Andrew Harris is going home while Ted Laurent is staying put.

Harris, a Winnipeg native, signed a three-year deal with the hometown Blue Bombers on Tuesday, the opening day of CFL free agency. The all-star running back returns to his home province following six seasons with the B.C. Lions.

Laurent, the other top Canadian available in free agency, opted to remain with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, signing a two-year contract reportedly worth $500,000. The six-foot-one, 305-pound defensive tackle from Montreal has been a league all-star the past two seasons in Steeltown.

Ticats' quarterback Zach Collaros was quick to react to news of Laurent's re-signing.

"@tedlaurent TEDDDDDYYY! .. Bring some Haitian cookies when you get back for your press conference! ????????????" he tweeted.

Laurent tweeted back: "Bet."

Laurent's return is big for Hamilton, which lost kicker Justin Medlock (Winnipeg) and defensive backs Brandon Stewart and Mike Edem (both to B.C.) in free agency and still has over 20 players on the open market. The Ticats did re-sign veteran slotback Andy Fantuz and added free-agent linebacker Alex Hoffman-Ellis, who spent the last two seasons with the B.C. Lions.

Prior to the start of free agency, Hamilton signed defensive end John Chick after he was released by the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

For Harris, his decision was the realization of a childhood dream.

"Any young boy that plays football in Manitoba always dreams of playing for the Bombers and that's always been on my mind," Harris said during a conference call. "I had some other offers but ultimately I'm at a point in my career where I've been in B.C. almost 10 years now and my daughter is eight and being closer to her was a big factor in deciding this.

"I just think the organization is going in the right direction. It was good timing for a lot of different reasons."

The signing of Harris highlighted a busy day for Winnipeg GM Kyle Walters. He also landed Medlock, Canadian defensive lineman Keith Shologan, Montreal-born running back Pascal Lochard, veteran national centre Jeff Keeping and receiver Ryan Smith in free agency.

Last month, Walters signed veteran receiver Weston Dressler after he was released by Saskatchewan.

The five-foot-11, 202-pound Harris was one of the big names in the free-agent pool. He ran for 1,039 yards last season to finish second overall to Montreal's Tyrell Sutton (1,059 yards) while adding 53 catches for 484 yards to post a CFL-best 1,523 yards from scrimmage.

Harris also plays a position usually handled by an American so the 28-year-old gives Winnipeg the luxury of using an import elsewhere. The Bombers also haven't had a 1,000-yard rusher since 2012 when Chad Simpson ran for 1,039 yards.

Harris left Winnipeg to play junior football with the Vancouver Island Raiders. After leading the squad to three national titles (2006, 2008-09), Harris joined the B.C. Lions and developed into one of the CFL's most prolific backs.

He helped the Lions win a Grey Cup in '11 and capped his first year as a starter by being named the top Canadian in the CFL title game. Twice he was a 1,000-yard rusher and leaves B.C. having run for 4,259 career yards on 825 carries (5.2-yard average) with 24 TDs. He also had 265 catches for 2,639 yards and 21 touchdowns.

"Early in the season last year we did make him a contract offer which was at that point rejected by them," Lions head coach/GM Wally Buono said. "At that point we felt it was best maybe just to allow things to unfold during the season.

"At this point, he's signed with Winnipeg and I think that's a good decision on his part. For us, we want to go in a different direction there."

Winnipeg hasn't made the playoffs since losing to the Lions in the '11 Grey Cup. After finishing fourth in the West Division with a 5-13 record last season, the time for improvement is now as both Walters and head coach Mike O'Shea are in the final year of the deals.

Winnipeg also has a new offensive co-ordinator in former head coach Paul LaPolice, and Harris can't wait to see LaPolice's offence.

"To be a good running back in this league you have to have three amazing facets, that's running, catching and being able to block," he said. "I definitely feel like I can utilize those skills and I just want to be able to get on the field and make impact plays for this team."

Saskatchewan was also busy Tuesday, re-signing defensive lineman Dylan Ainsworth while adding receivers John Chiles and Jeremy Kelley, defensive back Graig Newman and offensive lineman Andrew Jones — both Canadians — and agreeing to terms with receiver Shamawd Chambers of Markham, Ont., the top Canadian in last year's Grey Cup game.

That all came after Canadian offensive lineman Chris Best signed a contract extension.

The addition of Chambers and Jones is interesting as it reunites both with new Riders head coach/GM Chris Jones. Chambers and Jones earned Grey Cup rings last year with Edmonton, where Chris Jones was the head coach.

The Ottawa Redblacks signed quarterback Trevor Harris to a two-year deal. Harris, 29, spent four seasons with Toronto and started 16 games last season while veteran Ricky Ray recovered from off-season shoulder surgery.

Harris gives Ottawa a solid 1-2 punch under centre with veteran Henry Burris, the CFL's outstanding player award last year. But Burris turns 41 in June and is in the final year of his contract.

Harris becomes the second young quarterback to leave Toronto in free agency for a division rival. Zach Collaros departed after the 2013 season to sign with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

Ottawa also signed Canadian fullback Brendan Gillanders, who spent last year with Toronto, to a two-year contract.

Toronto re-signed linebacker Cory Greenwood while adding offensive linemen Josh Bourke and Corey Watman and kicker Lirim Hajrullahu in free agency. The towering six-foot-seven, 315-pound Bourke, 33, of Windsor, Ont., was a fixture at left tackle with the Montreal Alouettes while Watman, of Queensville, Ont., spent three seasons with Saskatchewan.

Hajrullahu made just 22-of-32 field goals (68.8 per cent) last year with Winnipeg. He replaces American Swayze Waters, the CFL's top special-teams player in 2014, who battled injuries last year with Toronto and is a free agent.

Montreal agreed to terms with veteran defensive back Jovon Johnson — who helped Ottawa reach the Grey Cup last year. The Alouettes also re-signed receiver Sam Giguere (two years) and linebacker Winston Venable (one year) and signed receiver Kenny Stafford to a one-year contract.

The six-foot, 218-pound Giguere, a native of Sherbrooke, Que., had 39 catches for 368 yards and four TDs in 15 games last year. He also ran for 117 yards on 16 carries.

Venable was a CFL all-star last season, his first as a starter. The five-foot-11, 220-pound linebacker had a team-high 104 tackles with five sacks.

Stafford had 20 catches for 230 yards and a TD with Montreal in 2014 before being traded to Edmonton for receiver Fred Stamps on Jan. 16, 2015. Stafford had 47 catches for 732 yards with nine TDs in helping the Eskimos win the Grey Cup.

News from © The Canadian Press, 2016