Red River Métis brothers take on The Amazing Race Canada

July 20, 2026

Sacha and Sébastien Régnier represent Red River Métis Citizens on the adventure of a lifetime

^{Sacha (left) and Sébastien (right) had shirts made for their audition tapes that illustrate their different but complementary approaches to life. The shirts read, "I have a feeling/I have a plan" on the front and "It'll work out," on the back.}

If you catch Red River Métis Citizens Sébastien and Sacha Régnier at the top of a mountain, they're exactly where they want to be. The pair are not just brothers, they're also best friends who share a unique passion for adventure, competition, and creating their own path in life.

Their newest and greatest adventure yet is competing as Winnipeg's Red River Métis and Franco-Manitoban duo on season 12 of The Amazing Race Canada, a reality competition show with 10 teams of pairs racing to become the next Amazing Race Canada champions.

After watching the show when they were younger, it was their mom who gave the brothers the push they needed to audition.

"This year, we thought... 'let's just give it a shot,'" said Sacha. "We're both at a certain age where we're about to take off in our own careers. Who knows if we're going to get the opportunity to spend as much time together as this race would permit us to. So, we thought, you know, let's just try it out."

Individually, we have a lot of strong assets for this race, but I think what worked out the best for us is just our relationship. Understanding each other, knowing how to communicate, knowing when to let the other person lead. - Sacha Régnier

 

Destined to be best friends, the brothers have been close since the younger of the two, Sacha, was born. Their compassionate and profound bond made even the most difficult challenges a lot easier to navigate as a team.

"Individually, we have a lot of strong assets for this race, but I think what worked out the best for us is just our relationship. Understanding each other, knowing how to communicate, knowing when to let the other person lead," said Sacha. Sébastien continued, "It's so easy to work together... we're so patient with each other and even when we get frustrated, our level of frustration together is much lower than with anybody else."

The season premiere and competition start line began at the top of Whistler Mountain in British Columbia, a spot Sacha and Sébastien know well. The adrenaline junkies had spent a season living in Whistler doing training camps for skeleton on Whistler Mountain and were ecstatic to hear that's where they'd be starting the race.

"It was something I started with Sacha," said Sébastien. "So, the fact that we were able to come back there to start another awesome experience together was pretty mind-blowing."

Sébastien has gone on to represent Team Canada in the sport and aspires to compete in the 2030 Winter Olympics.

"[Skeleton] is essentially a Winter Olympic sport where you slide down a really big icy track down the side of a mountain. I do it headfirst on my own sled. So, you sprint with the sled, jump on, and then kind of just lay there headfirst," said Sébastien. "You can go over 140 kilometres an hour, so you can go quite fast... I train for it year-round."

_{In episode 2 of their season, the Régnier brothers felt honoured to listen to Syilx Okanagan Elders recite the 13 moon cycles in their Indigenous language before having to complete a turtle shell puzzle of the cycles, placing each word in the right order.}

The Régnier brothers partially attribute their ability to stay calm in the stressful moments of the race to their real-life experiences.

"Like Sébastien with his skeleton, you have to be so calm during that sport... you just have to feel so calm and relaxed when you're under pressure," said Sacha. "I think that played a big advantage for Sébastien."

Sacha's experience with mental health struggles also allowed him to stay calm during the race. He was diagnosed with Schizophrenia at 15 years old.

"Dealing with psychotic episodes [can] be very overwhelming, very difficult, and trying to be able to stay calm throughout that is something that I think I learned through life," he said. "So that helped me."

These experiences helped them work against something the brothers call "race brain."

"As soon as (host Jon Montgomery) says 'go,' any kind of plan that you had... it is not that easy to do," said Sacha. "Once we kind of got in the flow with things right around the second leg... it just felt like, 'OK, we're really in this now.'"

