BRANDON, Man. - Jennifer Jones of Winnipeg opened the Canada Cup with a 9-4 victory over Edmonton's Kelsey Rocque on Wednesday morning at the Keystone Centre.

The reigning Olympic champion jumped out to a 4-0 lead after a pair of deuces. Rocque halved the lead in the third end but the veteran skip answered with two more points in the fourth and was never threatened the rest of the way.

Winnipeg's Kerri Einarson held off Edmonton's Val Sweeting 8-5 in the other early women's game. In men's play, Reid Carruthers of Winnipeg dumped Toronto's John Epping 8-3 and Brad Jacobs of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., edged Winnipeg's Mike McEwen 5-4.

Two more draws were scheduled for later Wednesday. Round-robin play continues through Friday night and the finals are set for Sunday.

Winners will lock up spots in the Olympic Trials next year in Ottawa.

Jones, Calgary's Kevin Koe and Ottawa's Rachel Homan are the only skips who have secured berths in the December 2017 event, which will determine Canada's representatives for the 2018 Pyeongchang Games.