Dave and Irina’s elimination from The Amazing Race Canada meant the title truly was up for grabs. Love them or hate them (and many, many of you fell into the latter category), they were dominant all season long. So, would it be Andrew and James, Lauren and Joanne or Sarah and Sam who would race their way to cash, cars, trips and the title?

At first blush, it seemed like Anthony and James could take it. They, aside from Dave and Irina, struggled the least in challenges. And, despite a couple of emotional moments, kept their heads in tough times. But the sisters and athletes proved they were worthy too.

The final Leg of The Amazing Race Canada would be decided in Ontario’s cottage country. Here’s what went down.

Floatplanes delivered the final three teams to the lake-filled part of the province, with Port Carling in their sights. While Anthony and James and Sarah and Sam jockeyed for position in taxis in Toronto, Lauren dropped her clue, setting she and her sister back even further. Anthony and James scored the first plane, with the athletes nabbing the second. While those four took to the air, Joanne and Lauren were still grounded and back at the airport. After some help at the information booth, the siblings were skyward, but with a lot of time to make up.

A life-sized trivia game challenged teams to recall tests during each Leg of the Race. Answer all of the questions? Advance. This was a nice twist on the usual franchise memory game, with the added bonus of giving host Jon Montgomery some quality screen time. Anthony and James had completed two questions before Sam and Sarah arrived. They quickly tied the married couple at two apiece. Instead of sticking it out through the whole game, the producers’ editing suite took over, zipping Anthony and James ahead to their final question. They got it right and moved on.

In the Road Block, teams headed to Clevelands House Resort where one member strapped themselves to a hydro fly board. Once riding a pillar of water, they had to toss a bean bag into a target. James, Sam and Joanne all opted to go flying … and screaming. After much practising and numerous tries, James was the first to hit the target, followed by Sam, and then Joanne.

A boat ride to Rosseau Lake College was next, where teams had to build an eight-foot Muskoka chair, with a miniature version as their guide. Anthony’s builder background served him well, and they were off to the races. It took Sam a second or two to realize he was missing a key component of a drill—the bit—and then they started assembling. Lauren, still feeling badly for losing their clue at the airport, took charge. Anthony missed one screw, but it didn’t slow him down much and he and James departed first. Sam and Sarah were done next.

In the second Road Block, teams drove to Santa’s Village in Bracebridge. Once there, the team member who wasn’t on the water had to search for a themed candy cane to deliver to the big man himself for the gift of their next clue. Anthony found a red and yellow candy cane just ahead of Sarah.

Teams left Santa behind in favour of Bala, Ont., and Johnston’s Cranberry Marsh to set up an irrigation system for the farm’s cranberry marsh. There was a lot of running around, falling, and water, but James and Anthony stayed ahead of Sam and Sarah. But some missed connections threatened to derail them. It appeared both teams completed the task at the same time and it would be a footrace to the mat, located at Camp Mini-Yo-We.

It may have seemed close thanks to the editing, but it appeared Anthony and James cruised to victory. They thanked everyone who had helped them along the way. Sarah and Sam placed second, with Lauren and Joanne in third. As a finale, it was a little light on nailbiting drama, but it was a nice wrapup to a good season.

Here’s how the teams finished the final Leg of the Race.

1. Anthony and James
2. Sarah and Sam
3. Joanne and Lauren

Are you happy with the results? What would you like to say to the winning team? Let me know in the comments below.

Which three teams will be in The Amazing Race Canada season finale next week? Nova Scotia was the battleground to decide that in Tuesday’s newest episode.

It’s safe to say this has been one of the most controversial seasons of the franchise thanks to Dave and Irina. I got quite a few emails from fans who were outraged at their moves. It is a bit of a shock to see a team so intent on winning, but with so much at stake, I think I’d have done the same thing. They, along with Anthony and James, Lauren and Joanne and Sam and Sarah, were all fighting for the Top 3 spots.

Dave and Irina led the charge out of Thunder Bay, Ont., to Wolfville, NS. There, they located the Tangled Garden gallery and tea room, the site of their next clue. In the Road Block, one team member was tasked with tasting and identifying the ingredients in jams and jellies made in-house. Dave, Lauren, Sarah and Anthony all tackled the test at hand. (Credit to the show producers for focusing on Anthony’s sniffing skills and unique tasting routine.) Sarah’s athlete’s diet of chicken, rice and broccoli wasn’t helping her (she only got two of seven correct at first) while the others were getting five out of seven. It was Anthony and his cultured palate that completed the test first, and made sure he covered his answers so Dave couldn’t look at them. Dave got it right on his next try, followed by Joanne and Sarah.

Anthony and James got going on the windy roads to an apple stand to score their next clue. In the Detour, teams chose either Puck (playing sledge hockey at Acadia University) or Apples (sorting and identifying 12 apple types at Noggins Corner Farm Market). Anthony and James had no idea what sledge hockey was, but opted for that over sorting apples. Was it the wrong choice? Dave and Irina chose Apples because it appeared to be the easier task, as did Joanne and Lauren. Meanwhile, Sarah and Sam picked Pucks too.

Both Detours proved to be difficult. After many tries, Anthony and James scored their next clue, which led them to TapRoot Farms. Once there, they had to back up their truck, gather up song lyrics and put them in the right order to construct “Farewell to Nova Scotia.” After that, teams delivered beer to The Church Brewing Company and performed the tune.

Back at the orchard, Lauren and Joanne and Dave and Irina were having no luck at all. Neither were Sarah and Sam, who got oh-so-close a couple of times on the ice. Finally, they scored on lucky No. 13 and moved on. Lauren and Joanne successfully sorted their apples, leaving Dave and Irina amid the trees. They finally got it but were in last place. Would Nova Scotia be Dave and Irina’s downfall?

