The 1968

Macdonald Brier The Brier ('), known since 2024 as the Montana's Brier for sponsorship reasons, is the annual Canadian men's curling championship, sanctioned by Curling Canada. The Brier has been held since 1927, traditionally during the month of March. The w ...

, Canada's national men's

curling Curling is a sport in which players slide #Curling stone, stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area that is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take t ...

championship was held March 4–8 at the Kelowna Arena in

Kelowna Kelowna ( ) is a city on Okanagan Lake in the Okanagan, Okanagan Valley in the British Columbia Interior, southern interior of British Columbia, Canada. It serves as the head office of the Regional District of Central Okanagan. The name Kelowna ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

. A total of 25,813 fans attended the event. At the time, Kelowna was the smallest city to have hosted the Brier. The city had been trying since 1961 to host the event, and was finally selected after a successful pitch to Brier trustees at the 1967 Brier. Team

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

, who was skipped by Ron Northcott captured the Brier Tankard by finishing round robin play with a 9-1 record. This was Alberta's tenth Brier championship overall and the second one won by Northcott's rink, who also won the Brier two years prior in

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

. Northcott's rink would represent

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

in the

1968 Air Canada Silver Broom The 1968 Air Canada Silver Broom, the men's world curling championship, was held in Pointe-Claire, Quebec, Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend ...

, which was the men's

world curling championship The World Curling Championships are the annual world championships for curling, organized by the World Curling Federation and contested by national championship teams. There are men's, women's and mixed doubles championships, as well as men's an ...

. Alberta won the championship by winning their game against Northern Ontario in the last draw. A loss would have forced a tiebreak match against

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

, who were runners-up, with an 8–2 record.

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island is an island Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. While it is the smallest province by land area and population, it is the most densely populated. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", ...

finished in third with a 7-3 record, which at the time was PEI's best Brier finish. Ice conditions at the event were considered poor, with the ice on Thursday being so bad that "sweeping power was nullified". Manitoba's 22–5 victory over British Columbia in Draw 4 was the last time a team scored 20 or more points in a Brier game until , which was also held in

Teams

The teams are listed as follows:

Map of teams

Round Robin standings

The final standings were as follows:

Round-robin results

Draw 1

''Monday, March 4, 4:00pm''

Draw 2

''Monday, March 4, 11:00pm''

Draw 3

''Tuesday, March 5, 12:00pm''

Draw 4

''Tuesday, March 5, 5:30pm''

Draw 5

''Wednesday, March 6, 5:30pm''

Draw 6

''Wednesday, March 6, 11:00pm''

Draw 7

''Thursday, March 7, 12:00pm''

Draw 8

''Thursday, March 7, 5:30pm''

Draw 9

''Thursday, March 7, 11:00pm''

Draw 10

''Friday, March 8, 12:00pm''

Draw 11

''Friday, March 8, 5:30pm''

Awards

All-Star Team

The media selected the following curlers as All-Stars:BRIER INDIVIDUAL AWARDS & ALL-STAR TEAMS
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Bernie Sparkes Bernard Leslie Sparkes (born October 15, 1940) is a former world champion curler. Sparkes's first major curling championship success came when he won the 1957 Alberta Schoolboys.Prince Edward Island's 17-16 extra end victory over

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

in Draw 11 tied the record for the highest scoring game in Brier history. This was also matched in

1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident (1932), Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort ...

with Ontario's 17-16 win over

New Brunswick New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...

and in

1957 Events January * January 1 – The Saarland joins West Germany. * January 3 – Hamilton Watch Company introduces the first electric watch. * January 5 – South African player Russell Endean becomes the first batsman to be Dismissal (cricke ...

with Saskatchewan's 30-3 victory over New Brunswick.

References

External links

* Video: (YouTube-channel «Curling Canada») {{Canadian Men's Curling Championships

1968 Events January–February * January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously. * January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...

Curling competitions in British Columbia

Sport in Kelowna