They may have been in and out of the Canadian Football League over the past 80 years, but the Montreal Alouettes are still taking the opportunity to celebrate their history during the 2026 season.
On Wednesday, May 20 — the 80th anniversary of the team’s founding in 1946 — the Alouettes unveiled a special commemorative logo on their social media channels. It features a white block numeral 80 on a navy blue field with red and navy blue outlines. The team’s current primary logo sits at the bottom, overlapping the numeral and with its tail protruding from the bottom.
The Alouettes didn’t specify in their social media posts how the logo would be used, but possible applications include helmet decals and jersey patches. They did, however, say that in 2026 they would be “celebrating the players, moments, and icons who helped shape our history and inspire generations of fans.”
The original Montreal Alouettes franchise was founded in 1946 and played until 1982, when owner Nelson Skalbania was forced to return the team to the CFL after his own finances collapsed. The league quickly replaced the Alouettes with the Montreal Concordes, who were owned by businessman Charles Bronfman and inherited the history and records of the previous franchise. The name was changed, though, because despite giving up the team, Skalbania still claimed to own the Alouettes’ intellectual property.
In 1986, the team’s ownership came to an agreement with Skalbania and changed their name back to the Alouettes. But, with dwindling attendance and the collapse of the CFL’s television deal, Bronfman folded the franchise one day before the 1987 regular season began.
Nine years later, in 1996, the Alouettes returned when the Baltimore Stallions were sold to Robert Wetenhall and relocated to Montreal, ending the CFL’s American expansion experiment. The team wasn’t drawing big crowds to Olympic Stadium at first, but when a U2 concert conflicted with a home playoff game in November 1997, the game was moved to Molson Stadium on the campus of McGill University. This sparked interest in the team and the playoff game sold out. The team relocated permanently to Molson Stadium in 1998, and they still play “Sunday Bloody Sunday” before every Sunday home game in tribute to the band that inadvertently turned the team’s fortunes around.
Playing as the Alouettes, the team has won eight Grey Cups: 1949, 1970, 1974, 1977, 2002, 2009, 2010 and 2023.
The Alouettes begin their 2026 CFL regular season on the road against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Thursday, June 4. Their home opener at Molson Stadium is eight days later (Friday, June 12) against the Toronto Argonauts.
