As a Fan, a Supporter, a Squirrel Friend, and Now a Judge, Traci Melchor Has Been Preparing For CANADA’S DRAG RACE Her Entire Life

By BILL HARRIS Special to The Lede Having shifted jobs from “Squirrel Friend” to “Judge” heading into Season 2 of CANADA’S DRAG RACE, Traci Melchor was asked a very serious question: Did she have to get new business cards? “Well, you know, I haven’t got the official CDR business cards yet,” said Melchor, with a big laugh. “But this year I won’t have to define my job, as opposed to people always asking, ‘What’s a Squirrel Friend?’ ” For the record, in Season 1 of CANADA’S DRAG RACE, Melchor was the designated “Squirrel Friend,” which she described as someone who is “like a best friend, a soft place to fall, but also somebody who helps you hide your nuts.” In Season 2, which debuts Thursday, Oct. 14 on Crave, Melchor is officially a judge, rotating with Amanda Brugel, alongside Brooke Lynn Hytes and Brad Goreski. Melchor, of course, is a Canadian Entertainment industry legend, and ETALK Senior Correspondent. Her strong support of Canada’s 2SLGBTQ+ and drag communities goes back a long way, but she understands that being a judge on CANADA’S DRAG RACE – which means sending queens home – is a tough job. “It is, it is,” Melchor agreed. “But I’ve realized that I want to go with my gut when it comes to judging, but speak from my heart. I want to help our queens identify what they need to tweak, maybe what they’re hiding to bring to the light. I also want to guide them, and to be honest – you can be honest without being sharp. But then, if you have a queen whose personality is a little bit sharp, you can kind of meet them there, you know what I mean?” That is such a great way of putting it. “Well, I’m a mother of teenagers,” Melchor said. “I work on that literally every day.” In terms of the competition, has Melchor noticed a difference in the queens from Season 1 to Season 2, perhaps in terms of savviness, or strategy? “Even if you’re an experienced queen, you’re booked and busy, you have a certain status in the outside world, but as soon as you come into CANADA’S DRAG RACE, all bets are off,” Melchor said. “You’re all judged equally. So sometimes the support system that you have as a status queen all falls away. And then somebody who maybe has been, you know, really practising that lip-sync in their bedroom, and has nothing to lose, could really throw it all out there. So when you ask if people come in with a strategy, I think they probably do. But I remember watching all the queens the first time they saw that stage, and everybody, whether you’re a busy queen or just a fresh new queen coming up, they all have that same look of, ‘wow, I’m here.’ That runway, with all the lights, is a great leveler. And you also can look at the queen beside you and say, ‘oh my gosh, I didn’t realize people were doing THAT.’ So it’s all those things.” It’s clear that in multiple ways, Traci Melchor has been preparing for this show, and this role, her entire life. As Season 2 of CANADA’S DRAG RACE gets under way, does she have any specific advice for the hopeful competitors? “First, I’m going to quote Debbie Allen as Lydia Grant in FAME: ‘you want fame? Well, fame costs. And right here is where you start paying … in sweat,’ ” Melchor said. “But that’s already taken. So I’m also going to say, ‘lean into whatever makes you uniquely you, and then elevate that.’ Whether it’s something that you were bullied about, or something that your parents didn’t like, or whatever. When you lean into that authenticity, that’s when you can be free to just perform, and do what you need to do. Also, you got here, right? You beat out all these other people to be in the final 12. You’re here. So … what are you going to do with it?” Tune in for the “what” every Thursday! billharristv@gmail.com @biIlharris_tv