Canada's Got Talent

Format

Auditions take place before the judges and a live audience in various Canadian cities. Judges may show disapproval by pressing a buzzer that lights a large red X on stage; if all judges press their buzzers, the act must end. Voting operates on a majority-of-two basis, requiring two positive votes from the judges for an act to advance. In the first season, accepted acts moved to the Judges Round (also called The Cutdown), which had no audience and featured contestants performing only for the judges.

From that round, thirty-six acts advanced to the semi-finals. The second season removed this stage. Semi-finals and the final are broadcast with a varying number of semi-finals, followed by a final split into two episodes over one night. The two most popular acts from each semi-final win a place in the final.

Judges can still end a performance early with three X's. After all acts perform, phone lines, Twitter, Facebook, texting, and online voting open for one hour. Voters may submit up to fifty votes total (ten per platform). The act with the highest public vote is automatically placed in the final; the judges then choose between the second and third most popular acts to also advance. Starting with the fourth season, the semifinals were rebranded as the Eliminations, broadcast as one episode followed by one grand finale.

In the Eliminations, remaining acts compete for three judge votes that send them straight to the finals, while the rest compete in a Canada-wide vote to determine the remaining finalists. Acts that reach the final perform again, and a Canada-wide vote determines the season winner, revealed live at the end of the episode.

Judges and hosts

Martin Short was announced as the first judge on October 13, 2011. Measha Brueggergosman and Stephan Moccio joined him as judges, and Dina Pugliese hosted the first season. For the revival in 2022, Howie Mandel, Lilly Singh, Kardinal Offishall, and Trish Stratus served as judges, with Lindsay Ell as host. In June 2024, Shania Twain and Katherine Ryan were announced as judges for the fifth season, replacing Singh and Stratus.

Series overview

The first season aired on Citytv starting March 4, 2012, with preliminary auditions held in fall 2011 through January 2012 in Winnipeg, Calgary, Vancouver, Montreal, Toronto, and Halifax. Acts chosen to perform before the host, judges, and a live audience were invited back starting in Calgary on October 18 and 19, with the production tour visiting each original city through January 2012. Those selected by the judges went to Toronto for further rounds, concluding with audience voting in April and May 2012.

Sagkeeng's Finest won the first season. In June 2012, Rogers Media president Scott Moore announced no second season would be produced after careful consideration of factors including the economic climate. In 2020, Citytv's Breakfast Television held a Canadian Family's Got Talent competition during COVID-19 lockdowns, cross-promoting season 15 of America's Got Talent, with Simon Cowell as sole judge; Toronto-based singing trio CZN won and later competed on season 16 of America's Got Talent.

On June 8, 2021, Citytv announced a reboot for 2022, with production that year filmed entirely at the Avalon Theatre at Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort, unlike the first season's cross-country auditions. The revival premiered March 22, 2022, and was won by Quebecois singer Jeanick Fournier. After the season two finale in May 2022, Citytv renewed the series for a 2023 season, officially promoted as the second season without acknowledging the 2012 season.

Auditions for that season were filmed at the OLG Stage at the Fallsview Casino Resort from October 19 to 23, 2022, and the season premiered March 21, 2023.