Survivor Québec (2023)

After surviving 44 days in the Philippines, Nicolas Brunette defeated Christophe Tiffet and Kimberly Fortin in a 6-1-1 jury vote to become the series' first Sole Survivor.

Production[]

The season and show were first announced on December 7, 2021,^[3] but further news came over nine months later on September 14, 2022, when the host of the show and the location of the first season were revealed to be Patrice Bélanger and the Philippines, respectively.^[4] The application window for the first season was from September 14, 2022, to October 2, 2022.^[5]

The cast was revealed before filming on January 27, 2023.^[6] The filming dates were between January 29, 2023, and March 25, 2023. On March 2, 2023, the premiere date and finale date were confirmed to be April 2, 2023, and June 18, 2023, respectively.^[7]

On March 7, 2023, a sneak peek of the premiere was shown on La semaine des 4 Julie during a video interview segment with host Patrice Bélanger. Besides this preview, Patrice disclosed additional behind-the-scenes information. He revealed that La dernière bouffée d'air was one of the challenges, but did not confirm whether it was played during the tribal or individual phase. Also, he commented that his wife and children visited him in the Philippines during the spring break and that the family tested a challenge together. Additionally, he stated that the cast and crew form a group of about a hundred Canadians but rely on a local Filipino team for their expertise of the area. Finally, he confirmed that the premiere episode would air Sunday, April 2, 2023, at 8 p.m. after the finale of Big Brother Célébrités and would be 90 minutes long, that subsequent Sunday episodes would also air at 8 p.m. but would be 60 minutes long, that episodes from Monday through Thursday would air at 7 p.m. and be 30 minutes long, and that consultant Jean-Thomas Jobin would host an aftershow, Survivor Québec en prolongation, on Sunday evenings directly after Sunday episodes.^[8] Jean-Thomas stepped down from this role before the season started and, on March 30, 2023, Benoît Gagnon was announced to be his replacement.^[9]

Format[]

• Length of Game: The game lasted 44 days.^[10]
• Tribe Composition: The twenty contestants were divided into two tribes of ten.^[11]
• Hidden Immunity Idol: The existence of these was announced to the players during the second cycle.
• Summit: On Day 9, both tribes were tasked with selecting an ambassador to attend a summit. The ambassadors had to decide which of them would go back to camp with beans and spices and which of them would go back to camp with a clue to the latter's camp's Hidden Immunity Idol.
• Mock Vote: On Day 11, under the pretense that they would be voting out a member as usual, the tribe that lost the Immunity Challenge unknowingly sent the person "voted out" to the rival tribe instead to be its newest member.
• Tribe Switch: On Day 16, a tribe switch occurred, resulting in the remaining contestants being distributed across two tribes.
• Risky Cage: On Day 22, Patrice visited the tribe that won the final tribal Reward Challenge and presented them a lobster cage with two wrapped packages. One of them was an individual advantage and the other was an individual disadvantage. The members of the winning tribe were given the opportunity to pick a package from the cage. If no one opted to take a risk, Patrice would visit the rival tribe and offer its members the same proposition but without the disadvantage.
  • The advantage was a Vote Blocker that allowed its user to prevent any castaway from voting up until and including the final five Tribal Council.
  • The disadvantage was a Forced Sit-Out, forcing its holder to sit out of the next challenge, which in this case was the first individual Immunity Challenge.
• Merge: Both tribes merged on Day 23 with eleven contestants remaining.
• Double Elimination: On Night 23, Pag-Asa was subjected to a double elimination, where two castaways would be eliminated after two rounds of voting.
• Redemption Island: After the merge, every castaway who was voted out proceeded to Redemption Island, where they would fend for themselves during their entire stay. When the island has three inhabitants, the three castaways will compete in a three-way duel, where the winner and runner-up get to stay on the island, while the last-place finisher is eliminated from the game for good. On Day 38, the last person standing on Redemption Island will return to the main game and continue their pursuit of the title of Sole Survivor.
• Extra Vote: Available for purchase at the auction, this advantage would allow a castaway to vote twice at the same Tribal Council up until and including the final five Tribal Council. It is at the voter's discretion whether they would throw this vote away, vote for the same person twice, or vote against two targets.
• Final Tribal Council Format: The Final Three faced a jury comprised of eight people.

Castaways[]

