The 2026 Scotties Tournament of Hearts begins Friday in Mississauga, Ontario, featuring an 18-team field without five-time champion Rachel Homan, who is preparing for the Olympics. Kerri Einarson leads Team Canada as the top seed seeking her fifth national title, while contenders like Christina Black and Kaitlyn Lawes aim to capitalize on the open competition. The winner will represent Canada at the world championships in Calgary.
The Scotties Tournament of Hearts, Canada's national women's curling championship, kicks off on January 23 at the Paramount Fine Foods Centre in Mississauga, Ontario, marking the first time the event is hosted in the Greater Toronto Area. Sponsored by Kruger Products for the 45th consecutive year, the tournament runs through February 1 and features teams from all 10 provinces and three territories.
Rachel Homan, the two-time defending champion and world No. 1, is absent as she and her team—Tracy Fleury, Emma Miskew, and Sarah Wilkes—prepare to represent Canada at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics. This opens the field for Kerri Einarson of Gimli, Manitoba, who enters as Team Canada wearing the red-and-white after earning silver at the 2025 Scotties. Einarson, with teammates Val Sweeting, Shannon Birchard, and Karlee Burgess, is aiming for her fifth title following four straight wins from 2020 to 2023. "Every year, you want to go out there and win it," Einarson said.
Other top seeds include Alberta's Kayla Skrlik, Nova Scotia's Christina Black, British Columbia's Taylor Reese-Hansen, and Manitoba's Kaitlyn Lawes. Black's team, bronze medallists in 2025, upset Einarson at the Olympic trials in November and enters with confidence. "We know we belong. We can beat every team there," Black said. Lawes, a two-time Olympic gold medallist, secured her spot via the Canadian Team Ranking System after losing the Manitoba final 9-7 to Beth Peterson's rink, skipped by Kelsey Calvert. Laura Walker replaces Jocelyn Peterman, who is preparing for Olympic mixed doubles.
The 18 teams are divided into two nine-team pools for round-robin play, with the top three from each advancing to playoffs in a Page system. The first-place teams from each pool face the other's second-place squad, leading to semifinals and a final on February 1. The champion will compete at the world women's curling championship from March 14-22 in Calgary.
Notable newcomers include young skips like Quebec's 20-year-old Jolianne Fortin and the Northwest Territories' Nicky Kaufman, with players as young as 16. The event also highlights Curling Canada's Girls Rock program, with events in Mississauga to engage girls aged 9-16. New World Curling sweeping rules prohibiting deceleration techniques may influence play, following recent controversies.
