The Amazing Race Canada 7


The seventh season of The Amazing Race Canada was a reality game show based on the American series The Amazing Race. It features nine teams of two and one returning team of two given a second chance to compete on the Race by fans. The grand prize includes a CA$250,000 cash payout, a "once-in-a-lifetime" trip for two around the world, and a 2019 Chevrolet Blazer RS for each.
The season premiered 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, becoming the first Indigenous team to win The Amazing Race Canada.

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 the Race on its social media pages on April 23, 2019 with SportsCentre anchor Kayla Grey interviewing host Jon Montgomery and revealing the team that returned to the Race. 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.
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 task of the Detour. First appearing in Leg 3, it was a Blind Double One Way allowing teams to do so anonymously. Lauren & Joanne used the One Way on Trish & Amy, while Sarah & Sam used it on Gilles & Sean.
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 broadcasts 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.
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 includes 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.

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 to the Race for a second chance. Voting closed on April 1, 2019. The three teams were:
Jet & Dave were revealed as the winners of the vote at the Starting Line.

Marketing

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 include 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 previous season racers Martina & Phil facing off in a cooking competition inspired by the season's locations while using Dempster's products.

Results

The following teams participated in the Race, each listed along with their placements in each leg and relationships as identified by the program. Note that this table is not necessarily reflective of all content broadcast on television, owing to the inclusion or exclusion of some data. Placements are listed in finishing order:
  1. Anthony & James used the Express Pass given to them by Dave & Irina on Leg 3 to bypass the first Roadblock. Before using the Express Pass, James elected to perform the Roadblock; this is reflected in the total Roadblock count.
  2. Dave & Irina used their Express Pass to bypass the second Roadblock on Leg 4. As Irina would have to perform this Roadblock, this is reflected in the overall count. Later, they arrived 1st at the Pit Stop, but were issued a 2-hour penalty for quitting the latitude and longitude Route Marker task. Two teams checked in during their penalty time, dropping Dave & Irina to 3rd.
  3. Four of the seven teams who arrived at the Pit Stop after applied 2-hour penalties for failing to complete the clam digging challenge. The initial placements for all teams are as follows :
  4. :1st: Trish & Amy; 2nd: Sarah & Sam; 3rd: Dave & Irina; 4th: Lauren & Joanne; 5th: Aarthy & Thinesh / Anthony & James ; 7th: Meaghan & Marie. Meaghan & Marie were eliminated without the 2-hour penalty being issued.
  5. Aarthy & Thinesh and Anthony & James both agreed to a 2nd place tie after both teams stepped on the Pit Stop mat at the same time.

    Episode title quotes

Episode titles are often taken from quotes made by the racers.
  1. "Canada Get More Maps" – Dave
  2. "Our Competition's Not That Smart" – Irina
  3. "We'll Let the Peasants Fight for Last Place" – Dave
  4. "I Love Geologists" – Sam
  5. "Clamageddon Continues" – James
  6. "I'm a Little Muskrat on a Mission" – Aarthy
  7. "Balls, Balls, Balls" – Sarah & Sam
  8. "Open Your :fr:Bouche|Bouche" – Lauren
  9. "Another Day in Thunder Bay" – Thinesh
  10. "He's Basically a Hound" – James
  11. "I Had One Job" – Lauren

    Prizes

The prize for each leg is awarded to the first place team for that leg.
  1. The Express Pass is an item that can be used on the Race to skip any one task of the team's choosing before the end of the seventh leg. The team that won Leg 1 keeps one but must give the second to another team before the end of the third leg.

    Race summary

Leg 1 (Ontario → British Columbia)

