There is no sport that fits the description of a true Canadian championship more so than the Brier. Teams from across the country will be sending their Men’s Provincial Champion teams to compete against each other for the title of Tim Hortons Brier Champion. This team goes on to represent Canada at the Ford World Men’s Championship.

The qualifying process directly involves more Canadian communities, large and small, than any other sporting event. With representation from each of the 10 provinces, plus Northern Ontario and the Yukon/NWT, there is tremendous national interest.

Canada is recognized internationally as a curling power and what Canada is to the curling world; Manitoba is to Canada. The province has won 26 of 76 Briers. This is why having the 2008 Tim Hortons Brier hosted in Winnipeg, Manitoba will prove to be an amazing and exciting event.

Manitoba has hosted the Brier a total of 6 times. The last time Manitoba played host to the Brier was in 1998 and although it was a very successful event, a lot has changed since then. With new facilities like the MTS Centre and the Winnipeg Convention Centre, the 2008 Tim Hortons Brier will surely raise the bar.

Story of the Brier Tankard

First presented by the Macdonald Tobacco Company in 1927, the Macdonald Brier Trophy was awarded annually to the winner of the Macdonald Brier until 1979. Macdonald Tobacco withdrew its sponsorship that year after 50 years and the Macdonald Brier Tankard was retired.

When Labatt Breweries became the Brier sponsor in 1980, it introduced a gold Labatt Tankard, which became the icon of the Brier and was awarded 21 times. When Labatt decided to end its title sponsorship, the Labatt Tankard was retired.

When Nokia Products Ltd. became the Brier’s new sponsor, it decided in consultation with the Canadian Curling Association to reactivate the original trophy beginning with the 2001 Nokia Brier.

The trophy was restored and the base expanded by Clarkes Recognition Products of Vancouver.

For its first 27 years, the Tankard was presented with a sterling silver heart plaque attached to it on which the names of each team member had been hand-engraved. After 27 years no space was left, so a single plaque was attached to the back, where the names of all the winners from 1955 to 1979 were engraved.

Clarkes increased the size of the base so that a silver heart crest could be attached for every Brier-winning team.

The Brier Tankard now proudly displays a hand-engraved silver heart for each of the 78 Brier winners.

The original cup on the trophy was hand-tooled in Great Britain and is a work of art that could be re-created only in Europe. The replacement value of the original trophy has been estimated at $35,000. The CCA invested $10,000 to complete the restoration in 2001.