Going deep with the GTA cast of Canada Shore

Fifteen years ago, a gang of unknown 20-somethings turned their love of boozing, tanning, iron-pumping and questionable hairstyles into a global phenomenon on the Jersey Shore. Snooki, DJ Pauly D, Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino, Vinny G—those guys were actually household names (and reliable paparazzi bait) for a moment there. Will the same be true of the ten Canada Shore cast members who came together in a house on the shores of Kelowna, BC, to get drunk, make out and talk smack? In preparation for today’s premiere, we grilled the GTA cast members on their preferred pickup strategies and favourite Toronto party spots.

Name: Bauer Hometown: Prince Albert, Saskatchewan Current address: Toronto

In the cast, I’m the...: I think I’m the unbiased one. In conflicts in the house, I tried to stay neutral the whole time. I wasn’t a peacemaker—I just wasn’t an instigator.

Strategy for getting comfortable on camera: I was already comfortable on camera. It’s just like a more expensive camera.

Favourite GTA neighbourhood: Does Burlington count? That’s where I spend my days. I work at Pure Muscle and Fitness.

Best place to party in Toronto: Mademoiselle is pretty wicked. A friend of mine used to be a bottle girl there, and we went recently.

Best Toronto date spot: No idea. Zero. I went to Joey’s yesterday. I would take a girl there.

Best pickup line or technique: Compliment a girl on her eyebrows to throw her off.

Favourite cocktail or mocktail: Tequila shot.

How many is too many: Two-thirds of a 750-millilitre bottle.

Celebrity crush: Megan Fox.

Plans for a post-reality-stardom career pivot: I want to commit to bodybuilding. And I genuinely think I could be a successful actor. I signed a modelling contract in 2019, but then Covid happened. I’d like to get back to it.

Snooki in one word: Iconic.

Related: Snooki is trading gabagool for ghosts on her Canadian reality show

Name: Gizelle Hometown: Montego Bay, Jamaica Current address: Mississauga

In the cast, I’m the...: The listener. I was someone people would come to with their problems or if they weren’t sure what was going on.

Strategy for getting comfortable on camera: I’ve been on camera my whole life, dancing and performing. I love the camera. I hope the camera loves me.

Favourite GTA neighbourhood: I would say Queen West. I love Bar Poet.

Best place to party in Toronto: The Powder Room. That place is bumping. And AMPM, which is a cute little Asian club.

Best Toronto date spot: Queen’s Harbour. It’s so cute.

Best pickup line or technique: Luckily I’m a girl, so I just have to sit there and look good and a confident guy will come up.

Favourite cocktail or mocktail: Rum and Coke.

How many is too many: When you’re on the floor.

Celebrity crush: Rihanna.

Plans for a post-reality-stardom career pivot: I would love to be a brand ambassador for Fenty Beauty. Or for Winnie Harlow’s brand, Cay Skin, because I also have vitiligo and I want to show all the girls that you can have a skin condition and still be a baddie.

Snooki in one word: Adorable.

Related: A Heated Rivalry–inspired reality series is in the works

Name: Ethan Hometown: Newmarket Current address: Toronto

In the cast, I’m the...: I’m the glue guy—someone who brought everyone together.

Strategy for getting comfortable on camera: Act like it’s not there.

Favourite GTA neighbourhood: I would say Yorkville in Markham [sic]. There’s a great strip of bars there.

Best place to party in Toronto: Paris Texas. The hottest girls go there.

Best Toronto date spot: Chester Hill is a lookout point. You take your car up there, kind of like an ’80s movie

Best pickup line or technique: The best way to know if someone’s into you is if you’re looking at their eyes and they’re looking at your lips, you know they want to kiss you.

Favourite cocktail or mocktail: Tequila soda. The hangovers aren’t as bad.

How many is too many: By the seventh or eighth double, I’m pretty loaded.

Celebrity crush: Megan Fox from Transformers. And Olivia Rodrigo if she wrote a song about me.

Plans for a post-reality stardom career pivot: I want to travel the world as a DJ.

Snooki in one word: Admirable. She turned partying into a career.

Name: Christopher Hometown: Toronto Current address: Toronto

In the cast, I’m the...: Hottest. Lila and I were the most iconic duo.

Strategy for getting comfortable on camera: I did a lot of posting on social media—TikToks, livestreams—before the show.

Favourite Toronto or GTA neighbourhood: Yorkville. The food is good, the drinks are strong and the people are hot.

Best place to party in Toronto: Mademoiselle on King Street. The drinks are good, the food is amazing and the people are so, so hot.

Best Toronto date spot: There’s this huge hill near Casa Loma. Watching the sunset there is so cute and romantic.

Best pickup line or technique: A lot of the other guys in the house were saying to the girls, “Come here, bird.” Why were they calling girls birds?

Favourite cocktail or mocktail: I loved the red wine from Kelowna. We went to a winery.

How many is too many: No limits.

Celebrity crush: No.

Plans for a post-reality stardom career pivot: Building my social media. Showing people the real me and not just Christopher from the show. Also hosting my own talk show.

Snooki in one word: Iconic.

Name: Lila Hometown: Toronto Current address: Toronto

In the cast, I’m the...: Baddest. Like the best looking. Chris and I were the baddies.

Strategy for getting comfortable on camera: My generation doesn’t even think about that. I’ve been on camera since I was a baby. I think we probably got too comfortable.

Favourite Toronto or GTA neighbourhood: Roncesvalles. I grew up there. Lots of dogs, places to eat, High Park.

Best place to party in Toronto: There are no good places. Rebel shut down their club night. There are too many men in the bars, too many promoters. I’m still going out. I’m just complaining.

Best Toronto date spot: I don’t know. I don’t think I’ve been on any good dates in Toronto. I can’t answer this question.

Best pickup line or technique: The people came to me. Half of Ethan’s pickup lines were trash.

Favourite cocktail or mocktail: Tequila soda.

How many is too many: The limit does not exist. That’s from Mean Girls.

Celebrity crush: Justin Baldoni. I’m not really following the headlines. He’s just really hot on Jane the Virgin.

Plans for a post-reality-stardom career pivot: Chris and I are going to open a club in Toronto, and it’s going to be my way. I’m so sick of these clubs in Toronto and all their rules. Oh my goodness, let us just party. I don’t understand why that’s so difficult. Just let us party. At our club, you’re going to sign a waiver at the door, and everything is allowed—dancing on furniture, doing crazy stuff. And it goes into after-hours.

Snooki in one word: Iconic.

These interviews have been edited for length and clarity.