Aurora Matrix watched herself perform as Mayor Olivia Chow on Canada's Drag Race All Stars

Aurora Matrix, a Toronto drag queen, channelled Mayor Olivia Chow for the Snatch Game on Canada's Drag Race All Stars, and the real Chow showed up to watch.

The episode, titled "Win To Get In," aired Aug. 6 on Crave TV. The Snatch Game is the show's signature celebrity impersonation comedy challenge, where queens competing for a $100,000 prize and the title of "Canada's Ultimate All-Star" must channel famous figures.

Matrix's Chow impersonation drew from what the drag queen considers Chow's defining traits: fun, bubbly, energetic. "I really wanted to bring her joy and her happiness into the snatch game," Matrix explained. "Obviously, I did more of a caricature of who Olivia Chow is, but the essence of her fun and excitable energy is what really inspired me to play her as a character."

Matrix pulled an exaggerated accent and strong physical comedy — drag conventions — to amplify Chow's "big smiles" and the "joy that always radiates from her" beneath the seriousness of the role.

The full-circle moment came when Chow's office requested an invitation to the episode's viewing party at Crews & Tangos on Church and Wellesley. Matrix was shocked when the mayor actually appeared.

"Actually sitting next to her watching the Snatch Game dressed as her was a complete out-of-body experience," Matrix said. "I was so ecstatic and so excited."

Matrix framed the impersonation as a love letter to Toronto's mayor — a tribute to Chow's public support for queer arts and drag culture. "Yes, I'm doing an impersonation, but it really all comes from love and comes from a place of respect. Just seeing her celebrating the Queers in Canada, in Toronto, I wanted to do the same and celebrate her on All Stars," Matrix shared.