Red River Métis brothers eliminated at semi-finals on Amazing Race Canada

September 17, 2026

Sacha and Sébastien Régnier represented the Nation with pride on season 12 of Amazing Race Canada

_{Sacha and Sébastien did an impressive Red River Jig on national television at the birthplace of the Red River Métis and the heart of the Homeland: Winnipeg, Manitoba. Photo credit: CTV.}

There wasn't a dry eye at the Amazing Race Canada watch party in Winnipeg on Tuesday, September 8. After an impressive run, Sacha and Sébastien Régnier - Red River Métis and Franco-Manitoban brothers - made it to the semi-finals before being eliminated.

"Standing up after [the episode ended] and everybody's kind of emotional. You kind of turn around, you almost see everybody with a tear in their eye, which is just so nice because... the way that they ended it for us was beautiful," said Sébastien. "I think we recognize how much we already have won perhaps in our lives, in our relationship, and just the experience itself," said Sacha.

Back in June 2026, the brothers (and best friends) announced their appearance on season 12 of Amazing Race Canada, and since then, they have had an extraordinary run, winning two legs of the competition (and two trips).

After competing across Canada, Sacha and Sébastien made it all the way to the semifinals, bringing them back home to Manitoba for the second last leg of the competition. When they got the news, they could hardly contain their excitement about going home.

"I don't know why, but not for a second did we ever expect that we would do it in Manitoba or in the Prairies," said Sébastien. "We were on the flight home, and you see all the squares and the farms over the Prairies; we just felt like the Prairies are so beautiful. We really were able to recognize how lucky we are that we are from Manitoba," said Sacha.

For us to be able to represent our Métis Nation was awesome... and to be able to do the Red River Jig to really have a moment on national TV to just talk about our culture. - Sacha Régnier

 

The competition started in Gimli, Manitoba before bringing the teams back into Winnipeg. From the start of the leg, the brothers ran into trouble with their taxi's tire.

"The flat tire, that's not the driver's fault," said Sébastien. "He filled up with air in Gimli during the roadblock for Sacha. So, we really thought like, 'okay, we're good.' Then he wasn't driving over 90 and [the other teams are] probably driving over 100. So, we're just losing time, and then he pulls over once we get on Main [Street]."

Once getting into the city, the boys discovered they had an opportunity to do a Red River Métis-themed detour challenge.

"So, you got a choice. You could either do the jig or like a math calculation... but as soon as we saw the words 'the jig,' we're like, 'oh my god, as if we get to do this," said Sacha. "For us to be able to represent our Métis Nation was awesome... and to be able to do the Red River Jig to really have a moment on national TV to just talk about our culture."

Down at the Forks, the Red River Métis brothers met up with the Asham Stompers, a local Red River Métis jigging and square-dancing group dancing to the musical stylings of Les Barn Boys, a Franco-Manitoban folk and country band who the brothers recognized immediately.

"That was like just very incredibly special... just for the Métis culture to be included in the episode to begin with, but then to have us actually participate in the jig and to do well with it," said Sébastien. "It's still kind of crazy to look back at that was actually like a challenge in the Amazing Race Canada."

_{The Red River Métis brothers pose with Minister Andrew Carrier (right), Vice-President of the Winnipeg Region, and Richard Genaille (left), Minister of Sports and Youth, in their newly gifted Red River Métis sashes.}

Despite the bad luck with the flat tire, the Régnier brothers had managed to catch up to their competition at Red River College, building a pergola using a set of instructions.

"We got there and we saw the pieces of wood, and we knew exactly what to do. Sébastien is very handy... we just built it as fast as we could, and we did it really, really fast. We probably built it faster than anybody else," said Sacha. "We knew that if we took our time to make sure that all the details were right, we would not have jumped a spot, we'd have stayed last," said Sébastien.

It wasn't until they had their work checked that they realized that to move on, they'd need to rebuild the entire pergola, as their competition moved forward. That's the moment the Régnier brothers knew they had come to the end of their race.

