1996 Canadian Junior Curling Championships
The 1996 Maple Leaf Canadian Junior Curling Championships, the men's and women's national junior curling championships of Canada, were held February 3 to 11 at the Shamrock and Granite Curling Clubs in Edmonton, Alberta. The 1996 event was the first to be sponsored by Maple Leaf Foods.
| 1996 Maple Leaf Canadian Junior Curling Championships Presented by Husky | |
|---|---|
| Host city | Edmonton, Alberta |
| Arena | Shamrock Curling Club Granite Curling Club |
| Dates | February 3–11 |
| Men's winner | Northern Ontario |
| Curling club | Port Arthur Curling Club, Thunder Bay |
| Skip | Jeff Currie |
| Third | Greg Given |
| Second | Andrew Mikkelsen |
| Lead | Tyler Oinonen |
| Coach | Don Main |
| Finalist | Manitoba (Ryan Fry) |
| Women's winner | Alberta |
| Curling club | Grande Prairie Curling Club, Grande Prairie |
| Skip | Heather Godberson |
| Third | Carmen Whyte |
| Second | Kristie Moore |
| Lead | Terelyn Bloor |
| Coach | Brian Moore |
| Finalist | Saskatchewan (Cindy Street) |
In their first season together, the Jeff Currie rink, representing Northern Ontario won the men's event, defeating future Olympic champion Ryan Fry and his team from Manitoba in the final. The team went on to represent Canada at the 1996 World Junior Curling Championships in Red Deer, where they finished fourth. It was Northern Ontario's fourth junior men's title.
The women's side was won by the Heather Godberson (now Nedohin) rink from Alberta. Team Alberta would defeat Saskatchewan, skipped by Cindy Street in the final. At the 1996 Worlds, Godberson led team Canada to a gold medal performance. Alberta's win was the fifth women's junior championship for that province.