| Season Number: | 1 | ||||
| Bgcolour: |
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| Module1: |
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| Num Episodes: | 10 | ||||
| Network: | Crave |
The first season of Canada's Drag Race premiered on July 2, 2020.[1] The cast was announced on May 14, 2020.[1] The winner of the first season of Canada’s Drag Race was Priyanka, with Rita Baga and Scarlett BoBo as runners-up.[2]
Casting occurred in mid-2019 with production starting in fall 2019.[3] On September 26, 2019, it was announced that the judges panel will include RuPaul's Drag Race season 11 runner-up Brooke Lynn Hytes, actor Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman and fashion model Stacey McKenzie.[4] Bell Media personality Traci Melchor also appeared as a recurring cast member, with the title "Canada's Squirrel Friend";[4] her role entailed participatory support in challenges, including co-judging the Canada Gay-M mini-challenge, hosting a sheTalk red carpet segment prior to Snatch Game, and serving as one of the judges of the Miss Loose Jaw pageant. Melchor also appeared as the special guest host for the season finale.
The season consisted of ten one-hour episodes.[5]
The Season 1 queens participated in a Canada's Drag Race Anniversary Extravaganza reunion special, airing on Crave September 6, 2021, in advance of the second season launch.[6]
In January 2022, it was announced that Jimbo and Lemon would appear as contestants on . Lemon finished in ninth place, while Jimbo placed seventh overall.
In October 2022 Rita Baga was announced as a contestant on the first season of where she finished as a finalist.
On July 21, 2023, Jimbo was declared the winner of the eighth season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars.
Ages, names, and cities stated are at time of filming.
| Age | Hometown | Outcome | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Priyanka | 28 | Toronto, Ontario | ||
| Rita Baga | 32 | Montreal, Quebec | ||
| Scarlett BoBo | 29 | Toronto, Ontario | ||
| Jimbo | 36 | Victoria, British Columbia | 4th place | |
| Lemon | 23 | nowrap | New York City, United States | 5th place |
| Ilona Verley | 24 | Vancouver, British Columbia | 6th place | |
| BOA | 24 | Windsor, Ontario | 7th place | |
| Kiara | 22 | Montreal, Quebec | 8th place | |
| Tynomi Banks | 38 | Toronto, Ontario | 9th place | |
| Anastarzia Anaquway | 37 | East York, Ontario | 10th place | |
| Kyne | 21 | Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario | 11th place | |
| Juice Boxx | 31 | Essex, Ontario | 12th place | |
Legend:
| Episode | Contestants | Song | Eliminated | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Juice Boxx | vs. | Lemon | "I Really Like You" (Carly Rae Jepsen) | Juice Boxx | ||
| 2 | Kyne | vs. | nowrap | Tynomi Banks | nowrap | "If You Could Read My Mind" (Amber, Jocelyn Enriquez, Ultra Naté) | Kyne |
| 3 | nowrap | Anastarzia Anaquway | vs. | Tynomi Banks | "Absolutely Not (Chanel Club Mix)" (Deborah Cox) | nowrap bgcolor="lightblue" | Anastarzia Anaquway |
| 4 | Ilona Verley | vs. | Tynomi Banks | "Girlfriend" (Avril Lavigne) | Tynomi Banks | ||
| 5 | Kiara | vs. | Priyanka | "I Drove All Night" (Celine Dion) | Kiara | ||
| 6 | BOA | vs. | Ilona Verley | "Scars to Your Beautiful" (Alessia Cara) | BOA | ||
| 7 | Ilona Verley | vs. | Priyanka | "Hello" (Allie X) | Ilona Verley | ||
| 8 | Lemon | vs. | Rita Baga | "You Oughta Know" (Alanis Morissette) | Lemon | ||
| 9 | Jimbo | vs. | Rita Baga | "Closer" (Tegan and Sara) | Jimbo | ||
| Episode | Final contestants | Song | Winner | ||||
| 10 | Priyanka vs. Rita Baga vs. Scarlett BoBo | "You're a Superstar" (Love Inc.) | Priyanka | ||||
The guest host of a Canada's Drag Race episode performs much of RuPaul's role in a regular Ru-hosted season, including the introductions to the runway and Lip Sync for Your Life segments, and delivers commentary as a judge, but does not have a direct say in determining the winners or losers of the challenges and lip-syncs.[7] Season 1 guest hosts included:
Guests who appeared in episodes, but did not judge on the main stage.
Episode 1
Episode 3 and 10
Episode 5
Episode 6
Episode 7
Episode 9
See also: List of Canada's Drag Race episodes.
Separately from the production of the series, all of the queens from the season participated in Pride events for both Pride Toronto and Fierté Montreal, presented as online streaming specials due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada. The Toronto event, Drag Ball presented by Crave, was streamed on June 27,[8] and the Montreal event, Drag Superstars, was streamed on August 14.[9] The Toronto special was directly produced by Crave; the Montreal event was produced by a separate company, but received some production assistance and sponsorship from Crave and the Canada's Drag Race production team.
Following the conclusion of the season, the cast announced a cross-Canada tour, to be performed at drive-in venues due to the ongoing social distancing restrictions remaining in place during the COVID-19 pandemic.[10] Brooke Lynn Hytes hosted, and Priyanka, Scarlett Bobo and Rita Baga were scheduled to appear at every date on the tour, while other cast members would perform at selected dates based on availability;[11] ultimately, however, both Priyanka and Brooke Lynn Hytes had to miss a couple of later dates after being forced to self-isolate due to COVID-19 exposure.[12]
Priyanka, Scarlett Bobo, Rita Baga and Jimbo also participated in an online panel as part of the 2020 Just for Laughs festival.[13]
| Canadian Screen Awards | May 17–20, 2021 | Best Reality/Competition Program or Series | Michael Kot, Laura Michalchyshyn, Betty Orr, Mike Bickerton, Pam McNair, RuPaul Charles, Fenton Bailey, Randy Barbato, Tom Campbell, Randy Lennox, Tracey Pearce | [14] | ||
| Best Host or Presenter in Factual or Reality/Competition | Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman, Brooke Lynn Hytes, Stacey McKenzie | |||||
| Best Casting | Heather Muir | |||||
| Best Direction in a Reality/Competition Series | Shelagh O'Brien — "U Wear It Well" | |||||
| Best Writing in a Reality/Competition Series | Mike Bickerton, Elvira Kurt, Jen Markowitz — "Welcome to the Family" | |||||
| Best Sound in a Non-Fiction Series | John Diemer, Scott Brachmeyer, Daniel Hewett, Dane Kelly, Sarah Labadie, Carlo Scrignaro, Rob Taylor — "U Wear It Well" | |||||
| Best Production Design or Art Direction in a Non-Fiction Series | Peter Faragher — "Eh-Laganza Eh-Xtravaganza" | |||||
| Best Supporting Performance in a Web Program or Series | Priyanka — Drag Ball | |||||
| Best Host in a Web Program or Series | Traci Melchor — Drag Ball | |||||
| Audience Choice Award | Priyanka | [15] | ||||
| April 10, 2022 | Best Variety or Entertainment Special | Canada’s Drag Race Anniversary Extravaganza | [16] | |||
| American Reality Television Awards | July 8, 2021 | International Reality Series | Canada's Drag Race | [17] |