Heartland Season 19 is finally here in Canada — here’s what CBC is teasing

Heartland is back for Season 19 on CBC and CBC Gem, and the Bartlett-Fleming family is under more pressure than ever. CBC is teasing new romance for Amy, high-stakes threats to the ranch, and the return of some long-missed fan favourites.

Heartland, Canada’s long-running family drama, returns for Season 19 with new episodes airing Sundays on CBC and streaming free on CBC Gem. This season puts Amy, Jack, and Lou in fight mode as outside forces close in on the ranch — and it doesn’t stop there. CBC is promising a serious test of Amy’s new relationship with Nathan, the return of Georgie, and even a mystery comeback from a character we haven’t seen in years.

Let’s walk through where Season 18 left us, what Season 19 is setting up, who’s back in the story, and how to actually watch it in Canada (and beyond).

Where we left off in Season 18

Season 18 closed on something we don’t always get in Heartland: a feeling of hope.

• The Bartlett-Fleming family — led by Amy (Amber Marshall), Lou (Michelle Morgan), Jack (Shaun Johnston), and Tim (Chris Potter) — had spent most of the season under pressure from their rivals, the Pryce family, who were gunning for control of the local beef business and threatening Heartland’s livelihood.
• Jack, who’s famously stubborn and protective, surprised everyone by finally giving his blessing for Tim to consider a steadier rodeo announcing job down south. Tim, naturally, wasn’t so sure about leaving.
• Katie (Baye McPherson) chose to stay in Hudson instead of moving to Vancouver for an arts high school and begged her parents to keep Dodger, a rescue horse she’d bonded with. That choice said a lot: she’s planting roots at Heartland, not running from it.

And then there was the slow-burn romance fans had been tracking all season.

Amy and Nathan Pryce (Spencer Lord) started the season circling each other, torn between loyalty to their families and something deeper. By the end of Season 18, they stopped circling. They said it out loud: they’re in love. That alone would’ve been a big enough ending, but Season 18 also threw in one more curve — Nathan’s sister, Gracie Pryce (Krista Bridges), stormed back into town with one goal: bury Heartland.

So going into Season 19, we’ve got a new couple in Amy and Nathan, an active threat in the Pryces, and a ranch that feels watched from every angle.

That’s our starting line.

What Season 19 is about

CBC is not being shy about the stakes. Season 19’s core promise: the Bartlett-Fleming family may have to risk everything to keep Heartland safe.

Here’s what that means in practice:

Amy is walking a tightrope

Amy is trying to balance two things that don’t always coexist peacefully:

1. Her new relationship with Nathan.
2. Her duty as a mother to Lyndy.

Lyndy is old enough now to have opinions — strong ones — and Amy can’t just disappear into a romance without ripple effects. Early Season 19 episodes put this front and center: Lyndy catches Amy and Nathan sharing a kiss, and it doesn’t land well. Amy tries to protect feelings by keeping secrets, which only makes things worse. Eventually she has to face it honestly and repair trust with both Lyndy and Nathan.

On top of that, Amy’s professional reputation as a horse trainer comes under attack this season. That’s not just her job, that’s her identity. The idea that someone could damage her name in that world rattles her and forces her to fight, publicly, for her credibility.

So Amy’s story this year isn’t just “new love after loss.” It’s “how do you build something new without betraying who you’ve always been?”

Lou is back in protector mode

Lou has been pulled in a hundred directions for years — as mayor, as a mother, as part of the ranch. This season she tries to shift her attention back to family. Of course, Heartland doesn’t make that easy. A new adversary threatens the ranch, and Lou has to decide how far she’s willing to go to defend both the land and the people on it.

One interesting thread in Season 19 is Lou quietly doing her homework and then moving strategically instead of emotionally. We’re told she uncovers worrying information about the Pryce operation and hands it to Amy/Nathan instead of lighting a match herself. That’s growth… and also proof the Pryce conflict is not going away.

Jack is steady — mostly

Jack is Jack. He’s still the spine of the ranch. He’s also still human.

Season 19 tests his patience when he hires a new ranch hand, Dex, and immediately runs into the fact that “help” doesn’t always feel like help at first. Jack’s struggle here isn’t just about work ethic. It’s about letting Heartland evolve without feeling like it’s slipping out of his hands.

The ranch itself is in danger

Between rivals, reputation hits, and new people on the land, Heartland is under pressure from inside and out. CBC is teasing that the family will have to stand by their values — loyalty, honesty, and taking care of both animals and people — if they want the ranch to survive.

So yes, Season 19 is romantic. But it’s also about legacy. Six generations have worked this place. Losing it is not an option they’re willing to consider.

Who’s new (and who’s back)

One of the things that keeps Heartland feeling alive this deep into its run is that the circle is never truly closed. Season 19 keeps that tradition going with fresh faces, big returns, and at least one mystery.

