Canada's Smartest Person is a Canadian reality television competition series. Contestants compete in a series of different challenges based on American psychologist Howard Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences to earn the title of "Canada's Smartest Person." The first three seasons of the series were hosted by television personality Jessi Cruickshank, and the fourth by actor Paul Sun-Hyung Lee. Actor Jeff Douglas co-hosted the first season in 2014 with Cruickshank.
The show was produced by Media Headquarters and broadcast nationally on CBC Television. The first version of the show aired in 2012 as a 2-hour special. The series was picked up and the first full season aired on CBC as a 9-part series in 2014. It was the number one new Canadian series of the fall season, with almost one in four Canadians tuning in. In 2016, it was the only original Canadian format to be nominated for the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television's Golden Screen Award for highest rated reality series. The second season began airing on October 4, 2015. On March 31, 2016, CBC announced the series would return for a third season as part of their fall/winter schedule. The fourth season, a spin off known as Canada's Smartest Person Junior, began airing on November 14, 2018. Canada's Smartest Person had one of the highest percentages of family and co-viewing ever on CBC.
During the broadcast, viewers participate in all of the challenges from home in real-time using a smartphone app. The play-along app has been an industry-leading success. The first season of the series saw over 175,000 downloads of the app and nearly one million individual intelligence tests taken across the country. As of 2017 there have been over 300,000 downloads of the app, making it one of the most successful peer to peer gaming applications in Canada.
Format
Every week four Canadians compete in front of a studio audience. They are given a set of five challenges designed to test their abilities in one or more of the following intelligence categories: musical, physical, social, logical, visual and linguistic. There was always one challenge that combined two categories together.
In the series finale, eight finalists compete to earn the title of Canada's Smartest Person.
The 2014 series opened with a one-hour documentary that explored the Theory of Multiple Intelligence.
The format is being exploited internationally by multi-media studio Electus. Electus has licensed Canada's Smartest Person to Turkey's TRT and Sera Film for production, and has secured deals in France, Norway, Sweden and Portugal
Season overview
Season Episodes Premiere date Finale date Host(s) WinnerSpecial1March 18, 2012Gerry DeePeter Dyakowski19September 28, 2014 November 23, 2014Jessi CruickshankJeff DouglasBraden Lauer28October 4, 2015 November 22, 2015Jessi CruickshankKaty Warren36November 13, 2016 December 18, 2016Stephanie Harvey46November 14, 2018 December 19, 2018Paul Sun-Hyung LeeMateus Soto
Participants
Season 1
Episode 101 - September 28, 2014 Participant Origin Results Kiel Lemmen Port Coquitlam, BC Roselyn Kelada-Sedra Toronto, ON Albert Tam Woodbridge, ON WINNER Tova Sherman Bedford, NS
Episode 102 - October 5, 2014 Participant Origin Results JP Doiron North Rustico, PEI Alisia Bonnick Stouffville, ON Rhiannon Jones Chilliwack, BC Chris Tessaro Mississauga, ON WINNER
Episode 103 - October 12, 2014 Participant Origin Results Mith Das Toronto, ON WINNER Norm Odjick Kitigan Zibi, QC Melanie Martin Winnipeg, MB Lisa Preston Mississauga, ON
Episode 104 - October 19, 2014 Participant Origin Results Yahaya Baruwa Toronto, ON George Millar Edmonton, AB Mary Rose Victoria, BC Victoria Leenders-Cheng Montreal, QC WINNER
Episode 105 - October 26, 2014 Participant Origin Results Max Cameron Calgary, AB WINNER Cat Jahnke Winnipeg, MB Kaveh Kavoosi Aurora, ON Jennifer Hurd Ottawa, ON
Episode 106 - November 2, 2014 Participant Origin Results Brian Charbonneau Sainte-Genevieve, QC Daryl Dillman Cole Harbour, NS WINNER Kate LaFrance Fredericton, NB Nick Nickerson Merrickville, ON
Episode 107 - November 9, 2014 Participant Origin Results Johnny MacRae Vancouver, BC WINNER Ellen Snider Quispamsis, NB Chris Sensenig Welland, ON Nader Nadernejad Peterborough, ON
Episode 108 - November 16, 2014 Participant Origin Results Braden Lauer Vancouver BC WINNER Alea Ciecko Winnipeg, MB Dipna Horra Ottawa, ON Brent Hayden Vancouver, BC
Episode 109 - November 23, 2014 In the season finale, the winners from each episode competed in a series of competitions for the title of "Canada's Smartest Person".
