York United FC and Pacific FC announced on Thursday that the clubs have agreed to an intra-Canadian Premier League player swap.

York will be sending midfielder Cédric Toussaint to Vancouver Island, where he will be signing a contract until 2024. In return, York will receive midfielder Matthew Baldisimo on loan from Pacific until the end of the 2022 season.

Toussaint, a 21-year-old native of Drummondville, Quebec, has been a member of the Nine Stripes since the 2021 season. He has made 42 total appearances for the club, including four in the Canadian Championship.

So far in the 2022 campaign, Toussaint has played 16 games. He was a key part of York’s run to the Canadian Championship semifinal, scoring the winning penalty in his side’s shootout win in the first round over Atlético Ottawa.

Prior to signing his first professional contract in the CPL, Toussaint spent eight years in the academy of Major League Soccer side CF Montreal (then known as Montreal Impact).

Baldisimo, meanwhile, heads to York on loan after playing parts of four seasons at Pacific. The 24-year-old from Vancouver signed for the club prior to its inaugural season, and he has gone on to play 56 games for the Tridents. After playing an integral role for the club in the first two seasons, but he missed much of the 2021 campaign due to injury. He has since rebounded, making 15 appearances in 2022 including one against Waterhouse FC in the Concacaf League.

“[Baldisimo was] one of our first signings and he’s been a part of the building process of our club and was part of our championship team,” said Pacific head coach James Merriman. “We wish him the very best in his football career and on behalf of the club we thank him for his commitment and dedication over four seasons.”

Before heading to Van Isle, Baldisimo spent several years in the Vancouver Whitecaps system. He played 46 games for Whitecaps FC 2 in USL over two seasons. Internationally, Baldisimo represented Canada at the 2015 Concacaf U-17 Championship, but in 2021 both he and his brother Michael accepted a call-up to the Philippines national team.

“Agreeing to Cedric’s transfer is probably one of the toughest moves we’ve made as a club,” said Angus McNab, York United FC’s President/CEO & GM.

“But if we speak about being player-centric and about development then we have to look at the opportunities that are presented for guys and this matches up well for all parties. Pacific have a need and they put together a very attractive offer that means we retain some incentives should Cedric succeed at Starlight Stadium and be sold while it also freed up some cap space for us to make other moves.”

On Baldisimo, McNab added: “Matthew is a player we really like and the opportunity for him to join us on loan was a fantastic one. We have been really open with him and his representatives – we all know he’s a free agent at the end of the season so it gives both him and us the opportunity to see how this could fit and be mutually beneficial.”