"We realized what we had wrong... we took apart everything and at that point, we kind of just knew. But you know what, we weren't upset," said Sacha. "We hugged it out, we were just kind of laughing the rest of the challenge," said Sébastien.

The finish line was at the Lower Fort Garry National Historic Site, where Sacha and Sébastien were eliminated from the race.

"For us [to] finish here at home, we did everything that we could. It still felt like, 'you know what, it's fine, it's okay for us to finish here," said Sacha.

They're cheering for us, but they're really just here supporting Winnipeg... they're cheering for the community that we represent. - Sébastien Régnier

 

Throughout the race, producers would prompt the brothers with questions that allowed them to explore deep into their relationship. This culminated in a deeply emotional finale for the brothers in those final moments on that mat in Lower Fort Garry.

"Every time I watch it play back, I cry," said Sébastien. "When Sacha says, 'thanks for always understanding me...' It was just very raw emotion, and a lot of just being super grateful to be brothers to have the relationship and to have those memories that we built on the race... So, that was like a gut punch in the best way."

Throughout the season, the brothers wear their hearts on their sleeves. They credit their openness and communication to their mom, who always encouraged them to be in touch with their feelings. Part of that journey was through Sacha's experience being diagnosed with Schizophrenia as a teenager.

"It's very easy [to] talk about this because since we were very young... we were explained what schizophrenia was because it runs in the family," said Sébastien. "The way that they were able to like really weave [Sacha's story] into that last episode [and] then the way they ended it was absolutely perfect," said Sébastien.

Since the episode aired, Sacha has received messages from people across the nation relating to his story with schizophrenia.

"I just want to reduce the stigma about what someone with schizophrenia is supposed to be in society," said Sacha. "I think we have a lot of assumptions of what people living with this condition are supposed to look like, or behave like, or are capable of even doing. And that's just not the reality of it... there's no reason to have such a heavy and harsh stigma around it, and it's just beautiful to see more people kind of getting together and just talking about it."

The Régnier brothers' community came out in strong support at the Amazing Race Canada watch party at the Pinnacle Club on September 8. Around 500 attendees watched the highs and lows of the episode and gave a standing ovation after the credits rolled.

"It was so cool [feeling] the energy of the entire room... it really felt like Winnipeg was there that night," said Sébastien. "It was just every demographic of what makes Winnipeg so awesome as a city... it made us so proud to be Winnipeggers and be part of that whole community."

The pride the community feels for the brothers, they explain, is truly the pride the community feel in themselves.

"I just see myself as a vessel as well for the community... we're just two people, just two random people, but they're able to put that upon us and have the trust," said Sacha. "They're cheering for us, but they're really just here supporting Winnipeg... they're cheering for the community that we represent," said Sébastien.

_{Sacha (right) and Sébastien (left) Régnier speak in front of a nearly 500-person crowd after watching their elimination at the Amazing Race Canada watch party held in Winnipeg on September 8, 2026.}

The Régniers' professional journeys are taking off. Sacha released new single "Luciole," a Franco-Folk song sung from the perspective of his grandfather who struggled with his mental health throughout his life. Sébastien works as a realtor, hoping to help folks, especially Red River Métis clients, to buy and sell their homes. He's also continuing to train to represent Team Canada in skeleton (a downhill Winter Olympic sport), working towards competing in the 2030 Winter Olympics.

Keep up with Sacha and Sébastien Régnier on Instagram (@regnier.sacha and @sebregnier) as they continue making the Nation proud.

Although they may be done on Amazing Race Canada, their stories are just beginning. The Régnier brothers are looking forward to speaking at schools about pursuing your dreams and dealing with mental health - inspiring the next generation to follow in their footsteps. It's Youth like Sacha and Sébastien who pave the way for future Red River Métis Citizens. To learn about how the Manitoba Métis Federation supports its Youth, visit mmfyouth.ca.

 

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