The HouseGuests are continuously monitored during their stay in the house by live television cameras as well as personal audio microphones.

A live feed into the house was available for viewers to watch for free through the show's website, before being replaced by Digital Dailies in season 11.

Big Brother Canada is the first incarnation of the series to adopt the format used in the United States, which greatly differs from others.

The petition can be found at savebigbrothercanada.com [8] The Big Brother franchise was first seen in Canada in 2000, after Global acquired the rights to air the United States edition from CBS.

Global's then-parent company, Shaw Media, announced on May 30, 2012, that an English adaptation of the series would launch in Canada on the digital cable channel, Slice.

[11] The network later confirmed that live feeds from the Big Brother house would be available to Canadian viewers for free, unlike the subscription-based United States edition.

[1][9] Following the show's fifth season, it was announced by Global that the series had been placed on an indefinite hiatus for undisclosed reasons.

[21] Less than two months after the announcement, it was confirmed that the series would be returning for a sixth season in 2018 due to the large amount of fan support.

[25] Season 8 saw many series firsts for the Canadian franchise as two HouseGuests had to be removed due to a violation of house rules and production abruptly ended on March 24, 2020, due to the restrictions brought upon by the COVID-19 pandemic, culminating in a season finale airing on April 1, 2020, with no winner being proclaimed.

[27] Contestants have no access to phones, television, internet, magazines, newspaper, and are prohibited from contact with those not in the house.

[32][33] Unlike other versions of Big Brother, the HouseGuests may discuss the nomination and eviction process openly and freely.

The members of the jury remain sequestered from the outside world and usually live in a remote villa until Finale Night.

The jury are not shown any Diary Room interviews or any footage that may include strategy or details regarding nominations.

[44] Demetres Giannitsos and Dane Rupert hold the record for the most Head of Household wins in a single season with five,[45] while Kevin Martin, Adam Pike and combined HouseGuests Nick & Phil Paquette hold the record for most Power of Veto wins in a single season with four.

Giannitsos, Martin, Paquette brothers, Pike, and Rupert are all also tied for the most total competition wins in a single season, with seven each.

[51] The show was cancelled in 2017 prior to the fifth season of Big Brother Canada, and was replaced instead by a Facebook chat with Cox following each eviction episode.

^Note 8 : The eighth season was planned to run for 83 days but production had to end early due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Calum Marsh with National Post called the show "one of the most thrilling things on television" following the conclusion of the sixth season.

[58] The second season reached more than 6.4 million viewers during its run, becoming the number one specialty reality program of the year in key demographics.

[65] The series has received criticism for issues such as blocking the live feeds from viewers for long periods of time and for being seemingly "over-produced".