Canada's Handyman Challenge comes to Halifax

Three of TV's hunkiest handymen were in Halifax last week looking for contestants for next season's Canada's Handyman Challenge.

HGTV's Mike Holmes (Holmes on Homes and Holmes Inspection), Bryan Baeumler (Disaster DIY and House of Bryan) and Scott McGillivray (From the Ground Up, Debbie Travis' Facelift and Income Property), judged the talents of 46 handy wannabes at the Cunard Centre in Halifax, of which four will go on to compete in next season's show.

The Halifax-chosen contestants will compete against four finalists from Vancouver and four finalists from Toronto to ultimately become Canada's winning handyman or handywoman. The new series will be hosted by Jillian Harris from Season 5 of the Bachelorette.

Contestants were asked to arrive at the auditions with a portable, self-made project constructed out of a four by eight foot sheet of three-quarter inch plywood.

The three well-known judges were impressed with what they saw at the Halifax auditions.

"We were actually debating whether we'd come to Halifax and see a lot of lobster traps... but the truth is ... we're in trouble," Holmes said.

Baeumler agreed. " This is going to be a tough, tough competition," he said.

McGillivray said when you go out on casting calls like this, you never know what to expect.

"When you see the first three of four projects, what in other cities would have absolutely made it through, you start to get nervous because you start to think how many yeses are we going to have here," McGillivray said.

Holmes said imagination is key in this competition. "It really competes with their ability to make something."

Baeumler said whoever is picked to go the next round has already set a precedence that they have to maintain.

"When you come out of the gates sprinting you can't slow down," he said.

McGillivray said the projects presented during the auditions were built at the contestant's leisure. The real test will be to see how they work under pressure.

"When it gets to the next challenge where they only have a couple of hours, and they're up against their peers, all of a sudden you can be really surprised," he said.

Holmes said the new season of the show is generating a lot of interest among some very talented contestants. "They want to come play."

He said oftentime it's the wives that encourage their husbands to enter the competition.

This was not Holmes's first visit to Halifax.

"I've been here five or six times now, I love Halifax" Holmes said. "One of these days I'm going to rent a big boat and sit down at the pier for maybe a week or two."

Baeumler said his family is orignally from Coxheath, Cape Breton, and he's been to Nova Scotia many times over the years.

The new season of Canada's Handyman Challenge will air on HGTV in January or February.

kmoar@hfxnews.ca