What to know
- Toronto queen Van Goth wins Canada’s Drag Race season 6, taking the crown with a bold, instantly recognizable aesthetic rooted in authenticity.
- Her Drag Race journey was defined by raw vulnerability, including opening up about her HIV status and shedding her icy persona to connect more deeply with audiences.
- The win represents more than a title, with Van Goth using her platform to advocate for queer visibility, resistance, and community care during a time of heightened political uncertainty.
Canada’s Drag Race has announced the winner of season six, and she is a Toronto icon.
She’s bold, unapologetic, and now, the winner of Canada’s Drag Race season six, but Toronto already knew that Van Goth is a superstar. Originally hailing from Richmond Hill, the local queen regularly struts her stuff in The Village.
In an interview following her win, she described her season of the show as raw, honest and iconic.
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“I feel like the whole cast was so laying all out there, showing their whole selves to the audience, and I feel like we just were really waking it up and giving some of the best performances and runways in Canada Drag Race history,” Van Goth told Queer & Now.
She believes that her authenticity was what allowed her to connect with the judges and eventually take the crown.
“[My art] came from a place of authenticity. I think I knew exactly who I was, I think you could put my outfits on a mannequin, and you would know it’s my outfit,” the winner explained. “Every time I stepped out on the stage, I always kept showing them that.”
As she begins her reign as Canada’s top drag queen, she has some advice for anyone considering following her lead.
“Be true to your inner voice, and don’t be afraid to experiment and look a mess, because through that experimentation,” she explained. “You’re going to find pieces of gold that you can hang on to and really develop your creativity.”
RAW, HONEST, ICONIC
The season six winner really is a Toronto queer through and through. Her queer icon is Toronto band The Beaches. Gay anthem? “Super Ultra Graphic Modern Girl,” by Chappel Roan. And her favourite place in The Village?
“I have to say Crews & Tangos.. It was the first bar I ever went to, and I just always get that same feeling when I go and see a queen performing at Crews.”
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With an unwavering confidence and equally bold personality, she’s no stranger to competition. Goth was the winner of Absolut Empire’s Ball season three, and has competed for the title of Miss El Convento Rico twice. But she did surprise herself during her run on Drag Race, though it didn’t have to do with her performance, but rather her vulnerability.
“Opening up about my status was something that I’m not used to,” she shared, explaining that this was a departure from her usual icy persona.
“I love being kind of a cold, hard exterior, so really letting people see the inner self of me was difficult, but also so rewarding.”
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This kind of unfiltered honesty and representation is something local activists have called crucial, with HIV rates across Canada currently on the rise.
But this win is about more than clout; it’s also about bolstering representation for queer communities and drag performers at a time when we’re all under fire and facing intense political scrutiny nationwide. This is something she does not take lightly.
“My run on the show represents being honest, being raw, being authentic, and letting it all hang out. The good, the bad, and the ugly,” the winner explained.
“As queer people right now, we need to be loud, we need to take up space, and we need to push back when something’s pushing at you. I feel like I did that the whole time I was on Canada’s Drag Race, and that’s what we need to be doing as queer people in the world today.”
In these trying times, she says that both connecting with community and disconnecting from technology can be the best balm.
“Sometimes I feel like the world is crazy. So much of our lives now [is] lived online, and it’s okay to disconnect and just take some space for yourself and protect your own peace.”
WHAT’S NEXT FOR VAN GOTH?
Following an iconic run on Canada’s Drag Race, she has big plans, including travelling, returning to fashion, upping her content creation, and creating something all-new.
“I really want to develop my one-woman show, merging art history, burlesque and rock influences in that,” she shared.