At the end of the day, don't be shy to just be who you are. Whether that's if you really want to promote your Métis side or [your passion]. [Even if] you try to do something and you fail, you'll learn so much along the way. - Sébastien Régnier

 

The premiere episode's sailing challenge featured a watery terrain the Winnipeggers didn't take as quickly to.

"We were on the water for 45 minutes not understanding how to use a sail. I was moving it with my hands, and you're supposed to pull a rope," said Sacha. "It was not going the way it was supposed to. We're prairie boys, we don't sail," said Sébastien.

In the second leg of the competition, the brothers had the opportunity to learn the 13 moon cycles directly from Syilx Okanagan Elders through a team challenge.

"That was extremely grounding for us. You have to obviously pay attention to what they're saying... that was a difficult challenge, and I think we're pretty proud of ourselves that we finished it relatively quickly," said Sébastien. "But the experience of actually just sitting down and listening to Elders, and they were so, so sweet, they were so nice, they were so calm. Honestly, that helped."

^{The brothers hope to demonstrate the immense pride in their heritage as they represent their fellow Red River Métis Citizens and the Nation on the national screen.}

The Red River Métis Citizens have been working to connect with their own heritage, which has deep roots in one of the Nation's oldest Red River Métis Communities.

"Our family on our dad's side is from St. Francois Xavier. Back in the day it used to be called Grantown... they've been there for generations," said Sacha. "We were told very young what being Métis was, [but] growing up, it wasn't ever something that we were super connected with, unfortunately," said Sébastien.

Spending time in their youth working at Riel House National Historic Site, the historic house of Louis Riel's family, was an enriching part of the Régniers' journey to understanding their heritage.

"It was amazing for us to really connect to it and just learn so much about the culture that we hadn't necessarily learned much about when we were younger... we learned how to do beadwork, and we learned a lot about jigging," said Sébastien.

Sacha and Sébastien wanted to bring a piece of their Red River Métis identity with them on the race, and the memory of their late Red River Métis grandmother, who passed only six months ago.

"[In] the last few weeks that she was with us, I gave her one of the little sashes to hold on to," said Sébastien. "She was very proud and excited to have that with her. And then, when she passed... I kind of carried it with me everywhere I went. I tied it on my backpack and then I had an extra one for Sacha... whenever we're running around, if there's shots of us, you'll see little red Métis sashes."

Since filming The Amazing Race Canada, the pair have continued pursuing their passions. Sébastien continues to train as one of Canada's top skeleton athletes but has also begun a career as a realtor in Winnipeg, hoping to work specifically with Red River Métis clients. You can find Sébastien's Realtor page at @wpgrealtorseb.

"I really want to be working with as many Métis people as I can," said Sébastien. "If there's Métis people that have any questions about it or need a realtor, that is something I would love to be able to do."

Through public speaking, Sacha has been working to spread his message about persevering through mental health challenges. He has released multiple hardcore alt-rock singles, which you can listen to on all music streaming platforms under Sacha Régnier.

The brothers want to send the message to Red River Métis Youth that they should pursue their passions without fear.

"At the end of the day, don't be shy to just be who you are - whether that's if you really want to promote your Métis side or [your passion]. For Sacha, he's passionate about music and speaking about his mental health. For me, it's doing sport," said Sébastien. "[Even if] you try to do something and you fail, you'll learn so much along the way, and I don't think you should ever be discouraged or disappointed in yourself to chase your dream and chase what you're passionate about."

You can watch Sacha and Sébastien compete in the first two legs of the competition by streaming The Amazing Race Canada on Crave or watch the show as it airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. Central on CTV. Get the inside scoop through their Instagram pages: @regnier.sacha and @sebregnier.

As the race continues, our Red River Métis Community is cheering Sébastien and Sacha Régnier on as they represent the pride, determination, and excellence of the Nation. It's Youth like Sacha and Sébastien that pave the way for the future of the Red River Métis. To learn about how the Manitoba Métis Federation support's its Youth, visit mmfyouth.ca.

 

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