The Amazing Race Canada 7 is the seventh 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, and one returning team of two given a second chance to compete by fans in a race across Canada. The grand prize included a CA$250,000 cash payout, a trip for two around the world, and two 2019 Chevrolet Blazer SUVs. This season visited six provinces and one territory and travelled over during eleven legs. Starting in Toronto, racers travelled through Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta, the Northwest Territories, Saskatchewan, Quebec, and Nova Scotia before finishing in Muskoka. New twists introduced in this season include the One Way, which allowed teams to force others to complete one specific side of the Detour, and the Blind Detour, where teams learned about the task that they chose after arriving at its location. The season premiered on CTV on July 2, 2019, with the season finale airing on September 10, 2019.
Married First Nations couple Anthony Johnson and James Makokis were the winners of this season, while track teammates Sarah Wells and Sam Effah finished in second place, and sisters Lauren and Joanne Lavoie finished in third place.
Production Development and filming
On November 22, 2018, CTV announced that a seventh season of The Amazing Race Canada was set to air in the summer of 2019. Similar to the previous season, the show broadcast the start of filming on its social media pages on April 23, 2019, with SportsCentre anchor Kayla Grey interviewing host Jon Montgomery and revealing the "Canada's Choice" returning team. The show also posted clips during filming to their social media pages that offered hints about the locations visited by the season as part of the "Jon on the Road: Presented by Chevrolet" series.
After leaving Toronto, teams went to Kamloops, British Columbia. Teams were spotted in Revelstoke, British Columbia on April 26, 2019. The show travelled to Yellowknife, Northwest Territories on April 29. The racers were in Thunder Bay, Ontario before finishing at Kakabeka Falls on May 13. Filming concluded in Muskoka on May 18.
This season was the first season not to feature a U-Turn board, but also introduced a variation called the Double One Way, which allowed teams to force others to complete one specific side of the Detour.
For the first time since season 1, the season's racecourse stayed entirely within Canada.
The finale was dedicated in memory of season 5 contestant Kenneth McAlpine who died in a hiking accident on Mount Gimli in the West Kootenay region of British Columbia on August 26, 2019, at the age of 28. A picture of McAlpine and a memorial message was aired during the broadcast of the finale.
Casting Casting for the seventh season began on November 22, 2018. During a Facebook Live event on December 17, 2018, about casting for the new season, producer Mark Lysakowski commented that they were "looking for people that want to share a story that is a new lease on life. Or a second chance if you will." Initial casting ended on January 2, 2019.
Marketing Chevrolet returned as a sponsor for the show and was the sole sponsor of the "Jon on the Road" videos. Dempster's Bakery also retained their sponsorship from the previous season. New sponsors this season included Clif Bar, Dairy Farmers of Canada, Disney's The Lion King, Expedia, Paramount's Dora and the Lost City of Gold, Royal Ontario Museum, Shell Canada's V-Power fuel, The Source and Webber Naturals.
After each episode, CTV posted a video online as part of a weekly series called "Tastes of the Race", which featured season 6 racers Martina & Phil facing off in a cooking competition inspired by this season's locations while using Dempster's products.
Canada's Choice On March 21, 2019, the show announced on its social media pages that fans would be able to vote for one of three previous teams to return for a second chance. Voting closed on April 1, 2019. The three teams were:
Jet & Dave (from season 1) Brent & Sean (from season 3) Frankie & Amy (from season 4)
Jet & Dave were revealed as the winners of the vote on a live stream at the starting line.
Cast
Between June 11 to June 13, one team a day were revealed on each of the CTV network shows Your Morning, The Marilyn Denis Show, and The Social. This season's cast included Lethwei World Champion Dave Leduc; writer, actress, and model Irina Terehova; Olympic hurdler Sarah Wells; sprinter Sam Effah; and noted two-spirit Indigenous doctor James Makokis.
ContestantsAgeRelationshipHometownStatus 38Best FriendsThe Amazing Race Canada 1London, OntarioEliminated 1st(in Kamloops, British Columbia) 34 31FriendsToronto, OntarioEliminated 2nd(in Revelstoke, British Columbia) 31 65Grandfather & GrandsonSunderland, OntarioEliminated 3rd(in Spruce Grove, Alberta) 20 25TwinsHalifax, Nova ScotiaEliminated 4th(in Coombs, British Columbia) 25 45Friends & Stay-at-Home MomsEtobicoke, OntarioEliminated 5th(in Waterloo, Ontario) 50 25DatingVancouver, British ColumbiaEliminated 6th(in Oliver Paipoonge, Ontario) 28 27Married Gatineau, QuebecEliminated 7th(in Gaspereau, Nova Scotia) 29 Montreal, Quebec 27SistersRegina, SaskatchewanThird place 21 29Track TeammatesToronto, OntarioRunners-up 30 33MarriedEdmonton, AlbertaWinners 37
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 One Way and a indicates the team on the receiving end of the One Way. A indicates that the leg featured a Face Off challenge.