PlacementContestantQualifierTestsSuper GauntletRound 1Round 2Crosswalk(Visual)Karaoke Nightmare(Musical)Word Master(Linguistic)Pathfinder(Logical)Take a Side(Social)Sport Stacking(Physical)Total1Braden Lauer66%colspan="2" 1 4 3 2 3 417Canada's Smartest Person2Johnny MacRaeIN3 3 3 4 3 4 118Runner-Up3Chris TessaroIN3 4 2 2 4 2 3 174Max Cameron76%colspan="2" 2 1 1 1 1 2 85Mith DasIN26Daryl DillmanIN17Albert Tam58%8Victoria Leenders-Chong48%
Season 2
Episode 201 - October 4th, 2015 PlacementContestantTestsGauntletBeat It(Musical)Crosswalk(Visual)Human Lie Detector(Social)Letter Chaos(Linguistic)Balls of Fury(Physical/Logical)Total1Anthony Craparotta 32, Toronto, Ontario33131020WIN2Maya Burhanpurkar 16, Barrie, Ontario 5 5 3 2 419LOSE3Jessica Joy 1 2 2 5 6164Richard Pinnock 2 1 5 1 211
Episode 202 - October 11th, 2015 PlacementContestantTestsGauntletDouble Take(Visual)Blow Back(Physical)Mix Master(Musical)Pipe Fitter(Logical)Spin-a-Speech(Social/Linguistic)Total1Tim Blais 25, Montreal, Quebec5552421WIN2Maryanne Lewell 40, Saint John, New Brunswick1325617LOSE3Ira Timothy 211310174Marielle Leigh 23, Toronto, Ontario3231211
Episode 203 - October 18th, 2015 PlacementContestantTestsGauntletCranium Crash(Logical)Twitterverse(Linguistic)Model Mayhem(Visual)Faces(Social)Twisty Tune(Musical/Physical)Total1Dan Tweyman 36, Belleville, Ontario5335420WIN2Heather Whittaker Winnipeg, Manitoba32511021LOSE3Chris Harris Saskatoon, Saskatchewan15226164Denise Yuen Vancouver, British Columbia211329
Episode 204 - October 25th, 2015 PlacementContestantTestsGauntletDefinition Dilemma(Linguistic)Human Lie Detector(Social)Pipe Fitter(Logical)Stack of Shapes(Visual)Step Squad(Musical/Physical)Total1Katy Warren 21, St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador3335620WIN2Petros Kusmu 25211020LOSE3Andrew Hall Vancouver, British Columbia52534194Neila Scott 111227
Episode 205 - November 1st, 2015 PlacementContestantTestsGauntletMusic Match(Musical)Canvas Calamity(Visual)Cranium Crash(Logical)Teeter Tower(Physical)Spin-a-Speech(Social/Linguistic)Total1Alex Manea 31, Waterloo, Ontario21551023WIN2Jakob Sanderson 5333620LOSE3Barry Shulman 32124124Jennifer Lam 1521211
Episode 206 - November 8th, 2015 PlacementContestantTestsGauntletDouble Take(Visual)Twitterverse(Linguistic)Faces(Social)Mix Master(Musical)Balls of Fury(Physical/Logical)Total1Marco Iannuzzi 28, White Rock, British Columbia31511020WIN2Amanda Khan 28, Toronto, Ontario5523419LOSE3Margaret Fay 31, Halifax, Nova Scotia23356194Permadi Witjaksono 44, Winnipeg, Manitoba121228
Episode 207 - November 15th, 2015 PlacementContestantTestsGauntletLetter Chaos(Linguistic)Blow Back(Physical)Stack of Shapes(Visual)Portfolio Pro(Logical)Karaoke Nightmare(Musical/Social)Total1Jason Vander-Hoek 15531024WIN2Alex Pascuzzi Vancouver, British Columbia3332617LOSE3Anish Ahuja Montreal, Quebec52252164Julie Francis 211149
Episode 208 - November 22nd, 2015 In the season finale, the winners from each episode competed in a series of competitions for the title of "Canada's Smartest Person". The seven Gauntlet winners from the previous episodes were joined by a wildcard, determined by the Gauntlet loser who had accumulated the most points in their episode.
