Canada is no stranger to hosting the Championships, having staged the event on 21 previous occasions starting with Calgary in 1964 and including stop-offs in Brandon, Edmonton, Hamilton, Kamloops, London, Moncton, Pointe-Claire, Regina, Saint John, Toronto, Vancouver, Victoria and Winnipeg.

However, this will be the first time the premier men's event will be hosted in Nova Scotia and the 10,500 capacity Halifax Metro Centre will welcome the world's top male curlers in 2015.

The Championships, which are sponsored by Ford, will be organised by the Canadian Curling Association (CCA) in conjunction with the local Host Committee.

"Halifax has delivered the goods in the past when it comes to hosting CCA Season of Champions curling events, and I see no reason why the 2015 Ford Worlds would be any different," said CCA chief executive Greg Stremlaw.

"The Halifax Metro Centre is an outstanding facility, and the volunteer groups always rise to the occasion to make these events memorable."

Mat Harris, from the local Host Committee, is excited by the prospect of welcoming the best curlers in the world to the city.

"We're extremely proud that the WCF and CCA have decided that Halifax should play host to the 2015 Ford World Men's Championship," said Harris, who along with brother Graham will serve as co-chairs of the Host Committee.

"Our city's curling volunteers and fans can't wait for the opportunity to show our hospitality to the world's best curling teams."

Canada are the reigning Olympic champions after retaining their title at Vancouver 2010.

Canada has been the dominant force in men's curling and are the reigning Olympic champions ©AFP/Getty Images




But they lost out on home ice at last year's World Championships to six-time champions Sweden and will be looking to regain their title at this year's Championships which is due to take place in Beijing from March 29 to April 6.

If they reclaim the World Championship crown this year, they will reassert their status as the dominant nation in the sport after securing their 34th world title in Basel in 2012.

Commenting on 2015 host city Halifax, World Curling Federation (WCF) President Kate Caithness said: "We are delighted to be returning to the province of Nova Scotia for a World Curling Championship, the first since the World Junior Men's Curling Championship was held in Dartmouth in 1986.

"The World Curling Federation, Canadian Curling Association and our partner Ford of Canada are looking forward to welcoming the world's best men's curling teams back to Canada after witnessing an extremely exciting men's World Championship in Victoria, British Columbia, in 2013.

"We invite curling fans from around the world join us in Halifax and experience one of the highlights of the 2015 curling season."

Saint-John, Canada is set to host the 2014 Women's World Curling Championships from March 15 until 23.

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