Defending national champions Kadriana and Colton Lott will not be in the field when the 2026 Canadian Mixed Doubles Curling Championship gets underway this weekend in Surrey, B.C.
The Gimli-based duo, who captured the 2025 Canadian mixed doubles title, are sitting out this year’s national championship due to a scheduling conflict, as Colton Lott will instead compete with Team Matt Dunstone at the 2026 World Men’s Curling Championship in Ogden, Utah, beginning March 27.
There is no automatic Team Canada berth at the Canadian mixed doubles championship.
Their absence opens the door for a new Canadian champion to be crowned at the Cloverdale Curling Club, where 28 teams from across the country will compete starting Saturday. Along with a $20,000 top prize, the winning team will earn the right to represent Canada at the 2027 World Mixed Doubles Championship.
The field includes 14 provincial and territorial champions, with the remaining entries qualifying through the Canadian Mixed Doubles Rankings (CMDR). Teams have been divided into four pools of seven, each playing six round-robin games through March 25.
The top team from each pool will advance directly to the quarterfinals on March 26, while the next eight teams overall will compete in qualification games earlier that day. The semifinals are set for March 27, followed by the championship final.
Despite not competing at nationals this year, Lott and Lott will still wear the Maple Leaf on the world stage. The pair is set to represent Canada at the 2026 World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship, scheduled for April 25 to May 2 in Geneva, Switzerland.
The Surrey field still features plenty of star power, including two-time Canadian champions Jocelyn Peterman and Brett Gallant, who recently represented Canada at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy. Also competing are Olympic bronze medallist Rachel Homan and Brendan Bottcher, as well as 2023 national champions Jennifer Jones and Brent Laing.
Fans can follow all the action from Surrey via live streaming on Curling Canada’s YouTube channel.
