'Amazing Race Canada' Season 10 host Jon Montgomery teases the 'most physically capable group'
"We've got a lot of really high performing athletes, but athletic prowess and physicality is but a small portion of what it takes to succeed," Montgomery said
Canada's most-watched summer show, The Amazing Race Canada, is back for a wild Season 10, with 11 new teams racing across the country (premiering Tuesday at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT on CTV, CTV.ca, and the CTV app). Hosted by Olympic Gold Medallist Jon Montgomery, this season's racers include professional athletes, actors and stars from other reality TV shows.
Montgomery teased to Yahoo Canada that this season will have all the elements that fans have come to love, with some "new flavour" in the gameplay elements. Everything will always have a uniquely Canadian spin.
"Canadians are going to be treated to another amazing season," Montgomery teased. "I think it might be the single most physically capable group."
"We've got a lot of really high performing athletes, but athletic prowess and physicality is but a small portion of what it takes to succeed. Relationship dynamics are hugely important, maybe the most important. Your flexible thinking and reasoning, your capacity to problem solve. ... So unless you're checking all the boxes, you really don't have as great a chance unless you're well rounded. If you're only strong in one category, it's probably not going to go your way."
Amazing Race Canada Season 10 begins in Niagara Falls, Ont., for the starting line, the same location the racers began in the first season of the series.
Particularly exciting for Montgomery, the show will also include his hometown of Russell, Manitoba for the first time.
"I probably know every square inch of the streets of this particular community," he said. "I think I also know 98 per cent of the people who call it home."
"My parents raised their three children there, myself included and my two older sisters, and we're all proud to be from Russell, and to have been able to call it home for as long as we did. Everybody's in the city now, Winnipeg, but Russell is always home."
'I'll never congratulate somebody on taking a penalty'
While Montgomery really guides and supports the racers through their travels, there's one game move he's not a fan of, and that's when a team takes a penalty.
"I am, I think, cautious that they not take penalties without a great deal of consideration," Montgomery said. "I'll never congratulate somebody on taking a penalty."
"There are strategically some times where it makes great sense and I think there's other times where it's just flat out quitting. ... I put myself in the fan seat at home, not the host seat on the mat, being like, as a fan I'm going to be pissed off watching this. Don't take no more god damn penalties!"
While Montgomery very much owns his hosting duties, he's not taking participating as a racer off the table.
"I want to run it so bad, but I also like coming back every year to be part of the production, and if I was a racer, I'd only get to do it once," Montgomery said.
"My wife would be my partner and it would be entertaining for viewers, and maybe less so for us to navigate the differences that we would undoubtably run into, which would be the navigational differences. The divvying up of the challenges, I think would be pretty straightforward. She would do memorization and dancing, I would probably do eating gross shit and jumping."
'Folks are tuning in for a reason'
One thing Amazing Race Canada has done particularly well throughout its 10 seasons, better than many other reality shows in the country, is build a show that represents a broad range of people who live in this country.
As Montgomery described, that's one of the most important factors of the show, giving credit to the skilled people who cast the series.
"We have a big ass country ... and casting producers field just a ton of submission requests," Montgomery highlighted. "What they're trying to do is build out that complete profile of this country, from relationships to regional representation, to demographics, to age and sex and orientation, and all of these factors have to go into building a group of teams that are going to be compelling."
"I think the hardest job is probably casting and I would suggest that it might be the job that is done the best on the show because of its level of popularity, 1.7 million viewers on average last season. Folks are tuning in for a reason. We have great landscape and other shows utilize that same backdrop we have, great communities, and other shows utilize those exact same communities, but it's the formula and the people that make the show."
Meet ‘The Amazing Race Canada’ Season 10 teams
Michael Crouse & Tyson Gillies
Best friends who love baseball and now want to it forward to the next generation of athletes
Michael Crouse (he/him)
Age: 33
Hometown: Vancouver
Occupation: Former Professional Baseball Player/Baseball Development Coach
Instagram: @michaelcrouse21
Tyson Gillies (he/him)
Age: 35
Hometown: Vancouver
Occupation: Former Professional Baseball Player/Baseball Development Coach
Instagram: @tgillies21
Kevin Martin & Gurleen Maan
Reality TV star who were both The Traitors Canada and are now taking their romantic relationship to the next level.
