The 1986 Montreal Alouettes finished the season in third place in the East Division with a 4–14 record and missed the playoffs.

The Montreal Alouettes were facing severe financial difficulty, having lost close to $15 million between 1982–86, so having the CFL give a fourth place team in one division a playoff spot if its record was better than the third-place finisher in the other division was a disaster.

When Calgary got a playoff spot over the Alouettes, the lost revenue for a playoff game further crippled the franchise, contributing to its demise shortly after the start of the following season.

General manager Joe Galat left the team prior to the end of the season to take a position with the B.C.

President Norm Kimball took over as GM until the end of the season [1]