| 1940 Macdonald Brier | |
| Host City: | Winnipeg, Manitoba |
| Arena: | Winnipeg Amphitheatre |
| Dates: | March 4–7 |
| Winner: | |
| Curling Club: | Granite CC, Winnipeg |
| Skip: | Howard Wood Sr. |
| Third: | Ernest Pollard |
| Second: | Howard Wood Jr. |
| Lead: | Roy Enman |
The 1940 Macdonald Brier, the Canadian men's national curling championship, was held from March 4 to 7, 1940 at the Winnipeg Amphitheatre in Winnipeg, Manitoba. This was the first Brier to be held outside The Granite Club in Toronto as the Brier became more of a national event as it would travel around the country. Winnipeg was chosen to host the event after an invitation from the Manitoba Curling Association, and due to Manitoba's dominance at the Brier up to that point.[1] [2]
Team Manitoba, who was skipped by Howard "Pappy" Wood, captured the Brier Tankard in their hometown by finishing undefeated in round robin play with a 9-0 record.[3] Wood had only assembled the team prior to deadline for entries for that year's MCA Bonspiel, which they ended up winning.[4]
The final draw attracted 5,000 fans, the largest attendance for a curling match up to that point.[5]
This was Manitoba's ninth Brier championship overall and the second time that Wood's rink won the Brier with their first coming in 1930 in a tiebreaker. This was also the fourth time that a Brier champion finished unbeaten.
In addition to being the first Brier outside Toronto, the Winnipeg Brier was the first to ban curlers from bringing their own stones to compete with. Stones also had coloured tops for the first time, to aid spectators in the arena to determine which team's rocks were which.[6] Also for the first time in Brier history, every team at the Brier had qualified via a provincial championship. At the time, every provincial championship except for New Brunswick was sponsored by Macdonald Tobacco's British Consols product. The New Brunswick championship was sponsored by Ganong Bros.[7]
The teams are listed as follows:[8]
| bgcolor=#0033FF width=200 | British Columbia | Manitoba | bgcolor=#000000 width=200 | Northern Ontario | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royal CC, EdmontonSkip: Cliff Manahan Third: Wesley Robinson Second: Ross Manahan Lead: Robert Manahan | Vancouver CC, VancouverSkip: William Finlay Third: Frederick Tinling Second: Norman Williams Lead: William LeSage | Granite CC, WinnipegSkip: Howard Wood Sr. Third: Ernest Pollard Second: Howard Wood Jr. Lead: Roy Enman | Bathurst CC, BathurstSkip: Nicholas Thibodeau Third: Harper Kent Second: Allen Doucet Lead: Leo Thibodeau | Kirkland Lake CC, Kirkland LakeSkip: James Davis Third: Albert Sackrider Second: Harry McNabb Lead: James MacDonald | |||
| bgcolor=#0080C0 width=200 | bgcolor=#FF0000 width=200 | Ontario | Prince Edward Island | bgcolor=#009900 width=200 | |||
| Bridgewater CC, BridgewaterSkip: Stanley Rafuse Third: Irving Hebb Second: Warner Bickle Lead: Frank Cook | Kitchener Granite CC, KitchenerSkip: Bert Hall Third: Perry Hall Second: Ernie Parkes Lead: Campbell Seagram | Charlottetown CC, CharlottetownSkip: Rankine McLaine Third: Gordon Hughes Second: Reginald Bell Lead: John Fraser | Victoria CC, Quebec CitySkip: Archibald Bell Third: James Elliott Second: Hugh Weyman Lead: George Warner |
| Province | Skip | W | L | PF | PA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 0 | 119 | 63 | |||
| 8 | 1 | 108 | 59 | |||
| 6 | 3 | 103 | 91 | |||
| 6 | 3 | 105 | 77 | |||
| 4 | 5 | 82 | 93 | |||
| 4 | 5 | 96 | 78 | |||
| 4 | 5 | 88 | 91 | |||
| 2 | 7 | 79 | 124 | |||
| 1 | 8 | 67 | 116 | |||
| 1 | 8 | 63 | 119 |