For the Edmonton Elks, everything that could go right has through the first four weeks of the CFL season.
They’ve started the 2026 season red hot, securing wins over the Ottawa Redblacks, the Montreal Alouettes and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. They have the league-leading rusher, Justin Rankin, who’s already scampered for 387 yards on the ground and four touchdowns — 48 more yards than the second-placed Dedrick Mills, with the Calgary Stampeders running back already playing four games.
Rankin, whom the team has relied upon so heavily already this season, will face his toughest test yet against a Lions side giving up 71.7 rushing yards against per game, third-best in the league.
Week 5 will be the Elks’ toughest test yet, going up against a winless B.C. Lions side that has quarterback Nathan Rourke and a passing attack that’s getting healthy.
One area the Elks could attack is the Lions secondary, who are seeing a shuffle in those ranks. Rookie corner Tyson Russell, who has had multiple mistakes in recent weeks, has been benched in favour of another rookie, Stanley Thomas-Oliver. Halfback T.J. Lee, meanwhile, will miss his second straight game. The Lions defence has given up just over 300 yards against through the air.
Elks third overall pick in this years draft, linebacker Dariel Djabome, will make his first career start for the team. He’ll have a chance to earn some runway with Brock Mogensen dealing with a hamstring injury, landing him on the six-game injured list.
Edmonton Elks @ B.C. Lions
- Date: Saturday, July 4, 2026
- Kickoff: 5 p.m. MT
- Location: Kelowna, B.C.
- Venue: Apple Bowl Stadium
- Watch: TSN
- Weather at kickoff via Environment Canada: 27 degrees, mainly sunny. Wind blowing southwest at 30 km/h, gusts up to 50 km/h.
FIELD GOALS
Head coach Mark Kilam on three straight wins: “Honestly, we don’t ever talk like that in here. It’s about, ‘what are we going to do to find a way to win every week’. That’s all that we talk about. We’re trying to go 1-0, we’re trying to improve, and that’s the things that we’re working on. It is about finding ways to win, and it looks different every game. Every game is its own entity, different things happen – weather, injuries – all these things happen, and you’ve got to find ways to overcome it and make plays.”
Quarterback Cody Fajardo on facing the Lions: “They’re a formidable opponent. We are going to have our hands full with a really good team. I remember last year we went 0-3 against them and got outscored: our offence didn’t score very much and their offence scored a lot. So the guys that (were) here know that, and the new guys that don’t know that, it’s almost a good thing.”
Offensive lineman David Beard: “They’ve got a lot of really good players on their roster and I think any team would be a fool to sleep on these guys. They’ve built a great roster and got great coaches on their staff too, so you can’t sleep on BC.”
DEPTH CHARTS
Elks
Lions
