What should Quebec's future CFL team be called?

in everyday life, everyone would probably end up simply saying « the Patriots ».

There is also another obvious problem: the New England Patriots are one of the most recognized brands in North American football. Even if « Patriots » is not necessarily impossible legally, the comparison would be inevitable.

The Quebec Citadelles

On CFL fan communities, it's probably one of the proposals that stands out most naturally.

In a discussion dedicated precisely to team concepts for Quebec last June, Citadelles, Nordiques, Voyageurs and Royals were identified as the main names proposed by participants.

In another discussion presenting several visual concepts, several users indicated they preferred Citadelles or Voyageurs.

Citadelles has several qualities.

It is immediately associated with Quebec.

It's Francophone.

It works relatively well in English.

It offers tremendous visual possibilities: fortifications, ramparts, military architecture, sentinels, geometric shapes inspired by the walls of the old city.

And there is already a sports history behind this name.

The Quebec Citadelles played in the American Hockey League between 1999 and 2002 at the Coliseum, as the affiliate of the Montreal Canadiens.

This past could be considered an advantage or a disadvantage.

The name is not blank slate.

But it is deeply linked to Quebec.

For a football team, I admit it has something.

The Quebec Citadelles.

It already sounds like a CFL franchise.

The Quebec Voyageurs

Here's the other name that keeps coming up.

And it's not new.

In 2023, a fan even created a complete imaginary CFL franchise concept called the Quebec City Voyageurs, with colours, uniforms and a compass rose as visual identity.

The post had generated a lot of positive reactions, with many saying that « Voyageurs » would be particularly appropriate for Quebec.

The name surfaced again in 2026 discussions.

In the concepts published this summer, Voyageurs was systematically part of the most discussed options along with Citadelles, Royals and Nordiques.

There is tremendous material to build a brand around that.

New France.

The St. Lawrence River.

Explorers.

Transportation.

Canoes.

A compass rose.

The colours of the river.

And unlike many very local names, « Voyageurs » also has fairly easy understanding across Canada.

Most importantly, it has something crucial for a new franchise:

it doesn't give the impression you're trying to imitate an existing team.

The Quebec Royals

The name also comes up fairly frequently in fan concepts.

The logic is obvious.

Quebec is the capital.

Place Royale.

The Château Frontenac.

A historical and majestic identity.

There are indeed several « Royals » concepts in fan discussions.

But the name immediately creates debate.

Several participants pointed out that the association with monarchy could be strange for a Quebec team.

There was even a small grammatical battle in the comments: Royaux, not « Royales », if we're talking about a men's team.

It remains a name that sounds good.

The Quebec Royals.

But unlike Citadelles or Voyageurs, the connection to Quebec's modern personality seems less obvious to me.

And obviously… the Nordiques

It had to happen.

Every time a new professional team is mentioned in Quebec, someone eventually proposes:

The Quebec Nordiques.

And yes, the name also appears in discussions surrounding the future CFL franchise.

From a marketing standpoint, we immediately understand why.

Few sports names possess recognition comparable to Quebec.

The Nordiques name was chosen in 1972 after a contest that generated more than 1,400 proposals, notably because it represented Quebec's geographical position and worked well in both French and English.

But here, the problem is enormous.

Nordiques is not simply a beautiful name available in the collective imagination.

It's a historic NHL brand.

And the entire dream surrounding a possible return of the hockey franchise rests precisely on this identity.

Even CFL fans who like the idea acknowledge that using the name could raise significant intellectual property and rights questions.

Personally, I would also find it strange to take one of the most famous hockey identities in Canada and suddenly transform it into a football franchise.

The Nordiques belong to another story.

The Quebec Attack

Here's a much more modern proposal.

The Quebec Attack notably appears in concepts submitted this summer by CFL fans.

It's short.

Aggressive in the sporting sense of the term.

Easy to market.

And completely different from traditional league names.

But it sounds more like something created by a marketing agency than something that naturally comes from Quebec's history.

It could work with an exceptional visual identity.

Otherwise, it risks aging quickly.

Other ideas also appear

Digging deeper into discussions surrounding a possible Quebec franchise over the past few years, we also find Grenadiers, « Resistance », various military and historical variants and, of course, several deliberately absurd proposals.

On Reddit, CFL fan discussions are filled with humour around the league's historical tradition of having several teams with almost the same name.

But when we eliminate jokes and names mentioned only once, a much clearer group forms:

Citadelles.
Voyageurs.
Patriots.
Royals.
Nordiques.

And possibly The Attack in a much more contemporary approach.

Quebec should avoid looking too far

What strikes me most about all these suggestions is that we probably don't need to invent something complicated.

The city already has an incredible amount of symbols.

The river.

The Citadelle.

The fortifications.

New France.

The Nordic character.

The national capital.

The fleur-de-lis.

It would almost be a shame to choose a generic name that could work in Calgary, Halifax or Toronto.

A second Quebec team in the CFL represents precisely the opportunity to create an extremely local identity.

The league itself would have every interest in the franchise being immediately identifiable as the Quebec team.

William Trudel's proposal is still missing

And that's ultimately the big unknown.

While fans have fun with Citadelles, Voyageurs, Patriots and Nordiques, we have absolutely no idea where William Trudel's group stands on the branding question.

Maybe nothing is decided yet.

Maybe a firm is already working on names, colours and a logo.

Maybe even the future name doesn't appear on any of the lists circulating today.

With an entry into the league envisioned around 2030 or 2031, there is still plenty of time. FM93 reports also indicate that the file is still dealing with infinitely more important matters, notably the stadium and its financing.

But there would be something particularly interesting to do.

A genuine public contest.

Quebec has an extraordinary precedent with the Nordiques: the name had precisely emerged from a public contest.

Why not do it again?

Ask people to propose names.

Select a few finalists.

Present the stories behind each one.

Then let the population participate in the birth of this new franchise.

Because an expansion team starts with no history.

It must build it.

And its very first chapter will probably be written with two or three words:

Quebec… something.

Now it's just a matter of finding which ones.