Contestant		Tribe Affiliation				Finish	Redemption Island Status	Votes Against
		Original Tribe	Post-Swap Tribe	Switched Tribe	Merged Tribe
	Martin Cousineau 52, Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Montérégie Armored Truck Designer	Kalooban				1st Voted Out Day 3		9
	Simon Paradis-Lacroix 21, Québec, Capitale-Nationale Mechanic	Tiyaga				2nd Voted Out Day 6		9
	Vicky Côté Pierre 42, Gatineau, Outaouais Civil Servant	Kalooban				3rd Voted Out Day 7		7
	Isabelle Gagnon 52, Terrebonne, Lanaudière Financial Services Entrepreneur	Tiyaga				4th Voted Out Day 10		5
	Johannie Thériault 38, Caraquet, New Brunswick Mental Health Care Centre Director	Tiyaga	Tiyaga			Quit Day 14		3
	Denis Potapov 33, Varennes, Montérégie Personal Trainer	Kalooban	Kalooban			5th Voted Out Day 15		3
	Marika Guay 23, Trois-Rivières, Mauricie Professional Soccer Player	Tiyaga	Tiyaga	Tiyaga		6th Voted Out Day 18		4
	Pierre-Alexandre Guillot 43, Drummondville, Centre-du-Québec Early Childhood Educator	Kalooban	Kalooban	Kalooban		Ejected Day 19		0
	Martine Larose Reda 47, Lorraine, Laurentides Political Assistant	Kalooban	Kalooban	Tiyaga		7th Voted Out Day 20		7
	Sango Bien-Aimé 28, Saint-Hubert, Montérégie Video Editor	Tiyaga	Tiyaga	Tiyaga	Pag-Asa	10th Voted Out Day 26	1st Eliminated 1st Jury Member Day 28	6
	Joël Dandurand 29, Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Montérégie Special Care Counsellor	Tiyaga	Tiyaga	Kalooban		11th Voted Out Day 30	2nd Eliminated 2nd Jury Member Day 31	11
	Maryse Lauzon 27, Montréal Physical Education Teacher	Kalooban	Kalooban	Tiyaga		12th Voted Out Day 34	3rd Eliminated 3rd Jury Member Day 35	7
	Sylvain Béland 41, Gatineau, Outaouais Bakery Planner	Kalooban	Tiyaga	Kalooban		8th Voted Out Day 23	4th Eliminated 4th Jury Member Day 38	5
	Sandrine Fortier 25, Trois-Rivières, Mauricie Cheerleading Club Co-owner	Tiyaga	Tiyaga	Kalooban		13th Voted Out Day 37	5th Eliminated 5th Jury Member Day 38	8
	Jean-Junior Morin 41, Victoriaville, Centre-du-Québec Aluminum Smelting Factory Operator	Tiyaga	Tiyaga	Tiyaga		14th Voted Out 6th Jury Member Day 41		3
	Justine Turpin 25, Gatineau, Outaouais Civil Servant	Kalooban	Kalooban	Kalooban		15th Voted Out 7th Jury Member Day 42		8
	Karine Lavigne-Fortin 37, Chelsea, Outaouais Karate Instructor	Kalooban	Kalooban	Tiyaga		16th Voted Out 8th Jury Member Day 43		5
	Christophe Tiffet 40, Boisbriand, Laurentides Blue Collar Worker	Tiyaga	Tiyaga	Tiyaga		Runners-Up		13
	Kimberly Fortin 25, Mascouche, Lanaudière Podiatrist	Tiyaga	Tiyaga	Kalooban				5
	Nicolas Brunette 24, Gatineau, Outaouais Communications and Marketing Agent	Kalooban	Kalooban	Kalooban		9th Voted Out Day 23 Sole Survivor	Returnee Day 38	6

Season Summary[]

The twenty castaways were divided into two tribes, Kalooban and Tiyaga. Despite having the physical advantage in challenges, winning seven out of the ten challenges, Tiyaga started as a divided tribe as multiple people, such as Jean-Junior, Johannie or Simon tried to take control of the tribe. Meanwhile, despite starting as a united group, Kalooban quickly divided themselves into duos.

The tribe switch saw an even bigger gap between the physical prowess of each tribe, as the strongest members of Kalooban were switched with the weakest members of Tiyaga. Still, Kalooban were able to secure the two immunity wins, despite seeing their tribemate Pierre-Alexandre ejected. A failed attempt from Marika to depose the majority Tiyaga Alliance and the lack of opportunity from Kalooban to eliminate core members of that alliance sent Tiyaga to the merge with a 6-5 majority, but with a stronger core, along with members of the Kalooban tribe to their side. Overall, the pre-merge was characterized by a power struggle which ended with Jean-Junior taking control of the game.

At the merge, Joël, Nicolas, and Sylvain were on the outs; during a surprise Double Elimination, Joël's Immunity Necklace and Hidden Immunity Idol kept him safe as the other outsiders were voted out before him. However, instead of going to the jury, they went to Redemption Island. A second attempt to eliminate the head of the alliance, Jean-Junior, was initiated by Sango with the help of Joël, Maryse and Sandrine; however, this plan fell through when the fifth vote, Justine, decided to stick with the majority. From there, they all got voted out in that order.

Over on Redemption Island, despite his unassuming stature, Nicolas was able to win every single Redemption duel and came back in the game on Day 38. From there, a disagreement between the leaders of the majority alliance, Jean-Junior and Christophe, created a rift where Nicolas was able to take over the tribe with Christophe and Kimberly and successfully formed the Final Three.

At the Final Tribal Council, Kimberly was mostly ignored by the jury due to her quiet, under-the-radar game. Christophe's final performance was heavily criticized for the lack of strategy in his game, as he spoke more about his game with the alliance instead of his individual game. Meanwhile Nicolas had a lot of persuading to do after spending 15 days on Redemption Island. Ultimately, Nicolas was able to deliver a strong and convincing case, and the jury crowned him the first Sole Survivor of Survivor Québec.

