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CBC'S CANADA'S SMARTEST PERSON ANNOUNCES FIREFIGHTER CHRIS TESSARO OF MISSISSAUGA, ON AS THIS WEEK'S WINNER

Next week’s PARTICIPANTS REVEALED alongside head coach of the Canadian women’s soccer team John Herdman, who makes a special guest appearance
 
Canadians can test their intelligence with CBC’s Canada’s Smartest Person app, available for iOS and Android devices or online at cbc.ca/smartestperson
 
@CanadasSmartest #SmartestPerson
 
CBC’s new ground-breaking competition series CANADA’S SMARTEST PERSON has crowned its second finalist of the season tonight- 51-year-old firefighter Chris Tessaro (@ChrisTessaro) from Mississauga, ON.
 
Tessaro is a father of two and member of the Toronto fire department’s Heavy Rescue Squad, a specialized unit that handles high-risk situations. In his free time, he is an accomplished poker player and aficionado, who is considered Canada’s leading poker journalist and wrote the country’s’ only syndicated newspaper column on the subject.
 
Tessaro will join Woodbridge, ON’s Albert Tam, winner of last week’s episode, in the series finale later this fall as they battle it out to take home the title of CANADA’S SMARTEST PERSON.
 
Tune in Sunday, October 12 at 8 p.m. (8:30 NT) for more exciting action as a copywriter, a director general from Algonquin Nation Tribal Council, an associate professor of physics and radiology, and a radio host compete in six new revealing intelligence challenges that go beyond the traditional IQ test or trivia challenge. Special guest John Herdman, head coach of the Canadian women’s soccer team, will make a special guest appearance.
 
Meet next week’s participants:
Mith Das, a 29-year-old copywriter from Toronto, ON
Norm Odjick, 42-year-old director general, Algonquin National Tribal Council from       Kitigan Zibi, QC
Melanie Martin, a 40-year-old physicist and associate professor of physics and         radiology from Winnipeg, MB
Lisa Preston, a 39-year-old radio host from Mississauga, ON
 
Each week, hosts Jessi Cruickshank (@jessi) and Jeff Douglas (@IAmJeffDouglas) guide viewers through the hour-long competition series, as four new hopefuls battle it out in front of a live studio audience. Each participant must demonstrate their competency in the categories of linguistic, physical, musical, visual, social and logical intelligence in order the claim the title of CANADA’S SMARTEST PERSON.
 
At the time of issuing, Canadians engaging with the CANADA’S SMARTEST PERSON app, brought to you in part by SUBWAY® Restaurants, live with the show revealed:
 
This week there is a role reversal on the gender split with males taking the lead averaging 61 per cent and females following close behind with an average of 59 per cent over this week’s challenges
 
When looking at the age range, adults (18 to 49 years-old) hold their first place win from last week with an average score of 62 per cent, however it was a close race, with youths ( 18 years and under) averaging 57 per cent and seniors (50 years and older) 51 per cent across the challenges
 
Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and BC, keep interacting live with the show as you can determine the final leader board standings while also potentially seeing your name on the broadcast as you show us how you are smart.
 
In between broadcast dates, Canadians can challenge their friends, family and co-workers to new challenges daily through the Canada’s Smartest Person App. Keep challenging yourself and watch as your intelligence profile develops.
 
Based on the Theory of Multiple Intelligences, CANADA’S SMARTEST PERSON, produced by Media Headquarters, features unique intelligence tests that redefine what it means to be smart. Whether it’s using social smarts to detect if a person is telling the truth; musical smarts to play a one-of-a-kind instrument; or logical smarts to work your way through a maze of laser beams, the challenges are fun, mind-bending and ever-changing over all nine episodes.
About CANADA’S SMARTEST PERSON digital companion app.
 
Download the CANADA’S SMARTEST PERSON interactive app, available now for iOS and Android devices or online at cbc.ca/smartestperson. Tune in to the broadcast and play along in real time with each of the challenges. Compare personal results to the series’ competitors and other at-home players across the country. During the week, users can sharpen their skills with special bonus challenges. Share results on Facebook and Twitter @CanadasSmartest #SmartestPerson.
 
Find CANADA’S SMARTEST PERSON:
Twitter: @CanadasSmartest #SmartestPerson
Instagram: @CanadasSmartest
 
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About CBC/Radio-Canada
CBC/Radio-Canada is Canada’s national public broadcaster and one of its largest cultural institutions. The Corporation is a leader in reaching Canadians on new platforms and delivers a comprehensive range of radio, television, internet, and satellite-based services. Deeply rooted in the regions, CBC/Radio-Canada is the only domestic broadcaster to offer diverse regional and cultural perspectives in English, French and eight Aboriginal languages.
 
A space for us all is CBC/Radio-Canada’s new strategy to modernize the public broadcaster and ensure that it continues to fulfill its mandate for Canadians and for future generations. Through to 2020, it will increase its investment in prime time television programming, and continue to create radio programs of the highest quality, while promoting the development of digital and mobile platforms and content.
 
For more information including series synopses, press releases, hi-res images, video clips and bios, please visit the CBC Media Centre at cbc.ca/mediacentre. Follow CBC’s publicity team on Twitter @CBC_Publicity.
 
About Media Headquarters
Media Headquarters is a leading Canadian television and digital media production company founded in 1999 by Executive Producer Robert Cohen. The company is widely recognized for producing popular series and original formats for worldwide markets. Media Headquarters has won numerous Gemini Awards, been nominated for an Emmy® Award and consistently makes the Realscreen ‘Global 100’ List celebrating the world’s best non-fiction producers. Media Headquarters’ slate includes factual entertainment, documentary, dramatic and children’s programing. For more information visit www.mediahqs.net.
 
About Konrad Group
Konrad Group is a global leader in the enterprise and consumer technology space. We provide consulting, design, development and application management services, with an emphasis on building compelling user experiences. Our Design-Driven Technology™ approach has delivered solutions in use by over 20 million people in 50 countries around the globe. For more information visit www.konradgroup.com
 
For more information or to request interviews, please contact:
Cathleen Saville, entertainment publicist
416.205.7976
 

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