No rookie jitters for quarterfinal-bound Team Québec at 2026 Canadian Mixed Doubles Championship

Team Québec had a shaky start to the pair’s first game at a Canadian championship, but the rest of that encounter and the round robin that followed at the 2026 Canadian Mixed Doubles Curling Championship was steady and straight to the top of their pool; earning a spot in a quarterfinal at the Cloverdale Curling Club in Surrey, B.C.

Sophie Sanscartier and Maxandre Caron (Boucherville) faced 2023 Canadian Mixed Doubles champions Jennifer Jones and Brent Laing (Horseshoe Valley, Ont.) in the opening draw last Saturday. They trailed the two curling rockstars 8-0 after just three ends and were down 8-1 without the hammer at the fourth-end break. Many spectators assumed they would be shaking hands after six ends. Sanscartier and Caron did, too.

But then they went on a stealing splurge. They purloined a point in the fifth end and then three more in each of the sixth and seventh ends for an 8-8 tie. But in the eighth, Team Jones/Laing managed to pull out a 9-8 victory. Since then, Team Québec have reeled off five consecutive victories securing first place in Pool B by edging Terri Weeks and Samuel Steep (Kitchener Waterloo, Ont.) 6-5 Wednesday morning.

“Not just (because of six-time Canadian women’s and two-time world champion) Jones but it was my first time at the Canadians (championships), his second championship. So, my first game, my first shot, we are on TV, against Jones and Laing. That was big. That was really, really big,” said Sanscartier. “It took a few minutes to unravel everything, but we did our best and I think we showed how we can throw and how can take care and manage the game. It was a first game and a big surprise.”

Sanscartier and Caron have known each other since they were 15. They’re 32 now.

“We got together just for some fun and (play) some tournaments together. We both have jobs (he is a Boucherville city worker, she’s a veterinary assistant) so early in the year, we don’t do a lot of tournaments. So this year, we said ‘OK, let’s do it, let’s manage to do it.’ And we did a couple of tournaments and we started doing great,” said Sanscartier.

“We win one tournament … and after that we said, ‘Oh, we might be able to go to the nationals.’” added Caron.

They made the final in three tournaments and semifinal in one. That helped rack up the points that got them a chance to be Canadian champions.

“That was the goal this year. We knew we had a chance, but we did win our provincials. That was a big win for us. That was not a big surprise but we knew we had a chance,” said Sanscartier. “We don’t curl a lot outside of Quebec. We know we can, it’s just a question of finding money and family (responsibilities).”

In addition to curling, Caron has a wife and two children, Rose, 9, and Hugo, 7, and on the weekends, he is an official for Canadian university football. That nullifies any thoughts of playing bonspiels in the fall. Once the pigskin season is over in November, however, he and Sanscartier hit the circuit. “It was the best year we’ve had,” he said.

Their strategy for succeeding in the quarterfinal and beyond is to keep making the shots they’ve been making and having fun.

“It’s why we curl together, and if we can get a spot for next year for Canadians that would be awesome,” said Sanscartier. “But honestly, just being here was goal No. 1. Doing the playoffs was goal No. 2, and right now we are in the quarters, we’re already there (to goal No. 3).”

The first game against Team Jones/Laing (3-3) didn’t scare them off. It’s something that bodes well in the playoffs.

“We’re never afraid of anybody,” said Sanscartier pointing out they have scored steals in 15 ends in the competition. “We are an aggressive team.”

“We don’t do a lot of takeouts,” emphasized Caron.

The four pool winners had already been determined by the end of Wednesday morning’s draw. They’ll play the quarterfinals Thursday at 7 p.m., (all times Pacific). A qualification round with the teams from the next eight best records in the 28-team, four-pool field will be played earlier Thursday at 1 p.m., to determine their opposition.

Team Alberta (Zoe Cinnamon, Johnson Tao, Edmonton) clinched first place in Pool A Wednesday morning by downing Team Northern Ontario (3-3, Lily Wright, Brayden Sinclair, Kakabeka Falls) 10-8. Team Alberta finished the round robin at 5-1. A victory over another Alberta duo, Rachel Homan and Brendan Bottcher on Tuesday meant Team Cinnamon/Tao held the tiebreaker.

Katie Ford and Oliver Campbell (Kitchener Waterloo) finished atop Pool C at 6-0 after edging McKenna and Tanner Nathan (Sarnia, Ont.) 5-4 Tuesday evening.

In Pool D, Team Ontario (Kira Brunton, Jacob Horgan and coach Kimberley Tuck) also finished first with an unblemished 6-0 record after beating Marlee Powers, Luke Saunders of Halifax (3-3) 7-6 in an extra end.

The qualification round matchups are: Melissa Adams and Alex Robichaud (5-1, Fredericton) against Team Jones/Laing (3-3) with the winner taking on Team Cinnamon/Tao in a quarterfinal; Team Homan/Bottcher (5-1) versus Riley and Brendan Craig (3-3, St. Catharines, Ont.) with the victor to play Team Québec; Serena Gray-Withers and Viktor Pietrangelo (4-2, Niagara Falls, Ont.) will play Team Saskatchewan’s Nancy Martin and Rylan Kleiter (4-2, Martensvile) with the winner getting Team Ontario; and Laura Neil and Scott McDonald (4-2, Kingston, Ont.) matched with Team Weeks/Steep (4-2) with the winner playing Team Ford/Campbell.

The Craigs snuck into the qualifying round thanks to Team Homan/Bottcher taking out the 2026 Canadian Olympic mixed doubles pair of Jocelyn Peterman and Brett Gallant (Chestermere, Alta.) 7-4. Team Peterman/Gallant finished the round robin 3-3 but were eliminated because the Craigs had a better Last Shot Draw record.

The semifinals will be played Friday at 9:30 a.m., with the final at 1 p.m.

Live streaming of the 2026 Canadian Mixed Doubles Curling Championship is available on Curling Canada’s YouTube channel.

Live scores and standings will be available by CLICKING HERE.

For the schedule and team lineups, go to the official event website: www.curling.ca/2026mixeddoubles/

CLICK HERE for ticket information for the 2026 Canadian Mixed Doubles Championship.