Brady Oliveira has the chance to take home the coveted CFL double.
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers running back is up for both Most Outstanding Player and Most Outstanding Canadian at this week’s CFL Awards before he suits up in the 111th Grey Cup. But Oliveira won’t be the only high-profile Canadian suiting up in Sunday’s showdown between the Bombers and Toronto Argonauts.
Here are four other Canadians set to shine on the biggest stage of them all.
111th GREY CUP
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TYRELL FORD | DEFENSIVE BACK
Tyrell Ford finished second in the league with seven interceptions this season (Daniel Crump/CFL.ca)
From not playing at all in 2023 to perhaps the league’s best defensive back one year later is not a bad turn of fortune. And that’s exactly the path Ford has walked since trying his hand in the NFL last season. Upon returning to Winnipeg, the team that drafted him 13th overall in 2022, Ford has absolutely exploded.
Slotting in at field cornerback all season, Ford finished second in the league with seven interceptions while racking up 51 defensive tackles. Ford’s advanced metrics at Pro Football Focus were also off the charts, which helped him earn his first All-CFL nod this year. After playing a big part in his first Grey Cup appearance in 2022, Ford will be front and centre this time around.
RYAN HUNTER | OFFENSIVE LINE
Ryan Hunter (#62) helped limit the Montreal Alouettes to just one sack in the Eastern Final (Bailey McLean/CFL.ca)
Everything Hunter has done has earned him a pair of All-CFL nods in two seasons since joining the Argos after five years in the NFL. With Nick Arbuckle stepping in to replace the injured Chad Kelly at quarterback for Sunday’s big game, the spotlight on Hunter at left tackle is going to be that much brighter.
Hunter helped limit the Alouettes to just one sack in Saturday’s Eastern Final, and also played a key part in Toronto’s impressive ground attack all year. The Argos finished second during the regular season averaging 121.3 rushing yards per game. That total was even higher on Saturday as Toronto put up 135 yards on the ground in a 30-28 win over Montreal.
NIC DEMSKI | RECEIVER
Nic Demski posted a career-high 1,030 receiving yards to go along with six touchdown catches in 2024 (Kevin Sousa/CFL.ca)
Oliveira isn’t the only product of Winnipeg’s vaunted Oak Park High School ready to go to work on Sunday. Fellow graduate Demski is coming off another stellar regular season where he posted a career-high 1,030 receiving yards to go along with six touchdown catches.
Impressively, 2024 marks the fourth-straight campaign Demski has posted career best receiving totals. And while Kenny Lawler’s three touchdowns got most of the attention in Saturday’s 38-22 Western Final win over Saskatchewan, Demski reeled in a major of his own to go along with 49 receiving yards and 14 more on the ground. Versatile and elusive, Demski is a threat to make something big happen on every single snap.
ROBBIE SMITH | DEFENSIVE LINE
Robbie Smith (#40, right) tied his career-high this season with six sacks (Jason Halstead/CFL.ca)
We don’t have to go back too far to find an example of Smith making a huge Grey Cup impact. In Toronto’s triumph over Winnipeg in their epic 2022 showdown, Smith finished with four defensive tackles and a sack. But most memorable was his block on Marc Liegghio’s potential game-winning field goal that sealed an absolutely thrilling win for the Argos.
Now in his fifth season in Double Blue, Brampton’s Smith tied his career high with six sacks, adding to his 31 defensive tackles. He added another sack and two more tackles in Saturday’s Eastern Final. Smith was a vital part of this defensive line all season as Toronto led the league with 48 total sacks.