Mississauga to host Canadian women's curling championship in 2026

MISSISSAUGA, Ont. — The roots of the Canadian women's curling championship were formed over six decades ago when two teams played an invitational best-of-three showdown at a club just east of Toronto.

Now an 18-team competition with representation from every province and territory, the Scotties Tournament of Hearts will finally make its Greater Toronto Area debut next year.

The 2026 national playdowns will be held at the Paramount Fine Foods Centre Sportsplex in Mississauga, Ont., starting Jan. 23.

"The Canadian women's curling championship has always been a staple of the Canadian sporting calendar, and we can't wait to see the energy and enthusiasm that Mississauga and the GTA will bring to the occasion," Curling Canada chief executive officer Nolan Thiessen said in a statement.

In 1960, Saskatoon's Joyce McKee led her Western Canada team to a 2-0 victory (11-3, 8-5) over Ruth Smith's Eastern Canada side from Lacolle, Que., at the Oshawa Curling Rink.

McKee was victorious again in the first official Canadian women's curling championship a year later in Ottawa. Like the men's Brier at the time, champions from the 10 provinces played a round-robin for the national title.

The first Brier was played at Toronto's Granite Club in 1927. The Ontario capital hosted the first 13 editions of the event but it hasn't been back since the 1941 tournament.

Host committee co-chair Sean Holman said the Toronto Curling Association and the Visit Mississauga marketing organization started putting bid plans together for the 2026 Scotties almost three years ago.

"We submitted the bid at the end of September and then crossed our fingers and held our breath," Holman said.

Area politicians were joined by local, provincial and national curling officials for the formal announcement Tuesday at a lounge inside the sportsplex.

The 5,000-seat venue is home to Raptors 905 of the NBA G League and the Toronto Rock of the National Lacrosse League. The arena is located near Pearson International Airport, about 20 kilometres away from downtown Toronto.

The venue has hosted major curling competitions in the past. Then known as the Hershey Centre, it was home to the Ontario men's and women's curling championships in 2003 and a Grand Slam of Curling event in 2009.

"Having the Scotties Tournament of Hearts come to Mississauga is an incredible opportunity for our curling community," said Curling Ontario executive director Matt Allen.

"A lot of excitement builds around this event - especially heading into an Olympic year - and we're confident the host committee will put together a spectacular event for everyone."

The 10-day competition will begin a few weeks earlier than normal since the Milan Games are set for February 2026. The women's team that represents Canada will not be eligible to compete at the 2026 Scotties due to Olympic preparation.

The last time the national women's championship was held in the region was in 2017 when St. Catharines, Ont., served as host. Ottawa's Rachel Homan won the second of her four career Scotties titles that year.

The Scotties field includes 14 provincial and territorial representatives, three pre-qualified teams based on rankings and a Canada entry for the defending champions.

The 2025 Montana's Brier will begin Feb. 28 at Kelowna, B.C. Plans for the 2026 event have yet to be announced.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 28, 2025.

Gregory Strong, The Canadian Press