Out on the field, Anthony and James were chugging along, collecting lyrics and piecing them together. They completed the song lyrics as Sarah and Sam arrived. On the road to the brewery, each duo learned “Farewell to Nova Scotia,” giving us several opportunities to enjoy these teams we’ve watched race all summer. The singing was made a lot easier by the fact the Racers were allowed to read the words, but still. Joanne’s meticulous driving allowed Dave to catch up. And, as he spun around the field collecting words Joanne faltered and made mistakes. The result? Both teams were scrambling to get the lyrics in the correct order at the same time. Joanne and Lauren got it first, but Dave and Irina didn’t give up.

The Pit Stop of Tuesday’s Leg of the Race was a British phone box located at Luckett Vineyards. It seemed like an almost impossible task to locate Jon from just a photo. Thankfully, an information booth was just outside the brewery. Anthony and James departed in first place. Sarah and Sam finished at the brewery next and got directions from a passerby.

It was Anthony and James to scored the first spot in The Amazing Race finale, hopping on the mat and landing a trip to Singapore. Sarah and Sam showed that never giving up was key on the Race by placing second. Joanne and Lauren were in third place heading to the mat but neglected to write the directions they were given down. Dave, meanwhile, noted the sisters got lost often and hoped it would happen again. But it was’t to be, as the sisters arrived ahead of the married couple, eliminating one of the strongest teams ever from the competition.

Here’s how the teams finished this leg of the Race.

1. Anthony and James
2. Sarah and Sam
3. Lauren and Joanne
4. Dave and Irina (eliminated)

The Amazing Race Canada season finale airs next Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CTV.

Images courtesy of Bell Media.

With just five teams left, The Amazing Race Canada headed to La Belle Province for its latest Leg. Would language play a major factor with the teams? At first blush, it seemed Dave would have the upper hand, him being from Quebec and all.

Trains carried the remaining teams to the Charlevoix region, a spot where English-speaking folks are rare. Dave was predicting another winning Leg for he and Irina. An over 1,000 km ride ended in La Malbaie, with a stop for poutine at Chez Chantal … and their next clue. Sam and Sarah were the first to arrive and got peeling 25 potatoes to be used in the gooey, cheesy delicacy.

In the Road Block, teams were instructed to hit the road for Le Manoir Richelieu, site of the 2018 G7 summit. Once there, one team member memorized a statement given at the conference and then answered three questions about it from the media. The statements were delivered in English and French and questions were in Japanese, German and Italian. Instead of Dave taking on the test, Irina did it. Of course, that was because they didn’t know what the challenge would actually be. And, as it turned out, Irina knew French too. Anthony and James were the first to arrive … Aarthy and Thinesh were last.

While Sarah scarfed down poutine, Sam worked on the speech, confident he could do it. At the other end of the scale were James and Irina; the latter because she is afraid of public speaking. James started off strong and confident, until the French part. With shattered nerves stacking up and almost 15 minutes of broadcast already done, it looked like this was going to be a long and agonizing challenge. Thinesh wowed not just for the way he looked in a suit but also for his bilingual delivery. Even Dave was impressed. With a “Vote Thinesh for Prime Minister!” he completed the task and departed with Aarthy in first place. Joanne performed an upset, vaulting she and Lauren into second place. And, after a long time, Sam finally got it. Say what you want about Dave and Irina, but seeing him tear up as she tackled her biggest fear was pretty frigging adorable. And, after nine tries, James and Anthony moved on.

This week’s Detour was blind, meaning teams didn’t know what they had to do. Aarthy and Thinesh picked “That,” as did Sarah and Sam and Dave and Irina. “That” turned out to be a game involving an orange piece of wood being hit by a broom handle to score points. Thinesh quickly started to accumulate points while Aarthy swung at the air. They were done the challenge before any other teams had arrived. As the fog rolled in, so did dark thoughts. Dave and Irina got lost and she started to lose it on him. Sarah and Sam, meanwhile, asked for directions.

Dave was swinging for the fences but wasn’t connecting with the piece of wood. The result? He got mighty angry. Irina stepped up, calmly, and hit it. Dave picked up on her routine and they were off to the races.

Lauren and Joanne chose “This,” which involved painting emu eggs to look like two samples and then delivering them to one of the two shops featured on the eggs. “This” was a time-consuming and fiddly Detour and Anthony and James opted to do it too, putting their chances of continuing on the Race in jeopardy. Joanne and Lauren had left for the shops before the married couple arrived.

Next, teams drove to the Musée Maritime de Charlevoix for the Pit Stop. A drive to the wrong musée delayed Aarthy and Thinesh for a bit, but they still completed the Leg first, scoring a trip for two to Santiago, Chile. Lauren and Joanne placed second. Dave and Irina landed in third place, and they weren’t happy about it.

The final sprint to the mat was closer than anyone imagined, as Anthony and James were in a footrace with Sarah and Sam for the final spot. That went to the athletes, and it looked like Anthony and James had been eliminated.

But in a twist that the producers kept from viewers through the magic of editing, the Leg wasn’t done. Clues were handed out and everyone kept racing, with the Royal Ontario Museum in their sights.

Here’s how the teams finished this Leg of the Race:

1. Aarthy and Thinesh
2. Lauren and Joanne
3. Irina and Dave
4. Sarah and Sam
5. Anthony and James

The Amazing Race Canada airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CTV.

Images courtesy of Bell Media.