Allard Law grad takes home the top prize on the Amazing Race Canada

Jonathon Braun (JD'15) has always loved games. During his time as a student at the Allard School of Law, he stepped up to help organize several Amazing Race–style games for law students at UBC. That passion carried on into the pandemic, when he began hosting reality TV–style games with his friends online.

“We'd have 20 people joining a Zoom call to play, and we’d be voting each other out of these calls,” Braun recalls. “I created this community because we weren’t able to see each other in person.” 

Braun went on to organize local games in Vancouver for charity. And this summer, he competed on the most recent season of The Amazing Race Canada. 

In the finale on September 16, 2025, he and teammate Jesse Harink took home the grand prize of $250,000, a new EV SUV, and a trip around the world.

Braun, who is the legal director at the Migrant Workers Centre in Vancouver, says the skills he cultivated in law school and through legal practice—such as negotiation, problem-solving, and managing stress—were a big help during the race.

“There's so much that my law background helped me with,” says Braun. “I think anybody who's gotten through law school knows there can be some stressful times, but you take it one step at a time and you make it through.”

For current law students who are thinking about trying something new, Braun says his story is a good reminder that far-fetched-sounding dreams may not actually be out of reach.

“When I first applied to the Amazing Race Canada as a law student, it felt like a silly little dream. What I learned is that the only way your dream is ever going to come true is to actually put your hand up and do it."

One of Braun and Harink’s goals for the competition was to show up as their authentic selves throughout the season and to help inspire queer youth to persevere—and succeed. “I hope that queer kids who watched us show up and do well, amidst all of the hate that's happening right now against queer people, see that there’s a bright future and a community out there for them,” he says. "This wasn't just me and Jesse's win, it was a win for our community."

Looking back on the race, Braun says getting to visit so many charming small towns across Canada was one of the biggest highlights. “There are so many beautiful people, so many cool things to see, and it's just really worth it.”

Since his team’s big win, Braun has already returned to Gananoque, Ontario, with his family—the same town where he fell out of his canoe during the race. The town’s poet laureate, Gretchen Huntley, had promised Braun to write a poem for him if he won. “Getting to read that poem was just a really special moment as was going back to that town and sharing that moment with my family.”

Plans to take his trip around the world are on pause for the moment, as Braun says he’s excited to get back into the swing of things at the Migrant Workers Centre. “I'm so lucky that I get to provide free legal services to migrant workers for a living and help them fight for their rights,” says Braun. “That is such a privilege to be able to do that work.”

And even after all the excitement of competing and winning, Braun’s far from done with games. Since taking a break from hosting an annual Amazing Race–style game for charity, he’s looking forward to hosting a big game next year. “It gives you an opportunity to allow adults to be kids,” he says. “You focus on something that's not real life, build community, and just have fun.”