Big Brother Canada season 9 is finally here and only two episodes in, it has already been filled with unexpected twists.
To kick it off, it was announced that this season of Big Brother Canada will be different than all the rest as it will be a team-based approach instead of the normal every-person-for-themselves style we're used to.
During the second episode, players got really candid with one another in what started as a game of "never have I ever."
One houseguest, Jedson, asked the group if they were comfortable sharing their "coming out stories."
First to share was Josh who said he approached it by simply saying "by the way I'm dating him" to his mom and stepdad.
Next, Julie, shared her two coming out stories — the first from coming out as gay and the second from coming out as a trans woman.
She teared up talking about being bullied as "the only gay guy in school." She continued, saying, "I found the term transgender and thought 'This is me.' So I worked my ass off while I was still in high school to make money, so when I turned 19 years old I went to go see my doctor and then I started my transition."
Next, Breydon said he never really "had to come out" because when he told people they just said, "We know."
Latoya shared as well, saying, "I'm actually bisexual, and I don't really [have] like an 'out out' story because I'm not really out, but maybe now I am." The group clapped for her.
"It's really, really hard to talk about because my close friends know, my family knows," she started, "if it wasn't for them, I don't know what I would do."
The houseguests showed deep support for one another and applauded everyone's stories. The episode is out now and can be viewed on the Big Brother Canada website.
When push came to shove, the Big Brother Canada houseguests voted — some quite reluctantly — to evict trans influencer from Vancouver, B.C., Julie Vu.
In an interview with Narcity, Vu shared her thoughts on her eviction along with some important messages for trans youth.
Why was it important to share your coming-out story?
During the second episode, the houseguests got really candid, sharing their coming-out stories with each other and effectively with all of Canada.
Vu came forward, saying that she actually had two coming-out stories. First, she said she originally came out to her parents as gay in high school. "I didn't even know trans was a thing." She reflected on a past of being bullied, "I was the only gay guy in school."
"It was so hard," said Vu, talking through tears. Three other houseguests shared their stories, as well.
"I found the term transgender and thought "this is me." So I worked my ass off while I was still in high school to make money, so when I turned 19 years old I went to go see my doctor and then I started my transition."
We asked Vu why it was important to share her story.
"I was in danger, I was not sure if I was going to go or not, I didn’t want to miss that opportunity to share my story," she told us.
"It was important that my story got out there because I want to educate [...]. Being different is ok, just because you’re born different doesn’t mean you can’t win competitions and go far and be successful."
After an emotional episode, Julie was voted out of the house, and before she left, she turned around and announced “a queen cannot play games with a bunch of commoners” before making an iconic exit.
She later posted on Instagram with the caption "Robbed Queen."
Many contestants chose to evict Vu because of her physical strength, seeing as she didn't perform well in the physical challenge the night before.
We asked if Vu thought it was the wrong choice to evict her.
“They definitely made the wrong choice by kicking me out of the house! I mean, am I really a threat!? I weigh 105 pounds, I’m bone and skin, I’m not a threat. They will definitely regret kicking me out. It wasn’t my time to go," Vu shared.
What is your opinion on the new team-style approach this season?
As any fan of Big Brother Canada would expect, there have already been some big twists this season. First and foremost, this time around is quite different, as houseguests have been divided into two teams, rather than competing individually like usual.
Whichever team wins a challenge is safe and then everyone votes to evict one member of the losing team. This time, that person was Vu.
We asked what she thought about this new "team model."
“My thoughts on the new team model, the team twist, is that it’s dumb. It’s the reason why I’m out here," said Vu.
“I had an idea of who I wanted in my alliance, I was going to form those, but this twist didn’t allow me to do that, it was, like, chosen for me. That was the downfall of my gameplay."
Looking back now, is there anything you would have done differently?
“I wish I had campaigned a little bit more to keep myself safe. Josh, his name was thrown out there, he proved that he was a very emotional player. It was set all week but last minute he flipped the house and got people thinking," she began.
"I thought I formed these strong bonds but people, Season 9, they’re playing the game!"
While it seemed out of her hands at the last minute, she said "maybe they were threatened by my beauty and my grace."
What message do you have for trans youth?
“My message to young trans youth is just to keep fighting for what you believe in," said Vu. "If I gave up back then when I wanted to give up, I wouldn’t be here right now."
She continued to say "we’re all here for a reason, we’re placed on this Earth for a reason, for a purpose. We inspire each other. If I come out and share my story, hopefully, I give that person the courage to share their story and it just spreads like wildfire and it’s a better place."
Beyond Big Brother Canada, Julie Vu shares her story on her massive Instagram platform and is constantly shedding light on her past and her daily experiences.
These times are ever-challenging for everyone right now, which is all the more reason to stay as connected as we can. A unique, inspiring and positive way to do this is through stories. When all of our voices are included and heard, stories really do have the power to build new and stronger connections.
You can take part in building these types of connections by experiencing and exploring untold stories of Toronto’s past, through the Awakenings program, a series of virtual art projects from Toronto History Museums.
The program is part of Toronto History Museums' commitment to the recommendations from the Task Force on Museums and First Peoples to effectively and respectfully co-develop new programs, exhibits, and stories within their 10 sites, as announced by Cheryl Blackman, Director of Museums and Heritage Services.