Airdate: July 2, 2019
In the first Roadblock of the Race, 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 to receive their next clue.
For the second Roadblock of the leg, the team member that did not perform the previous Roadblock had to ride a zip line 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 to receive their next clue.
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Airdate: July 9, 2019
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 one minute and fifty seconds or less to receive their next clue.
The first Detour of the Race was a choice between Plant or Paddle. In Plant, teams had to plant 40 conifer tree seedlings in a forest clearing. The seedlings needed to be straight, planted a specified length apart, and have no air pockets underground so teams could receive their next clue. In Paddle, teams had to paddle a pair of kayaks, tied together facing opposite directions, to collect five different coloured flags from buoys scattered around the lake that they could exchange on shore for their next clue.
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Airdate: July 16, 2019
This leg's Detour was a choice between Celebrate or Elevate. In Celebrate, teams had to learn the lyrics and choreography for a medley of South African songs and then successfully perform with the Kokopelli Youth Choir to be given their next clue by the choir director. In Elevate, teams had to complete two puzzles, one at the top of the funicular and one at the bottom, of the Edmonton skyline to receive their next clue from the city's poet laureate. Teams would discover that some puzzle pieces belonged to the other puzzle and had to transfer one piece at a time via the funicular.
In this leg's Roadblock, one team member had to watch a silent demonstration of an Ikebana flower arrangement and had to replicate the arrangement, making sure that the flowers were at the correct height and not touching and that their workstation was clean, to receive their next clue.
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Airdate: July 23, 2019
In the first Roadblock of the leg, one team member had to use a jewelers loupe to identify which six out of seven diamonds were marked with a Canadian symbol, a maple leaf. Then, they had to use a Forevermark viewer to find the identification number on each diamond. Finally, they had to sort the diamonds from heaviest to lightest to receive their next clue.
For the second Roadblock of the leg, the team member that did not perform the previous Roadblock had to don a wetsuit and safety gear, dive into a hole in Great Slave Lake, and swim under the ice to an exit hole to retrieve their next clue.
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Airdate: July 30, 2019
For their Speed Bump, Trish & Amy had to correctly assemble a thirty-seven piece model Orca skeleton using all the pieces provided, including a tooth inside their Dora backpack, before they could continue racing.
In this leg's Roadblock, one team member had to pick up a box from The Source containing a Huawei P30 Pro smartphone that they had to use to photograph eleven letters hidden within Horne Lake Caves. Racers then had to use a marker and whiteboard from their Dora backpack to unscramble then spell the name of the Pit Stop: "Goats on Roof". When racers believed that they had the correct answer, they had to take a photograph of their whiteboard and present the photo to the park director, who would confirm or deny their answer. Racers that figured out that the bunch of carrots in their Dora backpack were a clue, could write the answer on their whiteboard without spelunking.
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Airdate: August 6, 2019
This leg's Detour was a choice between Dance in a Square or Walk in Circles. In Dance in a Square, one team member had to memorize a list of nineteen square dance moves and call the dance in time with the music while their partner had to learn and perform the dance alongside the River City Squares to receive their next clue. In Walk in Circles, teams had to search a 7,500 square foot barn board maze for four different types of cobs of corn, which they could exchange for their next clue.
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Airdate: August 13, 2019
For their Speed Bump, Trish & Amy had to drive a provided 2019 Chevrolet Bolt EV to the University of Waterloo campus, where they met the designer of a self-driving car. After completing a test drive around the campus, they could continue racing.
This leg's Detour was a choice between Beer Fest or Robot Quest. In Beer Fest, teams took part in a Kitchener–Waterloo Oktoberfest celebration. They had to choose a table of ten patrons, who each ordered a different variety of beer. While pouring the beers at the taps, the patrons would get up and dance then sit in different seats. Once teams served all ten orders correctly, they received their next clue from Mayor Berry Vrbanovic. In Robot Quest, teams had to use walkie-talkies to navigate a Nao robot through a course. One team member gave directions to their partner in another room, who blindly controlled it entering the commands on a computer screen; partners could not swap roles once the task began. Once Nao completed the course and crossed the finish line, they received their next clue from Callisto, a TALOS humanoid robot.
In the first Face Off of the season, two teams took part in a culinary competition. The team who arrived first had the choice of three dishes to prepare using Race sponsor Dempster's wheat tortillas: wraps, rolls or pizza. Both teams were given one minute to observe the completed dish, then had fifteen minutes to re-create it without the use of a recipe. The team whose dish better resembled the example received their next clue, while the losing team had to wait for another team. The last team remaining at the Face Off had to turn over an hourglass and wait out a time penalty before moving on.
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Airdate: August 20, 2019
In this leg's Roadblock, one team member had to dress in formal attire and take part in a mock press conference of the 44th G7 summit, hosted in La Malbaie in 2018. They had to memorize and correctly deliver a speech in English and French, then answer three questions from reporters, one each in Japanese, German, and Italian, to receive their next clue.
This leg's Detour was a Blind Detour, which simply gave teams a choice of This or That. In This, teams had to recreate two paintings onto emu eggs at Centre de l'Émeu de Charlevoix without removing the examples from the basket. After recreating the paintings, teams had to travel to Baie-Saint-Paul and deliver their eggs to one of the two buildings depicted on their eggs, Boutique Le Pot aux Roses or Bistro La Muse, to receive their next clue. In That, teams had to play a modified version of pick-lit, a local game that involved hitting a wooden peg into the air before smacking it into a marked field to score points. Once teams scored 200 points, they would receive their next clue.
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Airdate: August 27, 2019
In the second Face Off of the season, two teams had to compete against each other in one of three games: air hockey, table hockey, or axe throwing. The team that arrived first would choose the game. The team with a higher score at the end of each game received their next clue, while the losing team had to wait for another team. The last team remaining at the Face Off had to turn over an hourglass and wait out a time penalty before moving on.
This leg's Detour was a choice between Cutting Edge or Cutting a Wedge, each with a limit of 3 stations. In Cutting Edge, teams had to drive to the Lakehead University Faculty of Natural Resources Management Airfield, where they had to unbox a DJI Mavic 2 Zoom drone kit from The Source. Then, one racer would blindly fly the drone while guided by their partner wearing VR goggles with the drone's video feed to find four plush moose. Once teams marked the four moose locations on a board, they would receive their next clue. In Cutting a Wedge, teams had to drive to Thunder Oak Cheese Farm and locate a specific numbered Gouda cheese wheel that they had to cut into 32 wedges, each between and, before properly packaging the wedges to receive their next clue from a cheesemaker.
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Airdate: September 3, 2019
In this leg's Roadblock, one team member had to search the Tangled Garden for seven herbs: basil, mint, sage, rosemary, thyme, tarragon, and chives. Then, they had to taste and match seven jams and jellies with the herb used to make them to receive their next clue.
This leg's Detour was a choice between Puck or Apples. In Puck, teams had to travel to Andrew H. McCain Arena, where they had to play sledge hockey with team members passing a puck to each other through a practice course and scoring a goal in under one minute to receive their next clue. In Apples, teams had to travel to Noggin's Corner Farm Market, where they had to sort a bin of apples into twelve varieties: Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Empire, Gala, Idared, Honeycrisp, Jonagold, Ambrosia, Crispin, McIntosh, Spy, and Cortland. Once all the apples were correctly placed, teams would receive their next clue.
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Airdate: September 10, 2019
In the first Roadblock of the leg, one team member had to fly a hydroflying jetpack called a Flyboard at least out of the water before throwing a bean bag into a target to receive their next clue.
For the second Roadblock of the leg, the team member that did not perform the previous Roadblock had to find one of three elves with a red and yellow candy cane that they had to deliver to Santa Claus, who would give them their next clue.
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