Final three teams set at 2026 Canadian Wheelchair Curling Championship

Carl Marquis entered Friday afternoon’s Page 1v2 playoff knowing exactly what was at stake. But despite the pressure, he led his team to a 5-2 win over Team Saskatchewan (Moose Jaw) and a spot in the gold-medal final at the 2026 Canadian Wheelchair Curling Championship.

Team Québec #1 (Magog)’s skip Marquis, third/vice-skip Sebastien Boisvert, second François Lacourse, and lead Johanne Mathieu will return to the final for the second year in a row, this time looking to hoist the trophy for Québec for the first time since 2013, the province’s only title.

“When you win all the matches, you worry that maybe it’s your time to lose one,” said Marquis. “You never want to be kicked out of the tournament. So, we’re really happy. It was a bit stressful, but we’re taking it one game at a time, and we’ve done well previously, so we’re going to keep going with the same strategy.”

It was a game of stealing for Team Québec, which managed two key steals in the fifth and sixth ends to solidify its lead.

“It’s fun to curl against another team that plays like that,” said Marquis of Team Saskatchewan’s strategy and precision. “When you win that kind of game, you don’t win by a chance or by a miss from the other team; you win because you executed a good strategy.”

Marquis’ Québec will meet the winner of the semifinal matchup between Team Saskatchewan and Team Northern Ontario (Thunder Bay) on Saturday morning.

If anything, more pressure was put on the sheet next door for the Page 3v4 playoff game, with both Team Ontario (Schomberg) and Team Northern Ontario fighting to stay alive in the tournament.

The game went in favour of Team Northern Ontario, with a final score of 8-6, but not easily. Everyone watching both on and off the ice thought the game was over when Team Ontario was still up by three going into the eighth end.

“To be honest, I told our coach, ‘We’ll shake hands when you run me out of rocks,'” said Northern Ontario skip Douglas Dean. “We had luck on our side in that game. Did we deserve to win? Well, I don’t know. I think for the first three quarters of the game, Ontario was playing better. But for some reason, we get the luck of the draw in some games. It went our way this time.”

Team Northern Ontario, made up of skip Dean, third/vice-skip Gino Sonego, second Rick Bell, lead Aimee Epp, and head coach Douglas Gelmich, certainly capitalized on opportunities, and momentum started to shift in the seventh end.

What really stood out was a shot by Sonego in the extra end that really put the pressure on Team Ontario. With incredible precision, the Northern Ontario third came in on an angle to bump his own stone toward the button and remove the Ontario rock from scoring position.

“Gino made a phenomenal shot,” said Dean. “That’s what really saved us.”

Team Northern Ontario will face Team Saskatchewan Saturday morning at 10 a.m. The winner will play at 2 p.m. in the gold-medal game against the undefeated Team Québec at the Boucherville Curling Club.

For the second year in a row, the championship is taking place alongside the Défi sportif AlterGo, an event that hosts nearly 6000 athletes with disabilities.

For live scores, team lineups, and schedule information, click here.

Tickets to the 2026 Canadian Wheelchair Curling Championship are free of charge. For directions to the venue, click here.

Live streaming is available on Wheelchair Curling Canada’s Facebook page.