The 100th edition of the Montana’s Brier will be held at SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon from Feb. 26 to March 7, 2027, and Curling Canada has announced the first three pre-qualified teams that will compete on home ice.
Pre-qualified rinks include local favourites
Among the pre-qualified teams are Team Tardi of Saskatchewan, Manitoba’s Team Matt Dunstone and Team Brad Jacobs of Northern Ontario. The announcement gives Saskatoon fans an early look at some of the fields they can expect when the national men’s championship arrives next winter.
- Team Tardi — Saskatchewan (pre-qualified)
- Team Matt Dunstone — Manitoba (defending Brier champion)
- Team Brad Jacobs — Northern Ontario (qualified via CTRS)
A post from Team Tardi’s official account noted the rink’s excitement at securing a pre-qualified berth for the Brier taking place on their home ice in Saskatoon.
"We can’t wait to hit the ice for the 100th Anniversary of the Brier from Feb. 26–March 7 at home in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan!"
Context and what comes next
Curling Canada said Team Jacobs earned one of the pre-qualified spots through the national points race, the Canadian Team Ranking System (CTRS), where Jacobs topped the standings with 444.85 points. Team Jacobs brings significant experience; the rink’s members won Olympic gold in Italy, with Marc Kennedy, Brett Gallant and Ben Hebert alongside Jacobs and with Tardi listed as an alternate on that Olympic roster.
Team Dunstone will return to defend the Brier title they won in March 2026. Dunstone’s rink also represented Canada at the World Men’s Curling Championship in Ogden, Utah, where they finished with a silver medal after a 9–6 loss to Sweden’s Niklas Edin.
The Dunstone rink will look a little different in Saskatoon, with long-time teammate E.J. Harnden retired from the sport and former Brad Gushue third Mark Nichols slated to fill the second position.
Provincial routes and remaining spots
Not every elite rink qualified early. For example, Mike McEwen will still need to win the 2027 SaskTel Tankard to secure a Brier berth through Saskatchewan playdowns with his new lineup that includes Rylan Kleiter, Joshua Mattern and Trevor Johnson.
Curling Canada also announced the first three pre-qualified teams for the 2027 Scotties Tournament of Hearts — Manitoba’s Kerri Einarson, Ontario’s Rachel Homan and British Columbia’s Taylor Reese-Hansen — and said a fourth pre-qualified team for each event will be determined by the top-ranked CTRS teams that do not earn places through provincial championships.
| Event | Dates | Venue |
|---|---|---|
| Montana’s Brier (100th) | Feb. 26–March 7, 2027 | SaskTel Centre, Saskatoon |
For Saskatoon the announcement is a welcome marker on the road to a marquee winter festival of curling. The pre-qualified list gives local organisers, fans and hospitality operators an early opportunity to plan around teams that are likely to draw attention and ticket demand.
As provincial playdowns draw closer, more names will be added to the Brier field. Until then, curling supporters in Saskatoon can count on seeing top-ranked rinks, including a Saskatchewan representative, on the ice when the national championship returns to the city next February.