The goal of Awakenings is to connect us and make a new path forward through art, creativity, culture and innovation. The showcased projects use storytelling, under the principles of anti-oppression, anti-colonialism, anti-racism, sustainability, and advocacy.
"Our stories have been left out of the global narrative for centuries. We must move forward by healing and empowering our truths in order to obtain a true sense of equity and most of all unity." – Esie Mensah, Choreographer
Awakenings was created as a result of the $1.2+ million in cultural and economic investment made by the City of Toronto as a way of confronting anti-Black racism and increasing support for Toronto’s Black creative communities.
On top of that, Toronto History Museums is taking a much closer look at the development, delivery, and evaluation of its programming. A result of this, as aligned with the Truth and Reconciliation Commissions Calls to Action in the Museum sector, is a greater focus on Indigenous voices, stories and knowledge in all museum content.
Toronto History Museums invites you to explore its latest virtual artistic program and join in on important new conversations around art projects from Black and Indigenous artists and artists of colour sharing their truths.
This includes well-known artists such as Julien Christian Lutz aka Director X and Roger Mooking, as well as those new to the scene.
This short digital film presents a young Black woman dealing with the histories of her ancestors and the present-day violence destroying her community. It imagines her future through dance and features 15 women coming together to re-frame revolution in the name of love.
A Revolution of Love was conceived by an internationally-recognized Black creative team and features the words of Assata Shakur. A Revolution of Love was filmed at Toronto History Museums’ Fort York National Historic Site in partnership with Soulpepper Theatre and co-directed by Weyni Mengesha.
Behind the Curtain
Food Network host, restaurateur, author and award-winning recording artist Roger Mooking - together with award-winning hip-hop recording artist and broadcaster Shad and producer and multidisciplinary artist Byron Kent Wong - discuss the effects of racism on mental health in Behind the Curtain.
In these stories, Mooking shares his untold experiences of growing up in the Canadian Prairies and working in the American South, while exploring how food, art and music created this journey. Behind the Curtain was filmed at Toronto History Museums’ Montgomery’s Inn.
We Were Always Here
We Were Always Here showcases the stories of 10 emerging Toronto-based Black, Indigenous and people of colour filmmakers who were mentored by world-renowned director Julien Christian Lutz aka Director X.
The goal of these short films is to disrupt, discover and display colonial narratives. Each filmmaker focuses on one of the 10 Toronto History Museums to tell various untold stories.
“We were always here… Black, Indigenous, multi-generational immigrants and people of colour were always here as were the heritage sites; this will be a true awakening to Toronto’s unseen history and our stories that need to be told.” – Julien Christian Lutz aka Director X
All Awakenings programming is free and currently delivered virtually, so you can experience and learn more safely from your home.
Awakenings
Price: Free
Where: Right now, all programming is online at toronto.ca/museums with plans to also move to public locations in the future.
Why You Need To Go: Learn about Toronto's untold history through stories told by Black and Indigenous artists, and artists of colour, that connect us and create a new path forward.
Connect and engage with Awakenings projects online, for free. Awaken your mind at toronto.ca/museums. Additional Awakenings programming will be available throughout 2021. Join the conversation #Awakenings and #TellTheFullStory.
It's been a wild year! When it comes to Canada's top 10 weather stories in 2020, they were all pretty extreme and Snowmageddon didn't make the number one spot.
Environment Canada's Senior Climatologist David Phillips announced the top weather stories of the year from across the country on December 16.
"Extreme weather didn't take a time out," he said.
For 2020, 93 weather events were looked at when making this list which seems like a lot!
Phillips said this was one of the most impactful years in terms of the number of Canadians who were affected by the weather.
Here's a countdown of the top 10 weather stories of the year.
During the long weekend in August, almost a month's worth of rain fell in central Ontario. There were also quite a few tornadoes that happened in the province because of the extreme weather.
In the west, 187 thunderstorms bulletins were issued by Environment Canada and there was tennis ball-sized hail along with flash flooding.
9. Fall season: winter in the West, summer in the East
Went up to #HighWoodPass in #Kananaskis earlier today, looks to be around 20-25cm #snow that fell at 2200m/7200ft -… https://t.co/2hkKY4T3D3
The forecast this year was for an active season which Phillips called "supercharged or hyperactive." There were 30 named storms and the average is 11 or 12.
Canada didn't experience devastating storms like the U.S. and Caribbean but we did get eight tropical storms.
They brought strong winds, lots of rain and power outages.
Teddy was most impactful when it made landfall east of Halifax with 15-metre-high waves offshore and winds of 140 kilometres per hour.
In case you forgot how long 2020 has been, Snowmageddon in St. John's happened this year.
On January 17, a weather bomb stalled over the city and dumped 75 to 90 centimetres of snow in a single day which prompted a state of emergency to be declared.
40 centimetres were already on the ground when that happened!
With this storm, there were winds of 164 kilometres per hour, 18 hours of blizzard conditions, an avalanche and snow as high as rooftops.
Many have reached out to Kathryn offering her aid, but she declined and has instead set up a thread of organizations for people to donate to in her honor.
To everyone who has offered to buy me coffee or pay my bills, thank you from the bottom of my heart. My basic and f… https://t.co/dkSkTevleD
Kathryn continues to promote and share her own stories on Twitter every day, as well as retweet stories from healthcare workers going through the same thing she is.
