Each of Canada Soccer's thirteen provincial and territorial associations can send one representative to the Challenge Trophy, with teams generally qualifying through a regional preliminary series such as an open cup or league competition.[3]
For the 2019 tournament, nine provinces and one territory confirmed their participation.
2 Competed in previous tournaments as Winnipeg Sons of Italy.
3 Competed in previous tournaments as Ottawa St. Anthony's Italia FC.
4 Competed in previous tournaments as Dartmouth United Oland.
5 Competed in previous tournaments as Yellowknife FC.
Group stage
Competing teams are divided into two groups of five teams, playing against one another in a single round-robin and advancing to the final round based on their group positioning.
Tie-breaking criteria for group play
The following criteria shall be used to determine the final standings:[3]
Most points in all group matches;
Greater number of points in matches between the teams concerned (head-to-head competition);
Greater goal difference in all group matches;
Greater number of goals scored in all group matches;
Kicks from the penalty mark as per the Laws of the Game, at a time and place decided by the Canada Soccer General Coordinator.
The final round (known as Teck Finals Day for sponsorship reasons) consists of one game for each team, where they are paired with their equal-ranked opponent from the opposite group to determine a final ranking for the tournament.
^"Canada Soccer confirms schedules for 2019 Toyota National Championships". stepstjohns.ca. Sport Tourism Event Partnership. Retrieved August 18, 2022. Canada Soccer's premier amateur event – the Toyota National Championships – will kick off on Wednesday 9 October with 153 matches to be played across six competitions in six days across three venues. This year's 2019 Toyota National Championships will be played in St. John's, Newfoundland Labrador (men's Challenge Trophy and women's Jubilee Trophy), Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island (U-17 Cup), and Edmonton, Alberta (U-15 Cup).
^"Recap: Senior Soccer Fest 2019". albertasoccer.com. Alberta Soccer Association. September 3, 2019. Retrieved August 18, 2022. Edmonton Scottish will return to Nationals after previously qualifying eight times between 1979 and 2018.
^"Ottawa St. Anthony Wins Men's Ontario Cup Final in Penalty Thriller". ontariosoccer.net. Ontario Soccer Association. August 29, 2019. Retrieved August 18, 2022. With the Ontario Cup win, Ottawa moves to the National Championships to play for the Challenge Trophy, from Oct. 9-14 in St. John's Newfoundland.