Welcome to Canada’s Drag Race Power Rankings! Every week, we’ll debrief the week’s new episode of Canada’s Drag Race Season 5 to determine which queens are riding high, and which need she-mergency care. After an interstellar PSA challenge and an emotional Time and Place runway category, who is leading the pack?
11. Tara Nova (last week: 11)—ELIMINATED
Yeah, this was just too obvious from the first episode. Tara seems like a sweet queen—that bout of shit-talking in the premiere seems out of character considering what we’ve seen of her since—but not a great fit for this competition. I give her major props for speaking out against the poor pay she and other queens received at Velvet in St. John’s, a situation that has only continued to escalate in the week since the premiere. If you’re only going to have two episodes on national television, calling attention to injustice like this is a pretty great way to use them. I honestly didn’t think Tara was the worst this week (I actually kinda liked her tribute to Joey Smallwood on the runway), but she lost the lip sync fair and square to Tiffany Ann Co. Sorry to see Tara go, but someone has to be the first.
10. Tiffany Ann Co. (last week: 10)
That said, I don’t think Tiffany is far behind Tara on her way out the door. She was clearly the worst of the week in my book for her stilted delivery in the PSA, and while I liked her ancient Vietnam runway look, she could’ve come out in Violet Chachki’s Season 8 step-down look and it wouldn’t have saved her from the bottom. She did out-perform Tara in the lip sync, but she also had to run through a whole lot of tricks in her arsenal to do so. I’m not sure how she’ll fare when she’s in danger again—and considering another acting challenge is almost certainly around the corner, odds are good she’ll be lip syncing at least once more this season.
9. Xana (last week: 5)
Colour me a bit surprised by Xana’s role in this week’s episode. After she came in so hot in the premiere, I expected her to further lean into villainy. Instead, we saw her vulnerable side in her connection with Jaylene Tyme. It was pretty remarkable to see Xana connect with someone who, just like her grandfather, was part of the Sixties Scoop, and take inspiration from how Jaylene worked to reconnect with her Indigenous roots. Xana clearly wants to do the same, and Jaylene giving her the Métis scarf was a beautiful moment. Unfortunately for Xana, the week didn’t end quite as well for her, as she landed in the bottom three (and got the Gia Metric too-much-talk edit on the runway, to boot). She ably campaigned for herself to stay out of the lip sync, earning the first Golden Beaver of the season. But she’s only going to be able to talk her way out of danger so many times.
8. Sanjina Dabish Queen (last week: 8)
A quiet week for Sanjina after being so much of the focus of the first episode. She wasn’t the problem in her sketch, but she also wasn’t a solution. On the runway, I liked her 1960s Amsterdam red light district concept, but the look itself was just way too simple. I was honestly surprised she didn’t go the Bollywood route for a Time and Place runway category, considering how central it is to her own description of her drag. Anyway, not a disastrous week, but not one you want to have if you’re making a serious case for the crown.
7. Makayla Couture (last week: 2)
Conversely, Makayla was very much a focal point in this episode despite being called safe—but I don’t think it was for a great reason. The edit only glanced at this, but Makayla was being a bit of a micromanager on set during her group’s filming session. She kept telling Tiffany that she, she being Makayla, needed more from her, which made me tilt my head a bit. Brooke Lynn Hytes was the director, not Makayla. Makayla wasn’t even team captain! Maybe I’m making a mountain out of a molehill, but I was taken aback at how Makayla was approaching her role in all this. Her actual performance in the PSA was fine, and her Caribana Carnival runway was gorgeous, so she was in no danger this week. But keep an eye on her edit. I can’t imagine the show chose to include her directing clips if they weren’t going to pay off somehow down the line.
6. The Virgo Queen (last week: 1)
I call what happened to Virgo this week “the Anetra edit”: win the first episode in dominating fashion, then completely disappear in the second episode. I’m literally scrolling through my notes as I type this trying to remember anything Virgo did this week beyond her runway. Her team’s PSA was bad, but it wasn’t really her fault—she did as well as she could with what she was given. Luckily, her Romantic era Africa runway was a showstopper, reclaiming royal regalia with a bouquet of cotton. Such an interesting, specific idea, beautifully rendered. I hope this blip in her edit is just that, a blip, because I’m way too big a fan of her to see her fade into the background.
5. Uma Gahd (last week: 6)
I continue to be generally not interested in what Uma is bringing to the challenges and blown away by what she’s serving on the runway. My reaction to her reminds me of my reaction to Utica Queen at first: very impressed by her fashions, less impressed with everything else. Of course, I came around on Utica in a big way, which is why I’m keeping Uma in the upper part of the middle pack again this week. Her 3025 Desert Earth look was so goddamn stunning that I actually thought she would place in the top for the runway alone. Her ideas are incredibly creative, and the way she presents them only further elevates them. If there’s a design challenge around the corner, I’d put good odds on Uma to win it.
4. Jaylene Tyme (last week: 3)
Jaylene continues to be the star of the show, both a tremendous presence in the werk room and a killer in the challenges and on the runway. Considering the judges were evaluating the queens as individuals this week, I’d have placed her in the top over Helena Poison. She was the standout across both other PSAs with her Pit Crew and alien makeout session, and her 1850s Treaty 4 Pow Wow runway look was nothing short of spectacular in both concept and presentation. I was glad Sarain Fox took the time to highlight the look, but Jaylene really should’ve just been in conversation for the win. If she keeps on the track she’s been on in these past two episodes, I would be floored not to see her in the finale.
3. Helena Poison (last week: 7)
Helena benefited most from simply being in the best PSA, as it landed her in the high-scoring group this week. She did well in the challenge, committing to the shaving cream bit and nailing one of the more memorable moments of the episode. But I thought she was pretty clearly outclassed by both of her teammates in the comedy department, and her runway was the least impressive of the lot. Doing a 1950s take on Hell is a cute idea, and she did a nice job on her mug, but it felt simple compared to some of the other high concepts and beautiful garments. I like Helena, so I’m glad to see her get a boost early in the competition, but she’d have been in my safe group this week.
2. Minhi Wang (last week: 4)
I’ve gone back and forth on this since watching the episode, but I think I ultimately land on Minhi being my pick for the win this week. She wasn’t the team leader, but she had to anchor a lot of the comedy in her group’s PSA, and her characterization really made it work. On the runway, her tribute to Juice Boxx was cute and funny, and she backed it up emotionally by talking about how much the show means to her. I’m sure it must be a surreal experience to have been there at the start as a Pit Crew member, now competing as a queen on the same stage. Her reverence for Canada’s Drag Race comes across. I think she’ll win sooner or later, but according to the judges, this just wasn’t quite her time.
1. Perla (last week: 9)
Any feelings about Minhi missing aside, I am overjoyed for Perla. What a comeback from the bottom two the previous week! She led her team to success, had some of the funniest material in their PSA and looked gorgeous in her 1888 London Jack the Ripper look. Really just a fantastic week all around for her. I think she made the absolute correct choice with the Golden Beaver, especially since of the bottom three, Xana is the one most likely to win a challenge later and save her in return. Last week, I compared Perla’s potential to Melinda Verga’s—she just needed to step up to the judges’ challenge to show her personality. It’s safe to say she’s done that and more this week.
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