An Ottawa man and his best friend took home the top prize in the final episode of The Amazing Race Canada Season 11. Jonathon Braun, from Woodlawn, and his teammate Jesse Harink, from Sherwood Park, Alta., were the first to arrive at the final pit stop in Collingwood, Ont. to be crowned the champions. The pair currently live in Vancouver, but Braun says he’s gotten a lot of support from his hometown. “I’m so proud to be from Woodlawn and the West Carleton area,” Braun told Newstalk 580 CFRA’s Ottawa At Work with Patricia Boal on Wednesday. “I was honoured to rep my little small hometown.” Woodlawn is a rural community in northwest Ottawa. Braun says lessons he learned growing up in the area came in handy at times during the race. “In that first leg, I had to do my first roadblock, which is a challenge you do by yourself, and it was a line dancing challenge, and I was just thinking about doing line dancing as a child at like a wedding and a Grade 5 school project doing a country dance to Boot Scoot Boogie,” he said. “There were a lot of lessons from childhood and the lessons my parents taught me.” Braun and Harink received the grand prize of two 2025 Chevrolet Blazer EV SS, a trip around the world, a $250,000 cash prize courtesy of Fuze Iced Tea, and the coveted title of The Amazing Race Canada champions. “It was one of the best feelings ever and seeing all the other teams there… having that love from the other teams and Jesse’s love, I was ecstatic. It was validating, obviously, it was so cool to live out my dreams and live them out with my best friend,” Braun said. “Just being able to run the race is such a privilege and a joy and being able to do it with Jonathon was amazing,” said Harink. Siblings Grace & Joe from Prince George, B.C. came in second place. Brothers EB & Blake from Toronto came in third place. Married couple Skylene & Blair (a.k.a. Nipîy & Magoo) from Edmonton arrived in fourth place. Braun and Harink say they are lifelong fans of the show and have tried for many seasons to get on, finally earning the chance in Season 11. WATCH: Interview with CTV News Ottawa ahead of the season finale of The Amazing Race Canada Season 12 of The Amazing Race Canada was announced earlier this month. Casting details have yet to be announced. Bell Media is the parent company of CTV News Ottawa.
