This article contains spoilers for season 1 of The Traitors Canada.
Canada’s first attempt at bringing The Traitors franchise up north was a wild ride, with the iteration being capped off by a well-deserving victory.
Ten Canadian television personalities and 10 faces new to the limelight competed in The Traitors Canada, which aired on CTV in late 2023. Several reality competition veterans were among the 20-person cast, including two-time Big Brother Canada player and one-time winner Kevin Martin, Survivor 41 champion Erika Casupanan, The Amazing Race Canada 2’s Mickey Henry, and Big Brother Canada 11’s Kuzie Mujakachi.
On the other end, a fun reality rookie roster entered the Ontario-based manor as well, including public relations specialist Travon Smith, ESL learning coordinator Melissa Allder, and psychic medium Donna Hartt.
As usual, three contestants were secretly picked as Traitors at the start of the game while the rest of the field became Faithfuls. And after 10 episodes of banishments and murders, one player stood above the figurative corpses as the sole winner of The Traitors Canada.
That was magician and mentalist Mike D’Urzo.
Picked as a Traitor on day one, Mike put on a masterclass throughout the season by thoughtfully murdering his threats and banishing his fellow Traitors. Mike took home $94,5000 for his triumph, around $5,000 less than the potential $100,000 pot — that’s in Canadian dollars, of course.
So, how did Mike work his magic to land the grand prize? Let’s get into it!
Mike and Kuzie fit into the Traitor role well, while their companion was ousted early
After the cast met and mingled on day one, they sat down at the manor’s round table for the first time. The Traitors Canada host, French-Canadian actress Karine Vanasse, asked the 20 hopefuls to don blindfolds and then proceeded to tap three players on the shoulder signaling their role as Traitors.
Mike, Kuzie, and realtor Melissa Best were chosen to take on the devious task. Later that night, the first murder took place and the three zeroed in on eliminating a major threat.
Erika was the only contestant to snag a $1 million check for her efforts on Survivor, and although they toyed with the idea of taking out Kevin, a poker player known for his strategic mind on Big Brother Canada, they agreed on giving Erika the boot.
During the first round of play, Melissa B was already taking heat as a potential Traitor while Kuzie and Mike hung out in the background while forming bonds and alliances. After the challenge, Collin Johnson became the first player in The Traitors Canada history to be banished.
Wanting to create confusion, the Traitors then silenced dentist Nazila Dehghani during the next murder ceremony, which also marked the last time Mike, Kuzie, and Melissa B would work together in the tower.
More and more crosshairs targeted Melissa B, and the Faithfuls successfully tagged their first Traitor at the following round table. Knowing it was time to cut Melissa B loose, Mike and Kuzie also piled their votes onto her.
For Mike, that banishment ceremony was the first time someone wrote his name down. And that was Paediatric registered nurse Gurpyar Bains.
Gurpyar clocked Mike early on. But, his rogue vote for Mike only put him in harm’s way of the magician’s wand. Leaning into the story that the Traitors were trying to frame Mike, the two remaining murderers sent Gurpyar packing later that night.
With suspicion virtually non-existent, Mike and Kuzie were in a solid spot. Kuzie had formed a strong alliance with the likes of Kevin, Farming for Love’s Gurleen Maan, and The Brigade: Race to the Hudson’s Leroy Fontaine, while Mike’s Oscar-worthy demeanor kept him off people’s radars.
Mike and Kuzie survived several rounds of play while choosing not to recruit another Traitor
After Melissa B was caught, Mike and Kuzie were faced with a decision. They could either attempt to recruit another player to join them as Traitors, or they could murder someone instead. They chose the latter option, something the duo would continue to do.
Mike and Kuzie knew they were situated well and didn’t see a point in bringing someone else into the fold.
So, Gurpyar was delivered the unfortunate news, and ex-MuchMusic V.J. Rick Campanelli was taken out at the next banishment. Nurse Crystal Mayes was Mike and Kuzie’s next victim, and Canada’s Drag Race 3’s Miss Fiercalicious followed her out the door.
