Mom and dad' Pereira and Michaud lead Team Canada at Kelowna Grand Prix

Lia Pereira and Trennt Michaud begin their fourth ISU Grand Prix season this weekend at Skate Canada International in Kelowna, B.C., arriving as Team Canada’s top medal prospects. The reigning world pair skating bronze medallists are coming off a win at the Nebelhorn Trophy in Germany last month, and Pereira credited a “mom and dad energy” alongside nerves from competition-week debut moments. Their short program is a high-energy samba routine, and they aim to build on momentum from a world championship podium finish in Prague last March. Likely challengers include Americans Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov, sixth at Worlds, and Winnipeg’s Ava Kemp and Yohnatan Elizarov. Skate Canada is the second of six Grand Prix events leading to a Final in China in December, with prize money of US$240,000 per event. Pereira and Michaud previously qualified for the Final in 2023 and say returning remains a goal, with Michaud’s second start planned in Finland.