Tournament favorites Rachel Homan and Kerri Einarson started off strong with convincing victories on Saturday in the initial round of the 2025 Montana’s Canadian Curling Trials held in Halifax.
Homan, hailing from Ottawa and a two-time Canadian and world women’s champion, secured a 16-5 win over Kate Cameron of St. Adolphe, Man. Homan’s team, including Tracy Fleury, Emma Miskew, Sarah Wilkes, Rachelle Brown, and coach Heather Nedohin, displayed precision and dominance throughout the match.
Einarson, representing Gimli, Man., also showcased an impressive performance by defeating local favorite Christina Black 12-5. Einarson, a four-time Canadian champion and runner-up at this year’s Scotties Tournament of Hearts, executed a strategic game plan to keep the pressure on their opponents from the outset.
In other games on Saturday afternoon, Kaitlyn Lawes from Winnipeg triumphed over Corryn Brown of Kamloops, B.C. with a score of 7-4, while Selena Sturmay from Edmonton secured an 8-2 victory against Kayla Skrlik of Calgary.
Moving to the men’s draw, Mike McEwen’s rink from Saskatoon narrowly defeated Jordon McDonald from Winnipeg 6-5 in a tense match. McEwen’s clutch draw in the 10th end sealed the win, despite his self-critique of missed opportunities earlier in the game.
Brad Gushue from St. John’s, N.L., started strong with an 11-5 win over Rylan Kleiter from Saskatoon, while Matt Dunstone from Winnipeg claimed a 6-3 victory against John Epping from Sudbury, Ont. Calgary’s Kevin Koe also clinched a tight 6-5 win over defending Canadian men’s champions Brad Jacobs of Calgary.
The champions from both the men’s and women’s competitions will earn the opportunity to represent Canada at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina, Italy.