by Sylene Argent
Growing up in Harrow, Craig Ramsay always felt support from those within the community. Even when his acting and fitness career took him out-of-town, and even out-of-county, his heart never left his hometown.
That is why he chose to celebrate his participation in the eighth season of the Amazing Race Canada with a viewing party to watch episode eight, amongst friends, family, and supporters, last week at the Beerded Dog Brewing Co.
“I am just so thrilled to have this opportunity to be back here and share what I experienced tonight in leg eight, with all the people [who] have supported me from day one,” Ramsay said. “I don’t think I have ever felt this much support, authentically, because these people have been here for my whole life.”
In speaking of Harrow, he said, “I never really left.” Ramsay noted he stayed close with the friends he grew up with, in addition to members of his community and church. “My work definitely took me out-of-town, but I always felt this is my homebase.”
Ramsay noted he got into acting because, “I was always a character in school. I always loved performing. I was always really well supported here in Harrow, Essex County, and eventually Windsor. I feel my foundation was so strong and I had a lot of confidence, thanks to that support, that it encouraged me to explore whatever the possibilities are.”
In his youth, he wasn’t shy, and believed he could tackle any situation.
He admitted he set his goals high. He wanted to be on Broadway, he wanted to be on soap operas, he wanted to be on film and TV. “Luckily, I have had those checkmarks,” he said.
His motto is to be bold. To go big, or go home; and home is not so bad.
Ramsay was excited to get onto season eight of Amazing Race Canada.
In 2019, he said he and his best friend, Catherine Wreford Ledlow, had the opportunity of a lifetime to return back to The Royal Winnipeg Ballet, where they both trained previously, to guest star in “Romeo and Juliet.”
“It was such a spectacular moment in our life, and we thought together afterwards, ‘This was so great, but what can we do that would come close or top that?’”
That is where the idea of putting their names forward for the Amazing Race Canada came about.
He noted the vetting process was pretty gruelling to get on the show, and lucky, they made the cut.
The cast, this season of the show, he said, is “Beyond strong in every aspect of the word,” and he and Wreford Ledlow were pleased to be included.
The duo saw the opportunity as a way to get Wreford Ledlow’s story of having terminal brain cancer out there.
“She is a medical miracle,” Ramsay said. He noted the show’s producers asked them to do the show, after the vetting process, two-years ago, before the pandemic. “Our situation was so unique, the likelihood of Catherine still being with us, was not great. But, she beat the odds. Now, we have the opportunity – I hope – to really motivate anyone out there who has any kind of medical obstacles or diagnosis.”
He also hoped he well represented the support system of those who are facing medical issues by supporting Wreford Ledlow appropriately.
Ramsay used last week’s viewing parties as a fundraiser for The Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada as a way to show Wreford Ledlow is loved, supported, and cared for.
The group connected with Wreford Ledlow online during the event.
For the past 22-years, Ramsay admits he has spent most of his time across the border. That made him a little insecure, getting involved with the Amazing Race Canada. I needed to brush up on geography, Canadian history, Francois,” he said. “There was such a wide-variety of Canadian-themed necessities I needed to study.”
He said he knows his country, and has had the opportunity to travel across it. “I know Canada, and it was thrilling to come back and prove that I do,” he said.
He joked he had to call his grade five teacher at Harrow Senior School, after admitting his “grade five math sucks,” which is something he wished he would have been better at for the show.
Ramsay said there is no other reality show that is more real than the Amazing Race Canada. “They simply follow you in your journey and your good, bad, and ugly decisions; and I make them all.”
Ramsay is looking forward to moving back to his hometown in the near future with his husband.