The 1968 Macdonald Brier, Canada's national men's curling championship was held March 4âÂÂ8 at the Kelowna Arena in Kelowna, British Columbia. A total of 25,813 fans attended the event.
At the time, Kelowna was the smallest city to have hosted the Brier. The city had been trying since 1961 to host the event, and was finally selected after a successful pitch to Brier trustees at the 1967 Brier.
Team Alberta, who was skipped by Ron Northcott captured the Brier Tankard by finishing round robin play with a 9âÂÂ1 record. This was Alberta's tenth Brier championship overall and the second one won by Northcott's rink, who also won the Brier two years prior in 1966. Northcott's rink would represent Canada in the 1968 Air Canada Silver Broom, which was the men's world curling championship.
Alberta won the championship by winning their game against Northern Ontario in the last draw. A loss would have forced a tiebreak match against Saskatchewan, who were runners-up, with an 8âÂÂ2 record. Prince Edward Island finished in third with a 7âÂÂ3 record, which at the time was PEI's best Brier finish.
Ice conditions at the event were considered poor, with the ice on Thursday being so bad that "sweeping power was nullified".
Manitoba's 22âÂÂ5 victory over British Columbia in Draw 4 was the last time a team scored 20 or more points in a Brier game until , which was also held in Kelowna.
The teams are listed as follows:
The final standings were as follows:
Monday, March 4, 4:00pm
Monday, March 4, 11:00pm
Tuesday, March 5, 12:00pm
Tuesday, March 5, 5:30pm
Wednesday, March 6, 5:30pm
Wednesday, March 6, 11:00pm
Thursday, March 7, 12:00pm
Thursday, March 7, 5:30pm
Thursday, March 7, 11:00pm
Friday, March 8, 12:00pm
Friday, March 8, 5:30pm
The media selected the following curlers as All-Stars:
Bernie Sparkes became the first player to be selected to the all-star team three times as he was selected the two previous years as well.
The Ross Harstone Award was presented to the player chosen by their fellow peers as the curler who best represented Harstone's high ideals of good sportsmanship, observance of the rules, exemplary conduct and curling ability.
Prince Edward Island's 17-16 extra end victory over Newfoundland in Draw 11 tied the record for the highest scoring game in Brier history. This was also matched in 1932 with Ontario's 17âÂÂ16 win over New Brunswick and in 1957 with Saskatchewan's 30âÂÂ3 victory over New Brunswick.