The Brier, known as the Montana's Brier for sponsorship reasons, is the annual Canadian men's curling championship, sanctioned by Curling Canada. The current event name refers to its main sponsor, Montana's, a Canadian restaurant chain. "Brier" originally referred to a brand of tobacco sold by the event's first sponsor, the Macdonald Tobacco Company.
Hunter A. Tootoo is a Canadian politician who served as the Member of Parliament for Nunavut from 2015 to 2019. Elected as a Liberal to the House of Commons, he was appointed Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard by Justin Trudeau on November 4, 2015. Tootoo resigned from that position on May 31, 2016, to take a leave from Parliament to seek treatment for alcohol addiction. He returned to Parliament by the end of July 2016 after the completion of his treatment program, but sat as an independent member for the remainder of the 42nd Parliament and did not run for re-election.
The 2001 Nokia Brier, Canada's national men's curling championship, was held March 3–11 at the Ottawa Civic Centre in Ottawa, Ontario. It was the very first Brier to be sponsored by Nokia. The theme of the event was the 2001: A Space Odyssey. In the finals, Team Alberta, consisting of skip Randy Ferbey, fourth David Nedohin, second Scott Pfeifer and lead Marcel Rocque would capture their first of four Brier wins as a team. They edged out Team Manitoba skipped by Kerry Burtnyk in the final, 8–4. While the Brier was not unsuccessful, it did end up losing money. The total attendance was 154,136.
The 1975 Macdonald Brier, the Canadian men's national curling championship was held from March 2 to 8, 1975 at the Lady Beaverbrook Rink in Fredericton, New Brunswick. The total attendance for the week was 20,672. This was the first Brier in which a combined Territories team would participate, increasing the field from 11 to 12 teams. This arrangement would last until 2015 when each territory was granted a separate entry along with a Team Canada entry for the defending Brier champions.
Jake Higgs is a Canadian curler from Strathroy, Ontario. He coached the mixed doubles rink of Matt Hamilton and Becca Hamilton at the 2018 Winter Olympics.
The 2010 Tim Hortons Brier, the Canadian men's national curling championship, was held between March 6 until March 14, 2010 in Halifax, Nova Scotia at the Halifax Metro Centre. It marked the sixth time the Brier had been to Halifax, and the second time in eight years, having previously hosted the 2003 Nokia Brier.
The 2015 Tim Hortons Brier was held from February 28 to March 8 at Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
The 2016 Tim Hortons Brier, Canada's national men's curling championship, was held from March 5–13, 2016 at TD Place Arena in Ottawa, Ontario.
The 2016 Scotties Tournament of Hearts was held from February 20 to 28 at Revolution Place in Grande Prairie, Alberta. The winning team represented Canada at the 2016 World Women's Curling Championship held from March 19 to 27 at the Credit Union iPlex in Swift Current, Saskatchewan.
The 2017 Tim Hortons Brier, Canada's national men's curling championship, was held from March 4–12, 2017 at the Mile One Centre in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador.
The 2017 New Brunswick Scotties Tournament of Hearts, the provincial women's curling championship of New Brunswick was held January 25 to 29 at the Miramichi Curling Club in Miramichi, New Brunswick. The winning Melissa Adams team represented New Brunswick at the 2017 Scotties Tournament of Hearts in St. Catharines, Ontario.
The Canadian territory of Nunavut, which was created in 1999, was first given representation at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts, Canada's national women's curling championship in 2015, following a decision to allow each of Canada's three territories to have their own teams. The Nunavut Curling Association declined their spot, but began competing in 2016.
The 2020 Tim Hortons Brier, Canada's national men's curling championship, was held from February 29 to March 8 at the Leon's Centre in Kingston, Ontario. The winning Brad Gushue rink was scheduled to represent Canada at the 2020 World Men's Curling Championship at the Commonwealth Arena in Glasgow, Scotland.
The 2020 Northwest Territories Men's Curling Championship was held from January 30 to February 2 at the Hay River Curling Club in Hay River. The winning Jamie Koe rink represented the Northwest Territories at the 2020 Tim Hortons Brier in Kingston, Ontario and finished with a 2–5 record.
The 2021 Scotties Tournament of Hearts, Canada's national women's curling championship, was held from February 19 to 28 at the Markin MacPhail Centre at Canada Olympic Park in Calgary, Alberta. The winning Kerri Einarson team represented Canada at the 2021 World Women's Curling Championship. The world championship was supposed to be held at the Curlinghalle Schaffhausen in Schaffhausen, Switzerland; however, the event was cancelled and rescheduled to the "Calgary bubble" of the Markin MacPhail Centre.
The 2021 Tim Hortons Brier, Canada's national men's curling championship, was held from March 5 to 14 at the Markin MacPhail Centre at Canada Olympic Park in Calgary, Alberta.
The Nunavut Brier Playdowns are the annual tournament held to determine Nunavut's representative at the Tim Hortons Brier, Canada's national men's curling championship.
The 2022 Tim Hortons Brier, Canada's national men's curling championship, was held from March 4 to 13 at the ENMAX Centre in Lethbridge, Alberta. In the final, the defending Olympic bronze medallist Brad Gushue Wild Card #1 team, which also include Mark Nichols, Brett Gallant and Geoff Walker from Newfoundland and Labrador defeated Alberta, skipped by Kevin Koe. It was Gushue's fourth career Brier title, and the team did it shorthanded, as Nichols missed the playoffs due to testing positive for COVID-19. According to Curling Canada, it was the first time a three-player team won a Brier final. Gushue's four Brier wins ties the record with Ernie Richardson, Randy Ferbey, Kevin Martin and Koe for most Brier championships as a skip, and his rink tied the "Ferbey Four" for most Brier championships as a foursome with four titles. Gushue played as a Wild Card team as they missed the Newfoundland and Labrador provincials due to their participation in the Olympics, and were the first team to ever play at the Brier and the Olympics in the same year. They were also the first Wild Card team to win the Brier. The Gushue rink represented Canada at the 2022 World Men's Curling Championship at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, United States, where they won the silver medal.
The 2023 Scotties Tournament of Hearts, Canada's national women's curling championship, was held from February 17 to 26 at the Sandman Centre in Kamloops, British Columbia. The winning Kerri Einarson team will represent Canada at the 2023 World Women's Curling Championship at the Göransson Arena in Sandviken, Sweden.
The 2023 Tim Hortons Brier, Canada's national men's curling championship, was held from March 3 to 12 at the Budweiser Gardens in London, Ontario. The defending champion Team Canada rink, skipped by Brad Gushue won the event, and will go on to represent Canada at the 2023 World Men's Curling Championship on home soil at TD Place Arena in Ottawa, Ontario. It was a record fifth Brier title as a skip for Gushue.