PlacementContestantQualifierTestsSuper GauntletRound 1Round 2Syllable Switch(Linguistic)Orders Up(Visual)Sliding Scale(Musical)Moving Sum(Logical)Screen Test(Social)Ball Handler(Physical)Total1Katy Warren 21, St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador83%colspan="2" 4 4 2 2 3 1 16Canada's Smartest Person2Jason Vander-Hoek IN33 3 3 4 4 219Runner-Up3Tim Blais 25, Montreal, Quebec80%colspan="2" 1 2 4 3 2 4164Anthony Craparotta 32, Toronto, OntarioIN32 1 1 1 1 3 95Dan Tweyman 36, Belleville, OntarioIN0Heather WhittakerIN07Alex Manea 31, Waterloo, Ontario64%8Marco Iannuzzi 28, White Rock, British Columbia54%
Season 3 Episode 301 - November 13, 2016 PlacementContestantSpeed RoundMix Master(Musical)Spin-a-Speech(Linguistic)TotalGear Head(Visual/Logical)TotalGauntlet1Stephanie Harvey 30, Quebec City, Quebec15281018WIN2Jonathan Gagnon 31, Vancouver, British Columbia33511617LOSE3Susan Forgues 54, Orleans, Ontario51392114Steve Norn 40, Yellowknife, Northwest Territories22155Rup Magon 41, Montreal, QuebecOUTVincent Law 33, Calgary, AlbertaOUT
Episode 302 - November 20, 2016 PlacementContestantSpeed RoundHuman Lie Detector(Social)Beat It(Musical)TotalWobble Words(Linguistic/Physical)TotalGauntlet1Josh Williams 25, Edmonton, Alberta355131023WIN2Donna Hartt 46, Cranbrook, British Columbia2338614LOSE3Jennifer Martin 33, Portugal Cove-St. Philips, Newfoundland and Labrador5117294Chris Williams 54, Round Hill, Nova Scotia12255CJ Studer 39, Miscouche, Prince Edward IslandOUT6Christine Cho 36, Toronto, OntarioOUT
Episode 303 - November 27, 2016 PlacementContestantSpeed RoundBroken Register(Logical)Colour Blender(Visual)TotalScreen Test(Linguistic/Social)TotalGauntlet1Maria Samson 33, Calgary, Alberta53513215WIN2Frankie Cena Vancouver, British Columbia25291019LOSE3Vanessa Vakharia 35, Toronto, Ontario12366124Ryan Coelho 31, Toronto, Ontario31155Rebecca Bromwich 39, Calgary, AlbertaOUTGwyneth Foster 17, Uxbridge, OntarioOUT
Episode 304 - December 4, 2016 PlacementContestantSpeed RoundCSP News(Linguistic)Mix Master(Musical)TotalGear Head(Visual/Logical)TotalGauntlet1Brittain Bancroft 30, Minto, New Brunswick253101020WIN2Devon Jones 37, Winnipeg, Manitoba5229615LOSE3Michelle Zakrison 34, Iqaluit, Nunavut13592114Bruce Tsuji 62, Ottawa, Ontario31155Darryl Gidyk 43, Lethbridge, AlbertaOUT6Siera Bearchell 23, Moose Jaw, SaskatchewanOUT
Episode 305 - December 11, 2016 PlacementContestantSpeed RoundCanvas Calamity(Visual)Extreme Layover(Logical)TotalWobble Words(Physical/Linguistic)TotalGauntlet1Eric Yue 40, Victoria, British Columbia51511617WIN2Dustin Herbison 29, Kelowna, British Columbia32381018OUT3Melissa Deciantis 25, Mississauga, Ontario2327294Michelle Salt Calmar, Alberta15175Wali Shah 21, Mississauga, OntarioOUT6Tristan Campus Mississauga, OntarioOUT
Episode 306 - December 18, 2016 PlacementContestantCrosswalk(Visual)Syllable Switch(Linguistic)Cranium Crash(Logical)TotalHuman Lie Detector(Social)TotalTwisty Tune(Musical/Physical)TotalSuper Gauntlet1Stephanie Harvey 30, Quebec City, Quebec54211112618Canada's Smartest Person2Eric Yue 40, Victoria, British Columbia354125171027Runner-up3Maria Samson 33, Calgary, Alberta425113142164Brittain Bancroft 30, Minto, New Brunswick1337295Josh Williams 25, Edmonton, Alberta2115
Season 4 The fourth season of Canada's Smartest Person (officially entitled Canada's Smartest Person Junior) premiered on November 14, 2018. As the official title implies, the contestants are all preadolescent. Paul Sun-Hyung Lee hosted this season.
Unlike the previous three seasons which followed a knockout format, this season followed a traditional competitive reality television series format.