Here’s the lineup:

• River (Kamaia Fairburn) — captain of the local rodeo flag team. River looks like the kind of character who can shake up younger storylines, especially with Katie stepping into more independence and rodeo life.
• Dex (Dylan Hawco) — the new ranch hand Jack hires, and a built-in source of tension. Expect Jack to test him, and Dex to test Jack right back.
• Tammy Stillman (Linda Boyd) — Lisa Stillman’s long-lost sister. That alone opens a door into Lisa’s past and, by extension, Jack’s world. Family drama doesn’t just come from the Flemings this year.

Returning this season:

• Georgie (Alisha Newton) — Lou’s adopted daughter, back from Brussels where she’s been training as a show jumper. Georgie’s return has been a long-running wish from fans, and now it’s finally happening in Season 19.
• Ashley (Cindy Busby) — the competitive rider we haven’t seen regularly in ages. She’s back to continue her romance with Caleb, a close family friend who once had a thing with Amy. That’s the kind of layered history Heartland loves.
• Gracie Pryce (Krista Bridges) — Nathan’s sister, who came in swinging at the end of Season 18. She’s not done. Expect trouble.
• Nathan Pryce (Spencer Lord) — now openly in a relationship with Amy, which means he’s basically stepping into Heartland family politics whether Jack likes it or not.

And then there’s the tease: a character who hasn’t appeared on Heartland in a very long time is coming back. CBC is keeping that name sealed. Fans are already guessing in comment sections and fan groups — some guesses are realistic, some are straight-up wishful thinking — but nothing official has dropped.

That’s classic Heartland marketing: give just enough nostalgia bait to get longtime viewers leaning forward.

How to watch Heartland Season 19 in Canada

Here’s the practical part.

• New episodes of Season 19 air Sundays on CBC and stream on CBC Gem in Canada. The Season 19 premiere date is October 5, 2025, at 7 p.m. ET (7:30 NT), and episodes continue weekly through fall 2025. CBC’s fall schedule lists Heartland in the Sunday 7 p.m. slot.
• CBC Gem is free. You just create an account and stream on your browser (gem.cbc.ca), phone or tablet (via the CBC Gem app), or most smart TVs and connected devices.
• There’s now a 24/7 Heartland live channel. CBC is running a dedicated always-on Heartland channel on CBC Gem and also on YouTube, which means you can basically drop into Hudson whenever you feel like it — comfort TV on tap.

If you're outside Canada: CBC hasn’t promised same-day international streaming for Season 19. Historically, platforms like UP Faith & Family, Netflix, and others get new seasons months (sometimes many months) after they air in Canada. Fans in the U.S., for example, had to wait for Season 18 to roll out on UP Faith & Family after it aired on CBC, and even now Season 18 hasn’t hit Netflix U.S. yet.

So if you’re in Canada, you’re eating first.

The bigger picture

Heartland has been on TV since 2007. It’s now the longest-running one-hour scripted drama in Canadian television history, and Season 19 puts the show past 275 episodes.

After almost two decades, this series still isn’t coasting. It’s circling the same core themes — family, responsibility, second chances — but it’s doing it with new pressure points:

• Can Amy build happiness again without losing the version of herself we’ve known since she was a teenager?
• Will Lou choose peace or war when the ranch is threatened?
• How long can Jack keep Heartland safe by doing things “the way we’ve always done them,” especially with outsiders on the property?

That’s the old versus the new. That’s Season 19’s heartbeat.

Quick hit questions

Is Amy really moving on romantically?
Yes. Amy and Nathan confessed their love at the end of Season 18, and Season 19 treats that as real — not a tease, not a dream sequence. The challenge now is being in love while raising Lyndy and running Heartland under a microscope.

Is Georgie officially back?
Yes. Georgie returns from Brussels, where she’s been training as a show jumper. This is her coming home moment.

Who are the biggest new faces to watch?
River (Kamaia Fairburn), Dex (Dylan Hawco), and Tammy Stillman (Linda Boyd). All three plug directly into ranch dynamics, rodeo culture, and Jack/Lisa’s world.

Will Heartland actually lose the ranch?
CBC is absolutely hinting at real danger. “Risk everything to keep Heartland and those they love out of harm’s way” is not subtle wording.
That said, this family has survived grief, drought, fire, legal fights, and corporate rivals. Betting against Jack Bartlett has never gone well.

Where to keep up with the show and cast

To stay plugged in between episodes, follow the official Heartland social media accounts (Instagram, TikTok, Facebook) and the main cast accounts on Instagram, Twitter/X, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok. The cast posts behind-the-scenes photos, horse work, filming days, and little hints about upcoming storylines.

This is also where teasers for returning characters tend to leak first — sometimes from the actors themselves, sometimes from a crew selfie they “accidentally” share.

Takeaway

Season 19 isn’t coasting on nostalgia. It’s doubling down on legacy.

Romance is blooming again for Amy, but it’s coming with real-world fallout. Lou is being asked, once more, “Are you a politician or are you family?” Jack is being forced to let new blood onto sacred ground. And the ranch — the place that’s held six generations together — is under threat.

That’s the promise: Heartland is still about healing horses and healing people. But now it’s also about defending what you’ve built when the world decides it wants a piece of it.

If you’re in Canada, you can start that story now on CBC Gem.