Big Brother Canada will return for its fifth season next week, bringing a slew of new houseguests along with returning veterans to the series, all of whom will be fighting it out to take home the show's biggest prize to-date.
Big Brother Canada host, Arisa Cox
Competing for a grand prize of $100,000, a $30,000 home furnishing makeover from The Brick and a new 2017 Toyota 86, these are the first eight houseguests revealed to be fighting it out this season on Big Brother Canada...
The Veterans
Bruno Ielo, 33, Ottawa, ON, Construction Worker
Bruno says that life hasn't 'changed too much' since his original season of BBCAN, and will be going into this new season without 'a set strategy'. He says: 'I need to meet everybody, see what they're about, see the personalities, learn their strengths and weaknesses and use those against them.'
Gary Levy, 25, Toronto, ON, Artist
Gary is Big Brother Canada's first ever runner up, and actually lost the final vote due to one of the jury members voting incorrectly! He says: 'I'm going to connect with a strong guy in the house and do his make up while I talk to him about strategy.' He says he'll also be using his 'natural social game' to further progress in the house, and hopefully bring home the title this time round.
Neda Kalantar, 25, Vancouver, British Columbia, Entrepreneur
Neda got into a relationship with her closest friend during her time in BBCAN2, Jon Pardy, but says despite their recent split they still remain 'best friends'. Now she says her strategy has to 'be 100% different' if she's to succeed, and says that if she has to cut anybody this season, she'll do it and 'won't look back'.
Kevin Martin, 25, Calgary, AB, Professional Poker Player
He's back, having worked full time as a professional poker player following his first time in the BBCAN house. Saying he recognises the mistakes he made the first time round, he says that 'this time I want to get to know people deeper on a personal level'. It 'bugs' Kevin that no one from Western Canada has won the show, and so hopes to bring the title home for everybody there.
The Newbies
Dre Gwenaelle, 25, Montreal, QC, Masters Student
In three words, Dre describes herself as 'hilarious, extra and caring', but adds that she's somebody who pretends not to care. She thinks it's going to be hard to have to lie while in the house, because she speaks her mind when she can, but is 'respectful and pays attention to people's feelings'. She really liked Cassandra in BBCAN4, and also enjoyed John and Neda's 'dynamic' in the second season of the show.
Emily Hawkin, 23, Toronto, ON, Musician and Server
Jokingly describing herself in three words as 'really freaking single', Emily has thought a lot about strategies when she makes it into the house, but says that when she goes in all of that will likely change. Her BBCAN idol would be 'either Nikki or Joel' from the fourth season, as 'they were hilarious'. If she got a vote from Canada, she says that would mean the most to her while in the house.
Mark Chrysler, 24, Edmonton, AB, Bartender
Mark describes himself as 'fun, outgoing and shy', and thinks he's going to be very strong when it comes to physical challenges. Despite his fitness, he does say that working as a bartender means he's learned 'how to interact with different kinds of people, so my social game will really help to get me far in the competition as well'. He's very confident!
William Laprise Desbiens, 23, Trois-Rivierses, QC, Marketing Student and Blogger
Describing himself as 'weird, likeably and sassy', William thinks that the hardest part of the show will be being cut off from the rest of the world during his stay. He says his BBCAN idol is Cassandra from season 4, because she was 'sassy and bitchy... funny and really intelligent.'
Big Brother Canada, Season 5 premieres Wednesday, March 15 at 9pm ET/PT on Global, then airing Wednesdays at 9pm ET/PT, Thursdays at 8pm ET/PT and Mondays at 9pm ET/PT on Global.
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