The CMFL was formed in 1999 by the Alberta Football League (AFL) and Manitoba Football League (MFL) in attempt to crown the amateur national champion of Canada, and replaced the Canadian Senior Intermediate championship game.
Since 2002 the game has been played between the AFL and Northern Football Conference (NFC) league champions.
[3] The participating teams compete for the Sid Forster Memorial Trophy, emblematic of the Canadian Major Football Championship.
The permanent trophy was provided by the NFC in memory of long-time Sudbury Spartans head coach and Canadian Football Hall of Fame member Sid Forester,[4] who died in 1994.
CMFL games are played under the host conference Canadian amateur rules.