The 2026 Montana’s Brier starts Friday in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, marking Brad Gushue’s final appearance in his hometown. The 45-year-old curler aims for a championship victory in his swan song at the men’s national event. Defending champions Brad Jacobs, fresh from Olympic gold, lead the field of contenders.
The 2026 Montana’s Brier, the 97th edition of Canada’s men’s curling championship, opens Friday at Mary Brown’s Centre in St. John’s, N.L., with a champion to be crowned on March 8. For Brad Gushue, the event carries extra weight as his retirement from competitive curling follows this tournament. “I do believe the Brier this year is going to be a difficult one,” Gushue said. “Obviously, the teams we’re going to compete against are going to be difficult. But the emotion that we’re going to feel now that it’s going to be the last one for me, to do it at home, that’s going to be a pretty tough one.”
Gushue’s team, featuring Brendan Bottcher at second, Mark Nichols at third and Geoff Walker at lead, seeks to reclaim the title lost to Brad Jacobs in 2025. The squad has secured six Brier wins, including back-to-back victories in 2022 and 2023. Gushue, the 2006 Olympic gold medallist and 2017 world champion, remains a top threat despite lineup changes.
Defending Brier champions Team Jacobs arrive after winning Olympic gold last weekend in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, with a 9-6 final victory. The team, including skip Jacobs, third Marc Kennedy, second Brett Gallant and lead Ben Hebert, faced cheating allegations during the Games involving Kennedy’s delivery. Jacobs responded: “For anyone who called us cheaters, for anyone who said negative things about Marc Kennedy, about us, about Canada, about our families … I hope that the image of us standing on top of the podium, embracing one another, smiling ear to ear with our gold medals is burned into your brain forever.” Kennedy, 44, and Hebert, 42, are expected to retire after this season.
Manitoba’s Matt Dunstone, last year’s Brier runner-up, also contends amid retirements on his roster, with second E.J. Harnden, 42, bowing out post-event. Other top teams include Saskatchewan’s Mike McEwen, seeking his first Brier title after finishing second two years ago; Alberta’s Kevin Koe, a four-time champion at 51; and Quebec’s Jean-Michel Ménard, the 2006 winner now aged 50. Koe noted: “I think I’m still playing at a pretty high level, which helps. … It’s great we’ve got another one this year, and I think we’ll be able to have a chance there when we get there.”
Dark horses include Manitoba’s Braden Calvert in his Brier debut and Saskatchewan’s Kelly Knapp. The field features only half of last year’s entrants, reducing overall depth. Former contenders like Ontario’s John Epping and Manitoba’s Reid Carruthers were eliminated provincially, with Carruthers announcing his retirement.
