Canada’s Team Einarson claims 2026 Scotties Tournament of Hearts title

A late-game comeback etched Canada’s Team Kerri Einarson into Scotties Tournament of Hearts history Sunday evening at the Paramount Fine Foods Centre.

Skip Einarson, third/vice-skip Val Sweeting, second Shannon Birchard, lead Karlee Burgess, alternate Krysten Karwacki and coach Reid Carruthers of Gimli, Man., stole a 4-3 extra-end win over Manitoba’s Team Kaitlyn Lawes in front of the Mississauga, Ont., crowd of 4,008.

Down one in the 10th, Einarson was forced to make a long angle-raise takeout to tie. Canada clipped a quarter of its red stone, sitting three feet above the house, sending it into Manitoba’s counter on the button to force an extra frame.

“I just thought, do this for your teammates, Kerri, they need you here, and we’ll take this to an extra and go from there,” Einarson said. “It was amazing — called amazing, thrown great, and the girls just swept it.”

In the extra end, Canada earned a steal after slipping a stone behind centre guard and forcing Team Lawes into a tough thin double-raise attempt. Lawes made contact, but couldn’t spill the Canadian stone far enough.

“We all tried our best and you can’t really ask for shots back,” Lawes said. “It’s just, what could we do differently if we were to keep going? I’m super proud of my teammates — they played incredible. I wish I could have made that last shot for them.

“I had about a half inch of the rock and had to throw it in hope, so it’s kind of a Hail Mary. I had to make my first one, and it was just a little bit short.”

The victory marks a record-tying six Scotties titles for Birchard. She won her first playing third for Manitoba’s Jennifer Jones in 2018, then added five more with Team Einarson. She is tied with Jones, Colleen Jones and Jill Officer.

“To get one in my career would have been a dream come true, and this is absolutely mind-blowing,” Birchard said. “To be among legends of the sport, people I’ve looked up to my whole life, is just unbelievable.”

It’s the fifth Scotties title for both Einarson and Sweeting, and the first for Burgess. Burgess had played in the previous three finals, claiming silver each time — once with Jones in 2023, and twice with Einarson in 2024 and 2025.

“All the heartbreak, all the work. We’ve put so much into this. It feels incredible to win my first one with these girls,” Burgess said. “I don’t want to swear, but it’s…awesome.”

Team Lawes started with hammer but couldn’t capitalize early. In the second, Einarson nailed a hit-and-roll to hide, and Lawes was light on a draw to give up the steal. In the fourth, Manitoba attempted a runback for two but over-curled, handing over another steal. Ends one, three and five were blanked, including a neat double-and-roll-out by Team Lawes following back-to-back raise takeouts from Team Einarson.

In the sixth, Lawes converted a deuce after a rare Einarson miss. Canada’s last rock flashed, leaving Lawes an open draw for two to tie it up. Manitoba built on that momentum in the seventh. Canada tried to clear two staggered Lawes stones on the wing and roll out for a blank. Sweeting swept a Manitoban stone behind the tee-line, but it stopped just before the back line, catching a piece of the house for the steal.

“We battled so hard all week and I’m so proud of my teammates and for sticking in there with me,” Einarson said. “I was really mad at myself in seven when I gave up the steal and I just told them hang in there. In 10, I had to come in with a clutch shot. I just told them stay patient, stay with me.”

Team Einarson will represent Canada at the 2026 BKT World Women’s Curling Championship, presented by Pharmasave, from March 14-22 at WinSport Event Centre in Calgary.

Team Einarson last represented Canada when the world championship was held in Calgary, though that time, it was inside a bubble, with no fans, due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“To be where we are now means a lot, and to wear the Maple Leaf again. It’s going to be fun to have fans in the WinSport this time at a world championship so we’re really looking forward to that. Wearing the Maple Leaf in my province is a dream come true,” Sweeting said.

Scoring, standings and statistics for the 2026 Scotties Tournament of Hearts are available at www.curling.ca/scoreboard/. 

 This story will be available in French as soon as possible at www.curling.ca/fr/2026scotties/nouvelles/.