Kevin Martin (he/him)
Age: 31
Hometown: Calgary
Occupation: Professional Poker Player/Influencer
Instagram: @kevinrobmartin
Gurleen Maan (she/her)
Age: 35
Hometown: Abbotsford, B.C.
Occupation: Farmer
Instagram: @gurleenmaan
Dorothy Adeneye & Olus Adeneye
A married couple, both entrepreneurs, who hope to be "a shining example for fellow BIPOC creatives."
Dorothy Adeneye (she/her)
Age: 29
Hometown: Calgary
Occupation: Content Creator/Advertising Professional
Instagram: @theloversxo
Olus Adeneye (he/him)
Age: 32
Hometown: Calgary
Occupation: Content Creator/Advertising Professional
Instagram: @theloversxo
Taylor McPherson & Katie Mulkay
These friends and wrestlers want to show that being physically strong is beautiful
Taylor McPherson (she/her)
Age: 24
Hometown: Calgary
Occupation: Wrestler/Indigenous Sports Coordinator
Instagram: @tay_mcpherson101
Katie Mulkay (she/her)
Age: 24
Hometown: Edmonton
Occupation: Wrestler/Educator
Instagram: @Katiemulkay
Michael Linklater & Amari Linklater
A father-son team that wants to represent their Indigenous heritage on the national stage, hoping to be the first-ever team from Saskatchewan to win The Amazing Race Canada
Michael Linklater (he/him)
Age: 42
Hometown: Saskatoon
Occupation: Ex-Professional Basketball Player/Consultant/International Speaker
Instagram: @michael_linklater
Amari Linklater (he/him)
Age: 19
Hometown: Saskatoon
Occupation: Student/Basketball Player
Instagram: @amari_links
Connor Carroll & John Ferguson
Wanting to put their friendship through the ultimate test, they want to "break stereotypes and prove that representation matters."
Connor Carroll (he/him)
Age: 24
Hometown: Pickering, Ont.
Occupation: Lawyer
Instagram: @_connorcarroll
John Ferguson (he/him)
Age: 26
Hometown: Erin, Ont.
Occupation: Content Creator
Instagram: @johnlferguson
Eva Amo-Mensah & Trystenne Burey
These friends want to inspire girls with their "pure Black Girl Magic"
Eva Amo-Mensah (she/her)
Age: 30
Hometown: Toronto
Occupation: Business Owner – Personal Trainer
Instagram: @fitforevaa
Trystenne Burey (she/her)
Age: 27
Hometown: Toronto
Occupation: Business Owner – Personal Trainer
Instagram: @trystenneburey
Brad May & Sam May
This father-daughter team have competition running through their veins
Brad May (he/him)
Age: 52
Hometown: Toronto
Occupation: Ex-NHL Player
Instagram: @maydayhockey
Sam May (she/her)
Age: 24
Hometown: Toronto
Occupation: Event Planner
Instagram: @sam_may1
Julia Viola & Olivia Curto
This married couple is planning to use their athleticism, female instincts, and unbreakable bond to make "herstory."
Julia Viola (she/her)
Age: 33
Hometown: Clearview, Ont.
Occupation: Operations
Instagram: @_juliaviola
Olivia Curto (she/her)
Age: 33
Hometown: Clearview, Ont.
Occupation: Banking
Instagram: @itsocbaby
Lauren Peters & Nicole Peters
The brainy identical twin sisters want to inspire others to follow their dreams, while showing the importance of sisterhood.
Lauren Peters (she/her)
Age: 26 Occupation: Actor
Hometown: Mississauga, Ont.
Instagram: @laurenpeters_xo / @thepeterstwins
Nicole Peters (she/her)
Age: 26
Hometown: Mississauga, Ont.
Occupation: Actor
Instagram: @nicolepeteresxo / @thepeterstwins
Colin Rose & Matt Roberts
These best friends of Amazing Race superfans
Colin Rose (he/him)
Age: 33
Hometown: Mount Pearl, Nfld.
Occupation: Teacher
Instagram: @colinrose9
Matt Roberts (he/him)
Age: 31
Hometown: Mount Pearl, Nfld.
Occupation: Aviation Supply Chain Logistics
Instagram: @mattrobertz
