Kerri Einarson delivers a rock during the Montana’s Canadian Curling Trials in Halifax last week.Darren Calabrese/The Canadian Press
With Team Rachel Homan preparing for the Milan-Cortina Olympics, Team Kerri Einarson will wear Canada colours at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts next month in Mississauga, Ont.
Homan, who won a second straight Scotties crown last season, will not return to defend her title, Curling Canada said Tuesday in a statement. Einarson will instead assume the title of Team Canada at the Jan. 23-Feb. 1 playdowns since her team took silver at the 2025 national playdowns.
Einarson, a four-time Scotties champion from Gimli, Man., and teammates Val Sweeting, Shannon Birchard and Karlee Burgess had already earned one of three pre-qualification berths for the Scotties based on last season’s rankings.
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The vacated pre-qualification spot will go to the highest-ranked team that doesn’t qualify via this season’s provincial/territorial playdowns, Curling Canada said.
The withdrawal of the Homan team comes as a blow for the event at Paramount Fine Foods Centre.
The 36-year-old skip from Ottawa was featured in promotions ahead of the competition and her team is ranked No. 1 in the world. The 18-team event is being held in the Greater Toronto Area for the first time.
The Scotties field will also include 14 provincial and territorial representatives. Team Christina Black and Team Kayla Skrlik of Calgary have the other pre-qualification berths.
Team Brad Jacobs won the Montana’s Brier last year and is slated to return as the Canadian entry at the 2026 playdowns in St. John’s, N.L. Teams skipped by Matt Dunstone, local favourite Brad Gushue and Saskatoon’s Mike McEwen have pre-qualified.
The Brier begins Feb. 27, six days after the final men’s game at the Olympics.