The Amazing Race Canada 1 is the first season of The Amazing Race Canada, a Canadian reality competition show based on the American series The Amazing Race. Hosted by Jon Montgomery, it featured nine teams of two, each with a pre-existing relationship, in a race across Canada. The grand prize included a cash payout, two Chevrolet Corvette Stingrays, and unlimited air travel for a year with Air Canada. This season visited seven provinces and three territories and travelled over during ten legs. Starting in Niagara Falls, Ontario, racers travelled through Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta, the Northwest Territories, the Yukon, Saskatchewan, Quebec, Nunavut, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador before finishing in Toronto. The series premiere aired on July 15, 2013, on CTV, with the season finale airing on September 16, 2013.
Father and son Timothy Hague Sr. and Timothy Hague Jr. were the winners of this season, while brothers Jody and Cory Mitic finished in second place, and sisters Vanessa Morgan and Celina Mziray finished in third place.
Production Development and filming
The first season was filmed from May 3 to May 24, 2013.
The winning team earned CAD$250,000, a pair of Chevrolet Corvette Stingrays, and Air Canada executive passes for unlimited international air travel for a year.
During the airing of the third episode, a message read by host Jon Montgomery recognized that the 2013 Alberta floods had occurred since the filming of the leg and prior to the series premiere. The message encouraged viewers to donate to flood relief and rebuilding efforts.
The fifth leg's Pit Stop was originally scheduled to be on the grounds of the Saskatchewan Legislative Building; however, unexpected warm weather brought more people out to enjoy the day outdoors. This unforeseen circumstance forced producers to move the Pit Stop to nearby Pine Island (a more secluded spot).
On May 8, 2013, Toronto City Council granted permission for Insight Productions to film a television episode for "3 participants rappelling over the West Tower roof onto the podium green roof of City Hall" on May 24, 2013. Ultimately, this permit was a ruse to prevent fans from recording teams rappelling off a different building and posting it online.
Casting Casting began on December 20, 2012, with an online site for submission of applications and audition videos.
Marketing The series' premiere sponsorship partners included Air Canada, BlackBerry, Chevrolet, and Interac.
Cast
Notable contestants included Body Break hosts Hal Johnson and Joanne McLeod, amputee veteran Jody Mitic, and actress Vanessa Morgan.
ContestantsAgeRelationshipHometownStatus 36Twin SistersHamilton, OntarioEliminated 1st(in Westbank, British Columbia) 36 47Best Friends Airdrie, AlbertaEliminated 2rd(in Vancouver, British Columbia) 38 Innisfail, Alberta 32DatingFairmont Hot Springs, British ColumbiaEliminated 3rd(in Carcross, Yukon) 26 57Married Fitness IconsOakville, OntarioEliminated 4th(in Regina, Saskatchewan) 54 33Married DoctorsMontreal, QuebecEliminated 5th(in Iqaluit, Nunavut) 32 32Best FriendsLondon, OntarioEliminated 6th(in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador) 28 21SistersOttawa, OntarioThird Place 30 36Brothers Ottawa, OntarioSecond Place 32 Edmonton, Alberta 48Father & SonWinnipeg, ManitobaWinners 23
Future appearances At the live start of season 7 on April 23, 2019, it was revealed that Jet & Dave would return to compete for a second time, as the winners of a public vote that closed on April 1.
Vanessa Morgan competed on the Paramount Network reality competition Lip Sync Battle in 2019.
Results The following teams are listed with their placements in each leg. Placements are listed in finishing order. A placement with a dagger () indicates that the team was eliminated. An placement with a double-dagger () indicates that the team was the last to arrive at a Pit Stop in a non-elimination leg, and had to perform a Speed Bump task in the following leg. An italicized and underlined placement indicates that the team was the last to arrive at a Pit Stop, but there was no rest period at the Pit Stop and all teams were instructed to continue racing. A indicates that the team used an Express Pass on that leg to bypass one of their tasks. A indicates that the team used the U-Turn and a indicates the team on the receiving end of the U-Turn.
+Team placement (by leg) Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8910 Tim Sr. & Tim Jr.6th6th5th2nd2nd2nd3rd1st Jody & Cory7th3rd5th6th4th2nd1st1st1st2nd Vanessa & Celina5th5th4th4th3rd4th4th4th2nd3rd Jet & Dave4th7th3rd1st1st1st3rd3rd Holly & Brett2nd1st6th2nd5th2nd Hal & Joanne3rd2nd1st3rd Kristen & Darren1st4th2nd Jamie & Pierre8th Treena & Tennille Notes
Race summary
Leg 1 (Ontario → British Columbia)
Episode 1: "Where in the World is Ogopogo?" (July 15, 2013) Prizes: Two round trip plane tickets to Sydney, Australia, and two Express Passes (awarded to Kristen & Darren) Eliminated: Treena & Tennille Locations Niagara Falls, Ontario (Oakes Garden Theatre) (Starting Line) Niagara Falls (Niagara Parks Butterfly Conservatory) Toronto → Kelowna, British Columbia Kelowna (Stuart Park – The Kelowna Bear) Kelowna (Kelowna Yacht Club – Houseboat) Kelowna (Lakefront Watersports Kiosk) Okanagan Valley (Lake Okanagan) Myra-Bellevue Provincial Park (Bellevue Trestle) Westbank (Quails' Gate Winery) Episode summary From Oakes Garden Theatre, teams were instructed to drive to the Niagara Parks Butterfly Conservatory in order to find their next clue. Then, teams had to search the conservatory for one of nine terraria, each containing a variety of creatures and two clues. Each team member had to reach into the terrarium and retrieve a clue, which contained an Air Canada ticket voucher for their first destination: Kelowna, British Columbia. The terraria containing more dangerous creatures held tickets for the earlier flight. Four teams were on the first flight, while the remaining five teams on the second flight arrived 90 minutes later. At Stuart Park, teams had to find a model of the yellow Interac truck, where they would find their next clue along with an Interac debit card that would serve as the teams' source of money for the rest of the season. Teams then went to the Kelowna Yacht Club and had to choose a number in order to determine their departure for the next morning, In this series' first Roadblock, teams had to travel by personal watercraft to a diving platform using a rudimentary map of Lake Okanagan. There, one team member had to don diving gear, take a dive cage to the bottom of Lake Okanagan, and search for a statue of Ogopogo, where they would find their next clue. After the first Roadblock, teams had to drive to the Bellevue Trestle and find their next clue. In this leg's second Roadblock, the team member who did not perform the previous Roadblock had to walk across a narrow plank attached to a railway trestle suspended high above the canyon in order to retrieve their clue dangling off the edge of the plank. They then had to jump off the plank to the ground and meet their partner before continuing.
