Work on CFL project has given Jutras new appreciation for Labour Day in Canada

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This article was published 05/09/2025 (352 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Johany Jutras will forever have a new appreciation for Labour Day.

For many in Canada, it’s the final holiday of the summer before the start of another school year. But for Jutras, it’s a time when diehard CFL fans gather not only to support their teams in rivalry games but also celebrate the league’s rich history in this country.

It’s a lesson the sports/documentary photographer learned firsthand while working on “Our League, Our Country,” a coffee-table book published in 2015 that chronicles the three-down game’s significance across in Canada. A commemorative 10th anniversary edition is now available.

“For me when I did the road trip to do this book, it was at Labour Day when I realized all that,” she said. “Until the Labour Day games, I don’t think I understood what it was really all about and that’s probably why it’s the cover photo.

“I think it (Our League, Our Country) is still relevant and it’s still a great piece of history.”

‘The re-release comes at a good time as the CFL is completing Labour Day home-and-home series this weekend in Edmonton (versus Calgary) and Winnipeg (versus Saskatchewan). And it also coincides with Canadians being encouraged to stand up for themselves amid political tensions with the United States over President Donald Trump’s tariffs on the country’s imports.

“This isn’t just a photo book, I feel it really captures the spirit of Canadian football,” Jutras said. “That is preserved in a way that I think won’t be done again and that’s what makes it special.

“The strength of Canadian football are the fans, the people, they make this league special. Right now I think it’s even more important than ever and I think the CFL means even more now to Canadians than what it used to.”

Even more remarkable was the unprecedented access Jutras had across the CFL while working on the project. That’s especially noteworthy given the cautious, often suspicious nature of football coaches when it comes to outsiders being present during their weekly game preparations.

The 132-page commemorative book – of which there will be just 500 copies available – will feature a new, rich cover. It will also include a reflective foreword and afterword from the author.

“Our League, Our Country” is Jutras’ photographic tribute to Canadian football but also its fans, who Jutras says really make the game what it is. A number of sports writers and broadcasters who cover the league also contributed to the venture.

As part of the original project, Jutras travelled across Canada, not only attending team events and shooting games (upwards of 2,000 frames per contest) in every CFL stadium – some more than once – but interacting with fans in all nine markets. Jutras’ mandate was to provide a glimpse into each market’s unique culture and traditions via her camera lens.

“Each market has its own little things that make it special and I made friends in every city,” Jutras said. “But the first two (cities) that come to mind are Winnipeg and Regina.

“Football is very big there … I’d compare it to what the Montreal Canadiens are to Montreal. The CFL is very important, the fans are very engaged. But then you have a city like Toronto where even if its fan base can be smaller, the fans are very engaged. Hamilton has a very big fan base as well.”

While many of the CFL’s coaches and players have come and gone over the last 10 years, there are some who remain. Quarterbacks Bo Levi Mitchell, Zach Collaros and Trevor Harris were all playing when Jutras first began working on the book and all three remain in the league, albeit with different teams.

“They were big names in the CFL and 10 years later they’re still at the top of their game,” Jutras said with a chuckle. “That part of the book is still very relevant.”

Since publishing “Our League, Our Country,” Jutras has moved on to other sports projects, including CrossFit. The resident of Drummondville, Que., still follows the CFL and watches key contests as well as the Grey Cup, which she last covered in 2019.

Of course, the CFL didn’t operate in 2020 due to the global pandemic. It resumed play in 2021.

“There was the pandemic so I explored other avenues and started to work with other sporting organizations,” she said. “I’m still shooting sports full-time, it’s just not football anymore.”

The latest edition of “Our League, Our Country” is only available online (www.johanyjutras.com) at a retail price of $69.99.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 5, 2025.