In episode 6, Kuzie and Mike were tasked with putting three players on “Death Row,” and they chose Kevin, Melissa A, and amateur stand-up comic Mary Wisden. The three players were publicly notified that their games were hanging in the balance, and one of them would be murdered next.
At the banishment ceremony, Kevin was voted out while Mike was hit with two votes, one from Kevin and another from Mary. Like Gurpyar, Mike had zero tolerance for seeing his name at the round table. So, Mike and Kuzie elected to eliminate Mary over Melissa A that night.
Melissa A was the Faithfuls’ next target. But, during episode 7’s round table, Kuzie finally felt the fire. Melissa A and MasterChef Canada 4’s Mai Nguyen tossed their votes onto her. Taking a play out of Mike’s book, Kuzie then eliminated Mai.
But, that move also aided in the Big Brother Canada alum’s downfall. In episode 8, Mike took aim at Kuzie. He was ready to go at it alone and eventually claim the prize pool all for himself.
Mike mounted an offense against Kuzie while Kuzie, unaware of Mike’s betrayal, focused on Mickey. Mike worked on convincing Kuzie’s allies that they’d been fooled by the strategically savvy player. And at the ceremony, Mike, Leroy, Gurleen, Donna, and Mickey banished Kuzie.
After falling under fire to Mike, Kuzie left him a gift — she wrote his name down with exclamation points, attempting to hint to the others that Mike was her fellow Traitor.
But, that wasn’t enough to derail Mike’s season-winning momentum.
Mike put all his chips onto one move, and it paid off
With only six players left, The Traitors Canada cast entered the end game. When Mike entered the tower alone as the sole Traitor, Karine informed him that needed to “Blackmail” a Faithful — either they became a turncoat and swapped over to his side, or they were murdered. Mike chose Mickey, a player not known for his social gaming prowess, but someone Mike could trust.
Mickey accepted Mike’s ultimatum, and he donned the black robe.
But, Mickey’s treacherous new role proved to be his undoing. Like Kuzie and Melissa B, Mike banished Mickey. Once again, he worked alongside Leroy and Gurleen, while Donna and Travon voted for Mike and Mickey jotted down Leroy’s name.
Although the Faithfuls captured their third Traitor, they were aware that there was likely one more among them. And with no more murders taking place, they had to suss them out in a public arena.
But, at this point, Mike had secured himself a spot in the final three. In an interview on Rob Has a Podcast after the season wrapped, Mike revealed that he, Gurleen, and Leroy made a pact to eliminate Travon and Donna. And that’s what happened.
Travon didn’t survive the final round table of The Traitors Canada. But, in a new twist, his role wasn’t revealed before leaving the manor. Still, at the “Fire of Truth,” the trio stuck to the plan. During the final portion of the game, which we’ve seen in other international iterations of The Traitors, the players secretly chose to either banish again or end the game.
If only one person chose to banish again, then another vote was held. All four players decided to banish again, and Donna’s near-six-figure dream was squashed.
At this point, Mike was fully relying on the work he put in with Gurleen.
Gurleen and Leroy had been ride-or-die allies for most of the game, and they had a final-two pact. Leroy fully intended on keeping his promise, meaning Mike knew Leroy would vote him out when they stood as the final three remaining contestants.
So, Mike attempted to convince Gurleen that Leroy was the final Traitor, and he had been playing her. Gurleen was also armed with the fact that Mickey had voted for Leroy before his elimination, which, in her mind, was more evidence that Leroy was the Traitor.
As history has it, Gurleen and Mike banished Leroy at the Fire of Truth, which locked in Mike’s victory.
Since only two players were left standing, Karine announced that the game was over and asked them to reveal their true identities. Gurleen was left shocked and dismayed over Mike’s reveal, and after she left the fire, Karine congratulated Mike on his triumph.
Nineteen players fell while Mike remained, and he left for his home in Toronto with a nice chunk of cash and reality TV glory.
