The 2026 Brier begins Friday in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, marking the last Canadian men's curling championship for decorated skip Brad Gushue. The 45-year-old, a six-time national champion and Olympic medallist, anticipates a mix of performance pressure and hometown emotions. Defending champions led by Brad Jacobs arrive fresh off Olympic gold.
Curling's competitive intensity continues beyond the recent Olympic Games in Cortina, Italy, where Canada's Brad Jacobs team defeated Great Britain for gold. Now, the focus shifts to the Montana's Brier at Mary Brown's Centre in St. John's, starting Friday with an 18-team field divided into two pools of nine. The top three from each pool advance to playoffs, culminating on March 8, when the winner will represent Canada at the world championship from March 27 to April 4 in Ogden, Utah.
For Brad Gushue, this event carries profound significance as his final Brier. Gushue, who won his first national title here in 2017, has amassed six Canadian championships, a world title, Olympic gold in 2006 with Russ Howard, Jamie Korab and Mark Nichols, and bronze in 2022. Teamed with longtime third Nichols, second Brett Gallant and lead Geoff Walker, Gushue opens against Quebec's Jean-Michel Menard.
"I want to perform well in front of everybody at home, and I also don't want to cry every single game," Gushue said. He added, "Just the finality of it now, if we don't win, this is the last event, there's going to be some emotions. I believe the fans are going to show their appreciation at times and that's going get me pretty emotional, too."
Meanwhile, Jacobs' squad, including Gallant who joined two years ago, faces Prince Edward Island's Tyler Smith in their opener. Gallant, recalling his 2017 Brier win with Gushue, said, "We're going to be pretty happy when we get to St. John's, just coming off of this week and riding this high. I honestly can't wait to get started."
Nichols, from Labrador City, echoed the sentiment: "All the feelings. It's going to be very similar now... If it's emotional, it's emotional. I don't think there's anything wrong with that. It just shows that we care."
Other notable entries include Ontario's Jayden King, the first Black man to skip a Brier team, with third Dylan Niepage who is deaf and uses cochlear implants. Prince Edward Island fields a three-man team led by Smith.
Gushue reflected on 2017: "I said back in 2017, the week that we had there was one of the most amazing weeks of my life, but I'd never wanted to do it again. Here we are nine years later, doing it again, but I'm going to try and enjoy it as much as I can."
