Looking at it from purely a football perspective, they're living in the future in Canada. The Canadian Football League's schedule runs more in parallel with Major League Baseball than the National Football League, so the CFL is dealing with the problems now that the NFL and college football can see only in the distance.
And as college football conferences debate playing a delayed season, a shortened season, a split season, or a spring season, their counterparts up north have already come to a decision.
The Canada West Conference has announced that, if its 2020 season occurs, it will be a 5-game, conference only affair, according to 3 Down Nation. The start date is still to be determined, but it will most likely fall in the final week of September or the first week of October.
The Canada West Conference consists of just six schools -- the universities of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Regina, Alberta, Calgary and British Columbia -- and its schools typically play an 8-game season, conference-only that begins when the American college season does. There are 27 Canadian universities that sponsor football (not counting Simon Fraser, who competes in NCAA Division II), split between four conferences, that compete for the national championship known as Vanier Cup.
Canada West plays a 4-game playoff for its league championship; that will continue in 2020.
The coronavirus is not the only reason for the shortening of the season. University-wide budget cuts -- which, of course, became necessary because of the virus -- was cited as another reason why the 2020 season will be shortened if it happens at all.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.