The first season of '' Canada's Drag Race'' premiered on July 2, 2020. The cast was announced on May 14, 2020. The winner of the first season of ''Canada’s Drag Race'' was Priyanka, with

Rita Baga Rita Baga is the stage name of Jean-François Guevremont (born May 27, 1987), a Canadian drag queen from Montreal, Quebec,Hugo Dumas"La future reine québécoise du Nord?" '' La Presse'', August 19, 2020. who is most noted as a top three finalist ...

and

Scarlett BoBo Scarlett BoBo is the stage name of Matthew Cameron (born December 1, 1989), a Canadian television personality and drag queen most noted as a finalist in the first season of the reality competition series ''Canada's Drag Race'' in 2020. Career Or ...

as runners-up. Casting occurred in mid-2019 with production starting in fall 2019. On September 26, 2019, it was announced that the judges panel will include

RuPaul's Drag Race season 11 The eleventh season of ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' aired on VH1 from February 28, 2019, to May 30, 2019. The cast featured fourteen new queens and one returning queen, making it the largest cast of the series at the time; the contestants were announc ...

runner-up

Brooke Lynn Hytes Brooke Lynn Hytes is the stage name of Brock Edward Hayhoe (born March 10, 1986), a Canadian drag queen, ballet dancer, performer, and television personality. After working as a dancer with Cape Town City Ballet and Les Ballets Trockadero de Mo ...

, actor

Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman (born October 21, 1984) is a Canadian actor, model, and television personality. He is known for appearances in films and television, most notably as Jay in the Lifetime dark comedy-drama series ''Unreal'' (2015–2018) and ...

and fashion model Stacey McKenzie."Three fabulous judges, and one squirrel friend, are ready to preside over ‘Canada’s Drag Race’"
. '' eTalk'', September 26, 2019. Bell Media personality

Traci Melchor Traci Melchor is a Canadian television personality. She is known for her role as an entertainment reporter for CTV's series '' etalk'' and as a judge of the reality competition series ''Canada's Drag Race''. Melchor is also the former co-host o ...

also appeared as a recurring cast member, with the title "Canada's Squirrel Friend"; 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. 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. In January 2022, it was announced that

Jimbo Jimbo is a diminutive form of the given name James. It is also a Japanese surname, and it means state or province in Swahili. It may refer to: Given name or nickname * Jimbo (drag queen), Canadian drag queen * Jimbo Aquino (born 1985), Filipino ...

and Lemon would appear as contestants on '' RuPaul's Drag Race: UK vs the World''. 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 '' Canada's Drag Race: Canada vs. the World'' 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''.

Contestants

''Ages, names, and cities stated are at time of filming.'' ;Notes

Contestant progress

Lip syncs

Legend:

Guest hosts

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. Season 1 guest hosts included: *

Elisha Cuthbert Elisha Ann Cuthbert Phaneuf (; born 30 November 1982) is a Canadian actress and model. As a Child actor, child actress, she made her first televised appearance as an extra in the Canadian horror-themed series for children ''Are You Afraid of the ...

, actress *

Jade Hassouné Jade Hassouné (born 18 February 1991) is a Lebanese-Canadian actor, dancer and singer. He is known for his roles as Meliorn in the US television series ''Shadowhunters'' and as Prince Ahmed Al Saeed in the Canadian series ''Heartland''. Under t ...

, actor, dancer and singer * Deborah Cox, singer-songwriter and actress *

Evan Biddell ''Project Runway Canada Season 1'' is the first season of ''Project Runway Canada'', a reality competition show for fashion designers that is part of the ''Project Runway'' franchise. It aired in late 2007 on the Slice channel, which had relaunche ...

, designer * Mary Walsh, actress, comedian and actor * Tom Green, comedian and actor * Allie X, singer-songwriter * Amanda Brugel, actress *

Michelle Visage Michelle Lynn Case (nee Shupack), better known as Michelle Visage (born September 20, 1968), is an American singer, television host, actress, radio DJ and producer. She first gained recognition as a member of the musical group Seduction which ...

, American singer, TV personality and main judge on '' RuPaul's Drag Race'', ''

RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under ''RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under'' is a reality competition streaming television series based on the American television series of the same name produced by World of Wonder and Warner Bros. International Television Production New Zealand. The s ...

'' and ''

RuPaul's Drag Race UK ''RuPaul's Drag Race UK'' is a British reality competition television series based on the American television series of the same name. The television series, a collaboration between the BBC and World of Wonder, premiered on 3 October 2019. T ...

'' *

, television personality

Special guests

Guests who appeared in episodes, but did not judge on the main stage. Episode 1 *Matt Barnes, photographer Episode 3 and 10 * Ralph, singer *

Hollywood Jade Jade Anderson (born January 4, 1984), known professionally as Hollywood Jade, is a Canadian dancer and choreographer best known for his regular appearances on the reality television series ''Canada's Drag Race''. He began his career as a choreog ...

, choreographer Episode 5 * Colin McAllister and Justin Ryan, interior decorators and television presenters Episode 6 * Crystal, contestant on the

first series First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...

of ''

'' Episode 7 * Stefan Brogren, actor and producer *

Michelle DuBarry Michelle DuBarry is the stage name of Russell Alldread (born November 23, 1931), a Canadian drag queen,

, Canadian drag queen Episode 9 * Sabrina Jalees, comedian

Episodes

Post-production

Drag Ball and Drag Superstars

Separately from the production of the series, all of the queens from the season participated in Pride events for both

Pride Toronto Pride Toronto is an annual event held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in June each year. A celebration of the diversity of the LGBT community in the Greater Toronto Area, it is one of the largest organized gay pride festivals in the world, fea ...

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, and the Montreal event, ''Drag Superstars'', was streamed on August 14. 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.

Canada's Drag Race Live at the Drive-In

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. 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; 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. Priyanka, Scarlett Bobo, Rita Baga and Jimbo also participated in an online panel as part of the 2020 Just for Laughs festival.Jenelle Riley
"For Montreal’s Just for Laughs, the Show Will Go On(line)"
. '' Variety'', October 2, 2020.

Awards

References

{{Canada's Drag Race 2020 Canadian television seasons 2020 in LGBT history 1