[5][6] The format of the competition was originally changed slightly from the 2019 edition to accommodate the departure of Ottawa Fury FC.

The format was adjusted in June to exclude the League1 Ontario and Première ligue de soccer du Québec 2019 champions, who will instead qualify for the 2021 tournament.

[11][12] The winner of the Canadian Championship final would qualify for the 2021 CONCACAF Champions League which begins in early April 2021.

Forge FC owner Bob Young raised concerns over the date of the final noting that as of March 6, 2021, his club had not yet been granted permission to train by local health authorities.

[6] As part of the MLS regular season, Canada's three Major League Soccer clubs played each other three times from August 18 to September 16.

[18] On March 25, 2021, Canada Soccer president Nick Bontis said that the final may end up taking place as late as July 2022.