finisher advanced to the semi-finals.

Yearly results

1. ^ The season was cancelled before its conclusion, with the final standings determined on a points earned per game basis
2. ^ Originally 9 clubs were set to participate, however, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, three clubs withdrew from the season
3. ^ Ottawa South United withdrew midway through the season due to provincial government and cross-border restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, with 9 teams finishing the season
4. ^ AS Laval was known as CS Monteuil until the 2021 season
5. ^ FC Laval was known as CS Fabrose until the 2020 season
6. ^ Lakeshore SC originally participated in the PLSQ from 2015 to 2016
7. ^ FC Boisbriand originally participated in the PLSQ from 2012 to 2013. In 2019 they merged with 3 youth clubs to form Revolution FC
8. ^ FC Brossard originally participated in the PLSQ from 2012 to 2013
9. ^ FC St-Léonard originally participated in the PLSQ from 2012 to 2013
10. ^ CS Lanaudière-Nord was known as FC L'Assomption-Lanaudière from 2012 to 2015. They departed the league after 2015, returned in 2022, before again departing after 2023. They then joined L3QC in 2025.

Clubs

Over the course of its history, various clubs have joined and departed the league. A.S. Blainville is the only club to have participated in every season since the league's inception.^[22] Blainville has been the most successful club, winning both the league championship and the league cup four times. CS Mont-Royal Outremont has been second-most successful with four league championships and one league cup title.

Current clubs

Ligue 1 Québec

The following twelve teams are members of the league for the 2026 season:

Ligue 2 Québec

The following teams are members of the league for the 2026 season:

Ligue 3 Québec

The following teams are members of the league for the 2026 season:

Former clubs

Players who earned national team caps while in the L1QC

The following players have earned a senior national team cap while playing in the L1QC (the year of their first cap while playing in the league is listed). Players who earned caps before or after playing in the L1QC are not included, unless they also earned caps while in the league. This section also does not include youth caps (U23 or below).

L1QC clubs in other competitions

See also

• Canadian soccer league system
• Premier Soccer Leagues Canada

References

1. ^ Chenoix, Eric (October 15, 2018). "L'avant 1911" [Before 1911] (in French). Viau Park
2. ^ "Retour d'une ligue semi-pro" [Return of a semi-pro league]. Ici Radio-Canada Télé. 30 August 2011.
3. ^ Phillips, Randy (May 9, 1992). "New league groups best in Quebec". Newspapers.com. Montreal Gazette. p. 71. Retrieved 2020-04-22.
4. ^ "Roundup Overtime". Newspapers.com. The Leader-Post. January 7, 1993. p. 11. Retrieved 2020-03-31.
5. ^ "25 Sep 1993, 75 - The Gazette at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2020-04-08.
6. ^ "2001 - May 20 - Expanded CPSL set to kickoff". Canadian Professional Soccer League. December 24, 2001. Archived from the original on December 24, 2001. Retrieved December 13, 2017.
7. ^ canadienne, La Presse (1 September 2011). "La Première Ligue de soccer du Québec voit le jour" (in French). Le Devoir. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
8. ^ "La Première ligue voit le jour" [The Premier League is born] (in French). Le Journal de Montréal. April 3, 2012.
9. ^ Gauthier, Audrey (October 15, 2012). "FC Saint-Léonard, champions" [Saint-Léonard FC, champions] (in French). Métro
10. ^ "Toute une saison inaugurale!" [A whole inaugural season!] (in French). Métro. November 7, 2013.
11. ^ "OSA announces League1 Ontario teams". Ontario Soccer Association. April 8, 2014. Archived from the original on May 18, 2014. Retrieved April 13, 2014.
12. ^ "OSA and QSF announce Division 3 Inter-Provincial Cup final". Ontario Soccer Association. Archived from the original on October 19, 2014. Retrieved 14 October 2014.
13. ^ "Fury FC Academy and the Premier League de Soccer du Quebec". Bytown Boys. May 1, 2015. Archived from the original on October 4, 2015. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
14. ^ Tierney, Mitchell (March 9, 2017). "Report: Provincial Champions to Play in Voyageurs Cup as Early as 2018". Waking the Red. Archived from the original on January 25, 2017. Retrieved March 11, 2017.
15. ^ O'Neill, Paméla (January 11, 2018). "Une première saison de PLSQ féminine!" [A first season of women's PLSQ!] (in French). Viau Park
16. ^ "COVID-19: Report du Début de la Saison" [COVID-19: Postponement of Early Season] (in French). PLSQ. March 25, 2020.
17. ^ "La Première ligue de soccer du Québec lancera bientôt sa saison" [The Premier league of Quebec soccer will launch its season soon] (in French). RDS. July 13, 2020.
18. ^ "COVID-19 : Mise à Jour Du 29 Septembre 2020" [COVID-19: Update September 29, 2020] (in French). Quebec Soccer Federation. 29 September 2020.
19. ^ "Première ligue de soccer du Québec transitions to Ligue1 Québec". League1 Canada. 19 April 2023. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
20. ^ Mahmoudi, Nelson (April 20, 2024). "Vermont Green To Host League1 Quebec Champion In New 'Maple Cup'". Northern Tribune
21. ^ "À Propos De La Coupe PLSQ" [About the PLSQ Cup] (in French). RDS. Archived from the original on March 29, 2019. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
22. ^ Gray, Shawn (January 31, 2017). "Quebec's 3rd Division". Northern Starting XI
23. ^ "Semi-professional soccer in Granby in 2026"
24. ^ "It Begins.. We have officially entered the LS PRO pathway for 2026!". Instagram. @westottawasoccerclub.
25. ^ "LS PRO SOCCER IS COMING TO SPC THIS SUMMER!". @soccerpointeclare.
26. ^ "ASSL X LIGUE 3 SOCCER QUÉBEC". @as_saintlambart.
27. ^ "Consultez les essais DSC pour être pris en considération pour l’équipe d’été 2026.". @dollardsc.
28. ^ "You’ve been waiting, it’s official.". Club de soccer Optimum de Victoriaville.
29. ^ Ducharme, Jean-François (September 15, 2014). "Un Citadin au Burundi" [A Citizen in Burundi] (in French). Université du Québec à Montréal
30. ^ "Kevin Dean Chan-Yu-Tin (Lakeshore SC): L'international Mauricien" [Kevin Dean Chan-Yu-Tin (Lakeshore SC): The International Mauritius]. Première ligue de soccer du Québec. March 20, 2017.
31. ^ Rialdi, Irwan Febri (November 8, 2021). "3 Bintang Timnas Afghanistan yang Perlu Diwaspadai, Ada Eks Persib Bandung" [3 Stars of the Afghanistan National Team to Watch Out for] (in Indonesian). Bola Times
32. ^ "T&T Men secure 2-0 win over St Vincent/Grenadines". Trinidad and Tobago Football Association. June 11, 2022.

External links

• Official website