NIAGARA FALLS, Ontario – Former North Dakota running back Brady Oliveira was one of seven individuals to receive honors from the Canadian Football League (CFL) at Fallsview Casino & Resort on Thursday night.

Oliveira earned the title of Most Outstanding Canadian after establishing career-highs in rushing yards (1,534) and yards from scrimmage (2,016) to lead the league and become the second-ever Canadian to reach 1,500 yards and 2,000 yards from scrimmage. This was the former Fighting Hawk's second 1,000-yard rushing season and his first time eclipsing the 1,500-yard mark. He is the 15th player in CFL history to reach 2,000 yards from scrimmage in a single season. Oliveira led the league with seven 100-yard rushing games and set career-bests in receptions (38), receiving yards (482) and total touchdowns (13 – nine rushing and four receiving).

 "It's been incredible, and I'm truly blessed," said Oliveira. "I appreciate my teammates and my coaches. Being able to get to work with those guys every single day makes it a lot more enjoyable and a lot more fun to get to go to work with a group of men like that. I talk of them all the time about our offensive line and receivers… I mean it man, this is our award. If you watch the tape, there's sometimes I'm running 4-5 yards before I even get touched and that's credit to my offensive line, the receivers and then obviously the coaches that do a great job of preparing us every single week."

The Winnipeg native is just the 11th Blue Bomber to win the award and the first since Andrew Harris in 2017. Oliveira received 57 first-place votes and was also nominated for Most Outstanding Player.

Winners for each award were selected by a panel of voters, including representation from the Football Reporters of Canada (FRC) from all nine CFL markets, members of the national chapter of the FRC and the nine head coaches of the CFL. In total, 61 ballots were completed.

The CFL Awards are part of the Grey Cup Festival from Nov. 13-19, which include over 40 events to captivate football fans, music lovers, athletes and families alike. It features events organized by various community organizations, such as Sonic Unyon (Supercrawl), Around the Bay and Hamilton Santa Claus Parade, among others that are contributing to building a contemporary Hamilton. Additional information, event listings and full details can be found at Greycupfestival.ca. 

Oliveira and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers will battle the Montreal Alouettes for the 110th Grey Cup in Hamilton at Tim Hortons Field on Sunday, Nov. 19. Kickoff is slated for 5 p.m. (CT). The sold-out championship contest, featuring Green Day in the Twisted Tea Grey Cup Halftime Show, will be available live across Canada on the TSN and RDS – Canada's home for the CFL, online through CFL+ for all international viewers, as well as on Sirius XM's Canada Talks (channel 167).

Complete List of the 2023 CFL Award Winners
Most Outstanding Player: Chad Kelly, QB, Toronto Argonauts
Most Outstanding Defensive Player: Mathieu Betts, DL, BC Lions
Most Outstanding Canadian: Brady Oliveira, RB, Winnipeg Blue Bombers
Most Outstanding Special Teams Player: Javon Leake, RB, Toronto Argonauts
Most Outstanding Special Teams Player: Javon Leake, RB, Toronto Argonauts
Most Outstanding Rookie: Qwan'tez Stiggers, DB, Toronto Argonauts
Coach of the Year: Ryan Dinwiddie, Toronto Argonauts