1970s In 1970, the
Ontario Major Junior Hockey League,
Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, and
Western Canada Hockey League broke away from the
Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA) and became its own governing body (what would become the
Canadian Hockey League). These new "Major Junior" leagues were given exclusive permission to compete for the
Memorial Cup, which had been Canada's Junior "A" championship prior to 1970. In May 1970, CAHA chairman
Frank McKinnon tabled a motion at the organization's Annual General Meeting to allow the remaining Junior "A" leagues to compete at a national level for their own championship. The motion was granted and McKinnon and the
Manitoba Amateur Hockey Association donated the
Manitoba Centennial Trophy to the new championship in honour of 100 years of ice hockey in
Manitoba.
Leagues The leagues that would be involved in that first year were: •
British Columbia Junior Hockey League (BCJHL) •
Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) •
Saskatchewan Amateur Junior Hockey League (SAJHL) •
Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL) •
Southern Ontario Junior A Hockey League (SOJHL) •
Thunder Bay Junior A Hockey League (TBJHL) •
Central Junior A Hockey League (CJHL) •
Northern Ontario Junior Hockey Association (NOJHA) •
Maritime Junior A Hockey League (MJAHL) •
New Brunswick Junior Hockey League (NBJHL) In 1971, the
Newfoundland Amateur Hockey Association jumped on board by allowing their provincial Junior champion to compete in the Centennial Cup playdowns. This lasted until 1977. Also in 1971, the Maritime Junior A Hockey League folded, leaving the
Charlottetown Islanders (the defending
Dudley Hewitt Cup champions) to enter the Centennial Cup playdowns as an independent team. Also in 1971, the
Newfoundland Junior A Hockey League entered the fray. In 1972, the
Northern Ontario Junior Hockey Association folded when two of its teams (
Sudbury Wolves and
Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds) jumped to Major Junior. The Charlottetown Islanders closed their doors after a marginal performance in the 1972 playdowns. Two new leagues came in 1972, the
Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League was created as a rival league to the Southern Ontario Junior A Hockey League. The SOJHL was more in
Southwestern Ontario, while the OPJHL focused more on the
Greater Toronto Area. The other new league was the
Quebec Junior A Hockey League. In 1973, the
Island Junior Hockey League of
Prince Edward Island made the jump from Junior B to Junior A. In 1975, the
Eastern Junior A Hockey League ascended to Junior A from the Junior B ranks in
Cape Breton Island. Then, in 1977, the
Metro Valley Junior Hockey League jumped from Junior B to Junior A in mainland
Nova Scotia. After one year of playing head-to-head for the provincial Junior A title, the EJHL folded and left the MVJHL as the only league in Nova Scotia. After various attempts to create a stable Junior A system in Newfoundland, the NAHA and its teams pulled out of National play in 1977. The Southern Ontario league folded in 1977, the
Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League was promoted to Junior A in 1978 and the
NorMan Junior Hockey League was promoted to Junior A in
Manitoba in 1979. A second league was founded in
British Columbia in 1974, the
Pacific Coast Junior Hockey League was created to compete with the British Columbia Junior Hockey League - this league was absorbed by the BCJHL in 1979. A year later, the
Peace-Cariboo Junior Hockey League was promoted from Junior B in East-Central British Columbia. That same year, the Thunder Bay Junior A Hockey League folded. They were replaced by a single team, the
Thunder Bay Kings later to be the two-time
Centennial Cup champion
Thunder Bay Flyers.
1980s and 1990s The summer of 1982 saw the folding of the Quebec Junior A League. In 1983, the
New Brunswick Junior Hockey League folded and merged with the Metro Valley Junior Hockey League. In 1985, the NorMan Junior Hockey League faltered and folded. In 1987, the OPJHL, then known as the Ontario Junior Hockey League, folded after dropping to only four teams. During the
1988 Centennial Cup playoff run, the
Black Lake Miners of
Quebec were allowed to enter as an independent team. That summer, the
Quebec Provincial Junior Hockey League was formed, rebranded the
Quebec Junior AAA Hockey League in 1997. In 1989, Newfoundland would take a second shot at Junior A with the promotion of the
St. John's Junior Hockey League. In 1990, the western Junior A leagues in Canada would form the Canada West Association. This organization would be the catalyst for the creation of the Canadian Junior A Hockey League in 1993. In 2008, the league was rebranded the "Canadian Junior Hockey League". The CJAHL was formed in November 1993, with
Fred Page appointed as chairman of the board, and
Ronald Boileau as president. The original leagues included: •
British Columbia Hockey League •
Rocky Mountain Junior Hockey League •
Alberta Junior Hockey League •
Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League •
Manitoba Junior Hockey League •
Thunder Bay Flyers (Representative of
Hockey Northwestern Ontario) •
Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League •
Metro Junior A Hockey League •
Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League •
Central Junior A Hockey League •
Quebec Provincial Junior Hockey League •
Maritime Junior A Hockey League The St. John's Junior Hockey League dropped back to Junior B in 1991. Also in 1991, the
Island Junior Hockey League folded and merged with the Metro Valley league. The Metro Valley League now had all three Maritime provinces incorporated in it and decided to change its name to the
Maritime Junior A Hockey League. Out West in 1991, the Peace-Cariboo league expanded south into the
Kootenays and rebranded itself as the
Rocky Mountain Junior Hockey League. In 1993,
Southern Ontario came back in a big way with two leagues—the
Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League and the
Metro Junior A Hockey League. By 1998, the two leagues would merge under the Ontario Provincial banner with 37 teams under its belt. In 1999, the Rocky Mountain Junior Hockey League folded.
2000s to present In 2000, the Thunder Bay Flyers folded, having competed strictly in the
United States Hockey League since the 1996–97 season. A year later, their void was filled by the
Superior International Junior Hockey League. In 2008, the Ontario Provincial League rebranded itself the Ontario Junior Hockey League, just to be divided into two leagues in 2009 (Central Canadian Hockey League and Ontario Junior A Hockey League), and be reunited in time for playoffs that year under the Ontario Junior Hockey League banner. In 2010, the Central Junior A Hockey League became the
Central Canada Hockey League. In 2018, the CJHL introduced a concussion protocol funded by
the Co-operators, for the assessment and management of concussion, and digitally tracking a player's concussion history. The CJHL later developed a player safety committee to implement educational videos for players, and for uniform
ice hockey rules in the constituent leagues. During the
COVID-19 pandemic in Canada, the CJHL cancelled the 2019–20 season playoffs for all leagues, the four regional championships, and the national championship. Several return-to-play scenarios were proposed for the 2020–21 season, which included staggered registrations and different opening dates for each league. Due to the pandemic, some leagues in the CJHL played games without spectators in attendance, which greatly reduced league income. The CJHL hoped that the financial assistance given by provincial governments in Alberta and Saskatchewan would be equalled by other provinces. In 2021, all CJHL leagues agreed to
truth and reconciliation games in support of
First Nations in Canada. The
Dryden Ice Dogs were the first team to arrange such a game. ==Current leagues==