Voting History[]

		Original Tribes					Post-Swap Tribes		Switched Tribes			Merged Tribe
Cycle		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		10		11	12	13	14	15	16	17
Voted Out		Martin	Simon	Vicky	Isabelle	Mock Vote	Johannie	Denis	Marika	Pierre-Alexandre	Martine	Sylvain	Nicolas	Sango	Joël	Maryse	Sandrine	Jean-Junior	Justine	Karine	Christophe	Kimberly	Nicolas
Vote		9-1	9-1	6-3	5-3-1	6-21	No vote2	3-2-2	4-3	No vote3	5-1	5-3-3	2-0-04	5-4	4-2-2-1	4-3	4-2	3-1-04	3-1	3-1	6-1-1
►►►	Nicolas	Martin	—	Vicky	—	Sylvain	—	Martine	—	—	—	Kimberly	Joël					Jean-Junior	Justine	Karine	Jury Vote
►►►	Christophe	—	Simon	—	Johannie	—	—	—	Marika	—	Martine	Nicolas	Nicolas	Sango	Joël	Maryse	Sandrine	Jean-Junior	Justine	Karine
►►►	Kimberly	—	Simon	—	Isabelle	—	—	—	—	—	—	Sylvain	Joël	Sango	Joël	Maryse	Sandrine	Jean-Junior	Justine	Karine
►►►	Karine	Martin	—	Vicky	—	Sylvain	—	Denis	Marika	—	Martine	Sylvain	Joël	Sango	Sandrine	Sandrine	Justine	Christophe	None6	Kimberly			Nicolas
►►►	Justine	Martin	—	Vicky	—	Sylvain	—	Martine	—	—	—	Sylvain	Joël	Sango	Joël	Sandrine	Sandrine	Christophe	Christophe				Nicolas
►►►	Jean-Junior	—	Simon	—	Johannie	—	—	—	Marika	—	Martine	Sylvain	Nicolas	Sango	Joël	Maryse	Sandrine	Nicolas			Christophe
►►►	Sandrine	—	Simon	—	Isabelle	—	—	—	—	—	—	Sylvain	Joël	Christophe	Christophe	Maryse	Justine	Eliminated					Nicolas
															Christophe5
►►►	Maryse	Martin	—	Vicky	—	Nicolas	—	Denis	Christophe	—	Martine	Nicolas	Joël	Christophe	Karine	Sandrine	Eliminated						Nicolas
►►►	Joël	—	Simon	—	Isabelle	—	—	—	—	—	—	Kimberly	Kimberly	Christophe	Karine	Eliminated							Nicolas
►►►	Sango	—	Simon	—	Johannie	—	—	—	Marika	—	Martine	Nicolas	Joël	Christophe	Eliminated								Nicolas
►►►	Sylvain	Martin	—	Justine	—	Nicolas	—	—	—	—	—	Kimberly						Eliminated				Kimberly
►►	Martine	Martin	—	Vicky	—	Sylvain	—	Maryse	Christophe	—	Maryse
►►	Pierre-Alexandre	Martin	—	Justine	—	Sylvain	—	Denis	—	Ejected
►►	Marika	—	Simon	—	Isabelle	—	—	—	Christophe
►	Denis	Martin	—	Vicky	—	Sylvain	—	Maryse
►	Johannie	—	Simon	—	Isabelle	—	Quit
	Isabelle	—	Simon	—	Sango
	Vicky	Martin	—	Justine
	Simon	—	Christophe
	Martin	Vicky
Notes: ^1 In a surprise twist, instead of voting out a player, the Kalooban tribe unknowingly voted for one person to be swapped to Tiyaga. Sylvain was "voted out" and swapped to Tiyaga. ^2 Johannie elected to quit the game due to homesickness. No vote occurred for her removal. ^3 Pierre-Alexandre was ejected from the game. No vote occurred for his removal. ^4 A Hidden Immunity Idol was played, negating all votes against its user. ^5 This castaway played an Extra Vote advantage, allowing them to vote twice at Tribal Council. ^6 This castaway's vote was blocked by a Vote Blocker.

Trivia[]

• In the audition trailer, music from Survivor South Africa was used. There was also a brief shot of the Survivor South Africa: Philippines logo.^[12]
• This is the second season of an edition of Survivor where the cast was revealed before filming began, after Survivor: Cambodia.
• Former Survivor (U.S.) players Ozzy Lusth, Jerri Manthey, Andrea Boehlke, Stephen Fishbach and Drea Wheeler appeared in pre-season promotional content.
• The oldest and youngest castaways of the season were unanimously voted out first and second, respectively.
• Based on an old clip from the host audtions, the season was originally called Survivor: Le Feu Sacré.
  • While it's unclear if it was the actual plan or just placeholders, the audition clip mention that it would had 18 players and was meant to last 39 days. The two tribes were also originally called Yava Sama and Savu Savu and were respectively red and blue.

References[]