Background Forge FC entered the season as the reigning
Canadian Premier League champions after having won the
2022 Canadian Premier League final against
Atlético Ottawa. This was the club's third CPL title and fourth
finals appearance in four years, leading to the Canadian Premier League and several pundits to declare Forge FC to be a
dynasty. Along with the Champions Cup spot awarded to the winner of the
Canadian Championship, Forge has three qualification paths to the
2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup. The club's goal entering the 2023 season was to return to international competition and qualify for the
2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup. Forge retained most of its roster from the
previous season; the club's highest profile off-season move was to add
Canadian international Manjrekar James to replace outgoing
cenre-back Daniël Krutzen in defence. Entering the season, Forge FC were favoured to repeat as Canadian Premier League champions.
April Forge began its season on April 15 at home against
rivals Cavalry FC. This was a rematch of the
2022 playoff semifinal where Forge defeated Cavalry 3–2 on aggregate on their way to the championship. Club
captain Kyle Bekker served the second game of a two-match suspension following his
red card in the second leg of that semifinal, while
midfielder Sebastian Castello missed the match due to injury.
Manjrekar James made his debut for the club in an entertaining match where Forge came back from 1–0 and 2–1 deficits to secure a 2–2 draw. Forge's first goal came from a
Jordan Hamilton penalty in the 41st minute after he was hauled down by Cavalry
goalkeeper Marco Carducci.
Noah Jensen scored on a volley in the 76th minute to tie the match 2–2, helping to earn himself
Player of the Match honours and a spot in the CPL
Team of the Week. For the fifth consecutive year, Forge were unable to win on opening day; this draw brought their record in season openers to three draws and two losses. Entering the match, Forge coach
Bobby Smyrniotis highlighted the importance of this cup tournament for the club, describing it as "a competition that we want" and the
Voyageurs Cup as "a trophy that we don’t have in our cabinet." Heavily favoured against their
semi-pro opponent, Forge delivered with a 3–0 win. Noah Jensen was the star again, scoring a
brace, while
Woobens Pacius scored a penalty. The match was
Tristan Borges's 100th for Forge in all competitions, making him the fifth player in club history to achieve this milestone. The win advanced Forge to the Canadian Championship quarter-finals where they would face
Atlético Ottawa. On April 22, Forge hosted
HFX Wanderers FC for the first time under their new head coach,
Patrice Gheisar. Gheisar and Bobby Smyrniotis had previously coached against each other in
League1 Ontario where Gheisar coached
Vaughan Azzurri and Smyrniotis coached
Sigma FC. He was the beneficiary of a favourable deflection that came off of a shot from
Aboubacar Sissoko. For midfielder
Alessandro Hojabrpour, the match was his 100th in all competitions for CPL clubs, split between
Pacific FC and Forge. In their next match, Forge played away from home at
Starlight Stadium against Pacific FC in a battle of the only ever CPL champions. Goalkeeper
Christopher Kalongo picked up an injury before the match, joining the still-injured Sebastian Castello as unavailable. Woobens Pacius headed in an
Ashtone Morgan cross in the 17th minute that stood up as the match winner as Forge won 1–0 in
Langford. It was Pacius's third goal in three games, tying him with Tristan Borges for first all-time in goals in all competitions for Forge FC. After the match, Bobby Smyrniotis drew attention to Pacius by comparing him and his scoring ability to that of
Canadian international Cyle Larin, Smyrniotis's former protégé.
Manjrekar James was dominant in defence to help stymie Pacific and secure the
clean sheet, earning him Player of the Match. Forge ended April undefeated, tied with
Valour FC atop the CPL standings. For the team's success, Bobby Smyrniotis was named the CPL Manager of the Month.
Terran Campbell scored the match's only goal in the 21st minute in an intense match that included a
red card to Ashtone Morgan. On May 9, Forge returned to Canadian Championship action in a quarter-final matchup against Atlético Ottawa in Hamilton. This was the first meeting between these two teams since the
2022 CPL Final. Noah Jensen, Alexander Achinioti-Jönsson, and Aboubacar Sissoko scored for Forge while Triston Henry made two saves to lead Forge to a 3–2 win. Kwasi Poku broke the deadlock with a 77th-minute winner while Jordan Hamilton scored the 200th goal in Forge's history. Forge then hosted expansion side
Vancouver FC on May 19 in the first ever match between the two clubs. Christopher Kalongo secured his first
clean sheet for Forge in a 0–0 draw. This was Forge's first ever scoreless draw at home in league play. This was Forge's third consecutive year facing CF Montréal in the tournament after losing to them in penalties following a 0–0 draw in
2021 and losing 3–0 thanks to a
Sunusi Ibrahim hat-trick in
2022. Forge held their own for a large stretch of the match before ultimately falling 2–0, eliminating them from the competition.
Ariel Lassiter opened the scoring for Montreal in the 53rd minute with a goal that deflected in off of Alessandro Hojabrpour and Sunisi Imbrahim put the match away with a powerful shot from inside the penalty box in the 78th minute. On May 27, David Choinière scored in second half stoppage time secure a 1–0 road win against Atlético Ottawa at
TD Place Stadium. Triston Henry made eight saves to earn a clean sheet as well as a spot in the CPL Team of the Week and CPL Player of the Week honours. At the quarter mark of the season, Forge had four wins and three draws and were off to their best start to a CPL season in club history. The club's undefeated run ended in their very next match back home on May 31 with a 2–1 loss to York United. Terran Campbell scored a 76th equalizer to erase an earlier
own goal from Alessandro Hojabrpour, however the match was ultimately decided in York's favour with a
Brem Soumaoro stoppage time screamer. ==Final squad==