- A $20,000 donation will be made in Harvey’s name to her charity of choice, Operation Enfant Soleil, after she came out on top in the holiday-themed season finale of CANADA’S SMARTEST PERSON on CBC -
A season full of mind-bending challenges and intense competition on CANADA’S SMARTEST PERSON came down to five worthy finalists vying for the title in Sunday’s holiday-themed season finale on CBC. In the end, 30-year-old Stephanie Harvey, a professional gamer from Quebec City, rose to the final challenge to take the crown and — in a CANADA’S SMARTEST PERSON first — to have a $20,000 donation made to her charity of choice, Operation Enfant Soleil.
Harvey and her four fellow finalists did battle in festive versions of some of the show’s classic challenges that added holiday magic to the season finale, creating a winter wonderland complete with falling snow. Edmonton’s Joshua Williams, a 25-year-old youth-program director, was the first competitor to be eliminated after registering the lowest score through the first three challenges. Mechanic Brittain Bancroft, 30, from Minto, N.B., bowed out next followed by Calgary’s Maria Samson, a 33-year-old former national team rugby player.
The grand finale, known as the Super Gauntlet, saw Harvey go head-to-head with Eric Yue, 40, a recreational hockey league commissioner from Victoria. The fast and festive face-off featured Christmas trees and snowmen as the key to the ultimate prize, the title of “Canada’s Smartest Person” and the $20,000 charitable donation. Yue leapt to an early lead in the first challenge of the Super Gauntlet, which tested linguistic intelligence, but struggled with the visual intelligence challenge that followed. Harvey took advantage of this opening and never looked back, flying through the visual, physical, musical and logical intelligence challenges to complete the Super Gauntlet and become the fourth person to be named “Canada’s Smartest Person.”
Harvey was moved to tears by her win and the knowledge that Operation Enfant Soleil, a foundation that raises funds for the care of sick children throughout Quebec, would receive the $20,000 donation in her name.
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About Stephanie Harvey:
A 30-year-old pro gamer from Quebec City, Stephanie Harvey is nothing if not a focused competitor. Known as “missharvey” in the gaming community, she has been the female world-champion in the video game Counter-Strike five times over. Now part of an L.A.-based video game team that trains and competes worldwide, her talent has even landed her on the Forbes “30 under 30” list. Stephanie holds a BA in Architecture from Laval University and a Post Graduate Diploma (DESS) in Video Game Design from the University of Montreal.
About CANADA’S SMARTEST PERSON Season 3:
Each week on CANADA’S SMARTEST PERSON, host Jessi Cruickshank (The Goods), with special guests and judges, guided competitors and viewers through the hour-long competition series, which is based on the Theory of Multiple Intelligences. In each of the first five episodes, six competitors went head-to-head in a series of fun and revealing challenges that test six areas of intelligence: linguistic, physical, musical, visual, social and logical, with one winner advancing to the championship finale.
New this season is CSP SmartPlay, where viewers joined in on the fun from home by playing along in real-time during the broadcast, and CSP LIVE, an exclusive behind-the-scenes interactive show, hosted by Joe Motiki and streamed live Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET – both accessible via the CANADA’S SMARTEST PERSON Facebook page.
Find CANADA'S SMARTEST PERSON:
Website: cbc.ca/smartestperson
Twitter: @CanadasSmartest #SmartestPerson
Facebook: facebook.com/canadassmartestperson
Instagram: @CanadasSmartest
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About CBC/Radio-Canada
CBC/Radio-Canada is Canada’s national public broadcaster and one of its largest cultural institutions. We are Canada’s trusted source of news, information and Canadian entertainment. Deeply rooted in communities all across the country, CBC/Radio-Canada offers diverse content in English, French and eight Indigenous languages. We also provide international news and information from a uniquely Canadian perspective. In 2017, CBC/Radio-Canada will be at the heart of the celebrations and conversations with special 2017-themed multiplatform programming and events across Canada.
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