Canadian team uniforms for 2026 international competition unveiled

Uniforms that Canadian athletes will wear on the world stage this season will evoke meaningful imagery rooted in nature, Canada’s Indigenous Peoples and the iconic Maple Leaf, it was announced today.

The uniform designs, produced by Curling Canada’s official uniform and merchandise supplier Goldline Curling, were officially unveiled today at an event in Thunder Bay, Ont., the hometown of artist Shelby Gagnon, a multidisciplinary 2-Spirit Anishinaabe/Cree artist originally from Aroland First Nation.

Gagnon and Regina-based designer Steph Schmidt, who has curled competitively and played in three editions of the Scotties Tournament of Hearts representing Saskatchewan, collaborated on the final design.

“It’s been a beautiful experience bringing together sport, culture, and art — exploring holistic wellness and what it means to feel healthy within ourselves through movement, creativity, and community,” said Gagnon. “It’s especially meaningful to share the symbolism of the birds and the plant life of Turtle Island through this design.”

The prevalent theme of the uniforms is the image of a hummingbird, which on average has a four-year life cycle, matching Olympic and Paralympic quadrennial cycle on which Canada’s High-Performance Athletes plan around.

Hummingbirds can flap their wings up to 80 times per second, and can fly up to 20 hours a time, showing the kind of endurance and dedication that mirrors that of Canadian curlers hoping to wear the Maple Leaf on the international stage.

“As a curler and a designer this has been a dream come true,” said Schmidt, who will be playing vice-skip for Ashley Thevenot’s team at the Home Hardware Canadian Curling Pre-Trials, which begin Monday in Wolfville, N.S. “This collaboration brought profound moments of wisdom and creativity. I’m so excited to offer Canadians a re-imagined Maple Leaf with depth and meaning, and a creature as small as the hummingbird and its relentless spirit despite its size. Sometimes I think these stories wait to be re-discovered and told at just the right moment, when the world needs to hear it. It has been the honour of my career to be part of this creative team.”

“To see our company’s vision come to life on the global stage, in collaboration with artist Shelby Gagnon and designer Steph Schmidt, is profoundly meaningful,” said Erin Flowers, President of Goldline Curling. “Their creativity and authenticity have elevated this project beyond design — it’s a celebration of art, sport, and community. Together, we are honoured to share this collective expression of Canadian artistry on the world stage; it’s both humbling and inspiring.”

Replica versions of the uniforms will go on sale on Nov. 22, both in person at the 2025 Montana’s Canadian Curling Trials, presented by Connect Hearing, in Halifax and online at shop.curling.ca.

The uniforms in red, white and black versions, will be worn only in 2026 by Canadian teams at the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics and Paralympics, the World Women’s Curling Championship in Calgary, the World Men’s Curling Championship in Ogden, Utah, and the World Mixed Doubles Championship in Geneva, Switzerland.

“We’re excited to showcase these uniforms and the new National Team Uniforms that will be worn in 2026,” said Nolan Thiessen, Chief Executive Officer of Curling Canada. “We worked in partnership with Goldline and their artist and designers to build something that speaks to the journey our teams have taken over the last quadrennial. We know they will be proud to wear these and we can’t wait to join all of Canada in cheering on our athletes in the new year.”