Additional note Teams were instructed to drive to the Pit Stop, which they had to determine was the Quails' Gate Winery based on the wine bottle label included with their clue. This aspect of the clue was unaired in the episode.
Leg 2 (British Columbia)
Episode 2: "Se Hou Leng" (July 22, 2013) Prizes: Two round trip plane tickets to anywhere in Asia (awarded to Holly & Brett) Eliminated: Jamie & Pierre Locations Kelowna (Waterfront Park) Kelowna → Vancouver Vancouver (Vancouver International Airport – Maple Leaf Lounge) Richmond (Richmond Olympic Oval) Vancouver (Chinatown – Millennium Gate) Vancouver (Ten Ren Tea & Ginseng Company & Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden Chinatown & Chinese Cultural Centre) Vancouver (DP World Container Terminal) Vancouver (Vancouver Convention Centre – Green Roof) Episode summary At the start of this leg, teams were instructed to fly to Vancouver. Once there, teams found their next clue at the airport's Maple Leaf Lounge. Teams then had to travel to the Richmond Olympic Oval, which had their next clue. In this leg's Roadblock, one team member had to complete two laps of short track speed skating in under 90 seconds in order to receive their next clue from champion speed skater Michelle Pepin. After the Roadblock, teams found their next clue at the Millennium Gate. This series' first Detour was a choice between Draw It or Dance It. In Draw It, teams travelled to Ten Ren's Tea & Ginseng Company, where each team member had to drink a cup of green tea. Printed on the bottom of each saucer was a Chinese symbol representing one of the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac. They had to memorize these characters, go to the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden, reproduce them with a calligraphy brush on rice paper, and give it to a calligraphy expert. If calligraphy expert was satisfied with both symbols, she gave teams their next clue; otherwise teams had to start all over again with new Chinese symbols. In Dance It, teams went to the Chinese Cultural Centre, where they received a list of destinations written entirely in Mandarin Chinese. They then had to travel to these locations in Chinatown to find the four pieces of a Chinese lion costume. They then had to return to the Cultural Centre, where they had to put on the outfit and successfully perform a traditional lion dance in order to receive their next clue. After the Detour, teams had to climb to the top of a shipping crane at the DP World container terminal and use a pair of binoculars to search for flags marking the location of the Pit Stop: the green roof of the Vancouver Convention Centre.
Leg 3 (British Columbia → Alberta)
Episode 3: "Hoodoos and Hoodonts" (July 29, 2013) Prizes: Two round trip plane tickets to anywhere in the United States (awarded to Hal & Joanne) Locations Vancouver (Vancouver Convention Centre) Vancouver (Nicola Internet Café) Vancouver → Calgary, Alberta Calgary (Outlaw Statue) Calgary (Ranchman's Cookhouse) Drumheller (Hoodoos) East Coulee (Atlas Coal Mine) Drumheller (Royal Tyrrell Museum) Starland County (Horsethief Canyon Outlook) Episode summary At the Nicola Internet Café, teams had to book their flight to Calgary, Alberta. Once there, teams had to choose a marked vehicle and drive themselves to the statue of Outlaw (a well-known Calgary Stampede bull), where they found their next clue. Teams then had to drive to Ranchman's Cookhouse, which had their next clue. In this leg's Roadblock, one team member had to learn and then correctly perform a classic Canadian line dance in order to receive their next clue. After the Roadblock, teams had to drive to the hoodoos in Drumheller and find their next clue. This leg's Detour was a choice between Lump by Lump or Bone by Bone. In Lump by Lump, teams travelled to the Atlas Coal Mine and rode a locomotive to the wash house, where they dressed in coal mining outfits. They then had to shovel coal into a mine cart so that it overflowed and touched all four edges of the cart, and then properly place their numbered tag on the cart to receive their next clue. In Bone by Bone, teams travelled to the Royal Tyrrell Museum, where they studied a mounted display of a dinosaur skeleton. They then had to enter the specimen preparation laboratory and completely build a model of the same skeleton from memory in order to receive their next clue. After the Detour, teams had to check in at the Pit Stop: Horsethief Canyon Outlook in Starland County. Additional note This was a non-elimination leg.
Leg 4 (Alberta → Northwest Territories → Yukon)
Episode 4: "Grab a 'Nug" (August 5, 2013) Prize: An all-inclusive trip to Cancún, Mexico (awarded to Jet & Dave) Eliminated: Kristen & Darren Locations Calgary (Clarion Calgary) Calgary → Yellowknife, Northwest Territories Yellowknife (Bush Pilot's Monument) Yellowknife (Government Dock)