Famous musicians performed during the week-long festival that included Kenny Rogers, The Beach Boys, Sam Roberts Band, Tom Cochrane and Red Rider.

At the game, Canadian Idol winner, Eva Avila sung the national anthem and Nelly Furtado performed at the halftime show, singing her two latest hits; "Promiscuous" (with Saukrates) and "Maneater".

BC elected to go on defence on the first series, and Alouettes quarterback Anthony Calvillo threw two incomplete passes to begin the game.

Joe Smith reeled off a 17-yard run on the first play, and after another first down, Dickenson hit Ryan Thelwell with a 14-yard pass past midfield.

Paris Jackson made a 14-yard catch of his own but Buck Pierce, filling in for Dickenson, was sacked for a nine-yard loss by Adriano Belli.

Montreal got the ball back on its own 46 and got a couple of first downs to set up Damon Duval field goal attempt from the 47 that was kicked wide left and returned out of the end zone to negate a single point.

Early in the third quarter, Dickenson appeared to fumble the ball on a sack by R-Kal Truluck which was recovered by Chip Cox who had nothing but daylight for a touchdown.

But Jake Ireland ruled Dickenson was down before the losing the ball, which was overturned by instant replay, the first in Grey Cup history.

Faced with second and long, and possibility of a punt that would give Montreal great field position, Dickenson completed a crucial pass to Geroy Simon that gave the Lions a first down.

McCallum gave up another safety with 1:43 remaining to make the score 25–14, but the Alouettes couldn't get closer than the BC 15-yard line before time ran out.

November 5 Michael Bishop spearheaded a late fourth quarter comeback, giving the Toronto Argonauts a 31–27 win over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in an East Division semifinal game at the Rogers Centre.

Toronto head coach Mike "Pinball" Clemons made the change under center to catch Winnipeg off guard and it worked.

Kenton Keith's 14-yard touchdown run with 2:20 remaining cemented a second-half comeback, as the Saskatchewan Roughriders pulled out a gritty 30–21 win over the Calgary Stampeders in the Western Division Semifinal at a chilly McMahon Stadium.

Calgary increased the margin to 21–5 when Burris sneaked over the goal line amidst a mass of bodies from two yards out, but the Riders closed out the first half strongly.

Joseph led the charge from his own 35-yard line and hooked up with Matt Dominguez for a 22-yard strike, capping an eight-play, 75-yard drive which closed the gap to 21–12 at the break.

After taking the opening kickoff to their own 34, Keith found a seam up the middle on the first play from scrimmage and bolted 76 yards for the score, cutting the Calgary lead to two at 21–19.

The lead was trimmed closer to 21–20 when Howell decided to run out of the back of the end zone rather than fielding a Luca Congi punt, granting Saskatchewan a valuable point.

November 12 Robert Edwards rushed for 137 yards and a touchdown as Montreal advanced to the Grey Cup with a 33–24 victory over the Toronto Argonauts in the East Division final.

Anthony Calvillo completed 14-of-22 passes for 252 yards with a touchdown and an interception for Montreal (11–8), who own a 4–1 record against the Argonauts in the last five East finals.

The former Heisman Trophy finalist from Kansas State University completed 17-of-24 passes for 159 yards with two touchdowns and a pick for the Argonauts (11–9).

Williams signed with Toronto after he violated the NFL's substance abuse policy for the fourth time, resulting in a one-year suspension from the league.

A pass-interference call in the end zone later in the fourth gave the Argonauts a first down on the one-yard and Williams dove across the goal line to cut Toronto's deficit to six, 30–24.

Toronto appeared to build some momentum to start the second half, as Bashir Levingston returned the kickoff 50 yards deep into Montreal territory.

The Argonauts then got the ball back with a chance to build off the momentum from Bruce's TD, but an overturned call on a Williams' fumble changed the complexion of the game.

Dave Dickenson completed 27-of-37 passes for 274 yards and three touchdowns, as the BC Lions destroyed the Saskatchewan Roughriders, 45–18, to score a franchise playoff-record points total and reach the Grey Cup against Montreal.

Kerry Joseph completed 15-of-23 passes for 210 yards with one interception and one touchdown for the Roughriders (9–9), who qualified for the division final by upsetting Calgary, 30–21.

McCallum kicked a 20-yard field goal with 1:26 remaining, and the Lions mustered another score when Dickenson threw a 35-yard touchdown pass to Jackson with just 21 seconds on the clock.

Then, after Geroy Simon fumbled, Keith kept the ball on the ground next for a four-yard rushing touchdown as time expired for a 32–18 Saskatchewan deficit.