Family ties fuel the rise of Quebec’s Team Fortin at 2026 Scotties Tournament of Hearts

For Quebec’s Team Jolianne Fortin, the ultimate goal is a spot atop the podium at the national under-20 curling championship. But a detour to the 2026 Scotties Tournament of Hearts offers a unique opportunity to sharpen their skills — and perhaps set the stage for bigger things to come.

The Jonquière-based squad (1-2) earned silver at the 2025 New Holland Canadian U-20 Curling Championships last season. Now, Team Fortin is focused on going one better in 2026, with gold in its sights and the chance to represent Canada at the 2027 World Junior Curling Championships.

The Canadian women’s curling championship, then, serves as the ultimate tune-up. On a snowy Sunday afternoon, Team Fortin notched its first win of the week — and the first Scotties victory in its young career — with a 10-5 decision over Team Bayly Scoffin (0-3; Whitehorse) at Paramount Fine Foods Centre.

The Quebec squad, featuring two sets of sisters — skip Jolianne Fortin and her younger sister Mégane (lead/vice-skip), along with Emy (third) and Megan Lafrance (second) — is coached by Brandon Lafrance, Emy and Megan’s father. After surrendering a deuce in the opening end, Team Fortin responded with four points in the second and a steal of one in the third to grab an early edge.

Yukon skip Scoffin executed some impressive shots, including a precise in-off that earned two in the sixth. But Team Quebec stayed composed, executing a runback for three in the seventh to build a four-point cushion. Another stolen point in the eighth forced Yukon to concede.

Team Fortin has steadily climbed the national ranks in recent seasons. The group captured bronze at the 2022 Canadian U-18 Curling Championships, added silver in 2024, and collected another bronze at the 2023 Canada Winter Games.

“Every single time we go to nationals, we want to do better than we already did, so we work really hard. We want to win, so we work really hard, and we want to be better every single time we get on the big stage, so that’s what we want to do here,” the 20-year-old skip Jolianne said.

A foundation built on family has helped fuel the team’s progress. Jolianne’s younger sister, Mégane, 18, along with Emy, 19, and Megan Lafrance, 18, have committed to the hours of practice and travel required to compete at the highest level. Their dedication has paid off in recent results.

Team Fortin broke through this season, defeating five-time reigning Quebec champion Laurie St-Georges at the provincial women’s championship.

“We knew (a Scotties appearance) was coming because, since five years ago, our progression was really amazing. Maybe not this year, but after the week we had at provincials, we knew it was going to happen, and we were just really happy,” Jolianne said.

The focus this week is on close, competitive games — and using the Scotties as a building block for the 2026 New Holland Canadian U-20 Championships in Sudbury, Ont., March 28 to April 4. Team Fortin will compete at provincials in late February and, if they qualify, will chase Quebec’s first Canadian U-20 title in either gender since 2008.

In other Draw 5 action, two teams remained atop of Pool A with 3-0 records. Manitoba-Lawes (Winnipeg) bettered the host province with an 11-6 win over Team Ontario (1-2; Whitby), while Canada’s Team Kerri Einarson (Gimli, Man.) defeated Team Nova Scotia-Stevens (2-1; Halifax) with a 9-6 victory. Saskatchewan’s Team Jolene Campbell (1-1; Regina) earned its first win of the week by defeating British Columbia’s Team Taylor Reese-Hansen (0-2; Victoria) 8-5.

The 2026 Scotties Tournament of Hearts continues Sunday with a draw at 7 p.m. (all times Eastern).

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

TSN and RDS2 will provide complete coverage of the 2026 Scotties Tournament of Hearts. CLICK HERE for the complete schedule.

For ticket information for the 2026 Scotties Tournament of Hearts, go to www.curling.ca/2026scotties/tickets/.

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