+Team placement (by leg) Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11Anthony & James6th6th3rd6th2nd1st2nd5th3rd1st1stSarah & Sam2nd4th5th4th1st2nd4th4th2nd2nd2ndLauren & Joanne4th8th4th5th6th4th5th2nd4th3rd3rdDave & Irina1st2nd1st3rd5th3rd1st3rd1st Aarthy & Thinesh7th1st2nd1st2nd5th3rd1st Trish & Amy5th7th7th4th Meaghan & Marie3rd5th6th2nd Gilles & Sean9th3rd Nicki & Aisha8th Jet & Dave Notes
Race summary
Leg 1 (Ontario → British Columbia)
Episode 1: "Canada Get More Maps" (July 2, 2019) Prizes: A trip for two to Cape Town, South Africa, and two Express Passes (awarded to Dave & Irina) Eliminated: Jet & Dave Locations Toronto, Ontario (David Pecaut Square) (Starting Line) Toronto (Extreme Reach Recording Studio) Toronto (Ontario Food Terminal) Toronto → Kamloops, British Columbia (Kamloops Airport) Kamloops (Ajax Mine) Kamloops (Circle Creek Ranch) Kamloops (Kamloops Bike Ranch) Episode summary From David Pecaut Square, teams were instructed to find their next clue at Extreme Reach Recording Studio. In this season's first Roadblock, one team member had to rehearse a voiceover script for the trailer of Disney's The Lion King remake. They then had to enter an isolation booth and record their voice in sync with the trailer in order to receive their next clue. In this leg's second Roadblock, the team member who did not perform the previous Roadblock had to ride a zipline while suspended above the waters of an abandoned open-pit burrow of the Ajax Mine and had to successfully toss a yellow ball into a floating target during their ride in order to receive their next clue. After the first Roadblock, teams had to search the vast cold storage rooms of the Ontario Food Terminal for two halves of a postcard that revealed their next destination: Kamloops, British Columbia. Once there, teams had to search the airport parking lot for a marked vehicle, which contained their next clue. After the second Roadblock, teams had to search through a herd of thirty yearlings at the Circle Creek Ranch until they could find their next destination printed on the ear tag on one of the cows in order to receive their next clue, which directed them to the Pit Stop: the Kamloops bike ranch.
Leg 2 (British Columbia)
Episode 2: "Our Competition's Not That Smart" (July 9, 2019) Prize: A trip for two to Madrid, Spain, and an Express Pass (awarded to Aarthy & Thinesh) Eliminated: Nicki & Aisha Locations Kamloops (Riverside Park) Craigellachie (Last Spike Monument) Revelstoke (Glacier House Resort) Revelstoke (BC Interior Forestry Museum & Forest Discovery Centre Williamson Lake Campground) Revelstoke (Revelstoke Railway Museum) Revelstoke (Revelstoke Mountain Resort → Mount Mackenzie) Episode summary At the start of this leg, teams were instructed to drive to the Last Spike Monument in Craigellachie in order to find their next clue. In this leg's Roadblock, one team member had to suit up and ride a dirt bike, completing one lap around a course of hills and banked turns, in under one minute and fifty seconds in order to receive their next clue. This season's first Detour was a choice between Plant or Paddle. In Plant, teams had to plant forty conifer tree seedlings in a forest clearing, ensuring that the seedlings were straight, planted a specified length apart, and had no air pockets underground in order to receive their next clue. In Paddle, teams had to paddle a pair of kayaks, tied together facing opposite directions, to collect five differently coloured flags from buoys scattered around the lake that they could exchange for their next clue. After the Detour, teams had to construct and then operate a model railroad set on a table at the Revelstoke Railway Museum. They had to use every given piece of track and all of the accessories, and the track layout had to fit on the table with no dead ends. Once their train completed a full circuit, teams received their next clue, which instructed them to drive to the Revelstoke Mountain Resort, ride the cable car to the top of Mount Mackenzie, and then search for the Pit Stop.
Leg 3 (British Columbia → Alberta)
Episode 3: "We'll Let the Peasants Fight for Last Place" (July 16, 2019) Prize: A trip for two to Casablanca, Morocco (awarded to Dave & Irina) Eliminated: Gilles & Sean Locations Revelstoke (Mount Mackenzie) Kamloops (Kamloops Airport) → Edmonton, Alberta Edmonton (Southgate Centre – The Source) Edmonton (Garneau & Oliver – High Level Bridge Streetcar) Edmonton (Downtown Edmonton – Royal Alberta Museum 100 Street Funicular) Edmonton (Strathcona – Old Strathcona Antique Mall) Spruce Grove (University of Alberta Botanic Garden – Kurimoto Japanese Garden) Spruce Grove (University of Alberta Botanic Garden – Aga Khan Garden) Episode summary At the start of this leg, teams were instructed to fly to Edmonton, Alberta. At the Kamloops Airport, teams had to sign up for one of two flights to Edmonton, the first of which carried two teams and landed 2:30 hours before the second flight that carried six teams. Once there, teams had to travel to The Source at Southgate Centre. There, teams were given smartwatches that they had to wear throughout the leg, and the team that had the fewest steps recorded by the end of the leg would win a gift card from The Source. Lauren & Joanne won this prize. Teams found their next clue on the High Level Bridge Streetcar.