‘Big Brother Canada 4’ finale exclusive: Joel Lefevre dives into strategy, talks Tim vs. Cassandra and much more

We had a chance to speak briefly with Joel Lefrevre following his eviction from the “Big Brother Canada” house a little bit earlier this season, but he’s one of the players we wanted to speak to again without the limitations that have to be done during the season to preserve the integrity of the game.

Below, Joel gives us more of his take on what he believes to be a lackluster final two, talks about his biggest mistake upon reflection, and also explains his fears of being labeled as another Steve or Ian in the game. (As a reminder, you can check out all of our interviews from the “Big Brother Canada” finale by heading over to the link here.)

CarterMatt – So how are you starting to get used to life outside of the house again?

Joel Lefevre – It’s been a bit of a learning curve for sure. It’s taken me a little bit of time to separate myself from the game, because I felt like I was in such a great position, and a position where if I had gotten to the end, I would have won the game against anyone I was with. It’s still sort of sinking in that I felt like I was in a good spot, and playing a winner’s game. That’s been difficult to let go of.

At the same time, you’re in there for so long that it is hard to take yourself out of it. It was also a disappointing thing to see the final two that were left. It was not the final two that I wanted, and I don’t feel like they were the most deserving. One of the biggest challenges of being out of the house was knowing that I was so close to winning, but at the same time having people who I didn’t think were the most deserving get there.

I’ll say this, Joel — when you were putting your key in you certainly had some of the fiercest remarks when you were talking about the impact of luck on this game. When you are in the game, how do you prepare for something like luck playing such an enormous role?

Definitely for me I knew there was going to be a lot of twists this season, as well as a lot of things beyond our control. I think the best way that I knew how to play it was the way that I played in the house: Try to be in with a lot of people. Not necessarily try to make a million alliances with everybody, but play with everybody, show a lot of vulnerability, and show I really cared about people. That is a quality that helped me a lot in the game that had people gravitate towards me. That didn’t necessarily make people want to work with me and go all the way to the end, but I think everybody felt like I was just a good-hearted, trustworthy person. That helped me guard against specific twists, like Kelsey going back into the house. Everybody throughout my HoH reign thought it was Loveita’s move, that I was a sweet guy and I couldn’t pull the trigger on that. I thought ‘sure, let Loveita take the heat for it. That means less blood on my hands, and I can go back in the shadows and be okay in the weeks to come.’ It’s one thing to make a big move in the game; it’s another to, once your Head of Household reign comes to an end, find a way to be safe, and make sure that you’re in with everybody and that they don’t see you as a great strategic player or someone without a villainous side to them.

I was worried about this with you going into the game: You’re a longtime fan of the show with glasses, and of course that’s been a winning archetype with people like Ian and Steve. I can relate, being a big-time fan of the show who also has glasses. How were you able to avoid being a target from that?

That was one of my biggest fears. I knew from the outside that I was going to be labeled with the likes of Steve and Ian. I think for me, I was fortunate in that there wasn’t a lot of superfans who were in this season, so a little of people didn’t know who the likes of Steve and Ian were. At the same time, I tried to do some things that were different than Ian and Steve. I tried to always deflect from [the perception] that I was a super-smart guy. I played it off like I was just quirky, like not being able to pop the champagne cork early this season. That was kind of a dunce moment for me.

So I think just me showing that side, and also me being a lot more open and talkative with people. People like Ian and Steve weren’t as talkative as I was or as sociable. I can see a lot of similar comparisons between myself and Steve and Ian, but I think there are a lot of differences. I played up in the house that I’m Joel; this is why I’m different and not a threat in the game. And it worked for a really long time.

Now that you’ve had some time to think about, is there one thing you believed caused your undoing in the game?

It was not just coming to a decision. Once I got to final five, I didn’t put my foot down and say ‘this is the path I’m going to go.’ I didn’t say ‘my loyalties are with the brothers’ or ‘my loyalties are with the freakshow. I’m going to just go with that side.’ Or, ‘I’m just going to go to sleep and get to the end that way.’ I didn’t just make a decision; I still kept playing the middle ground and floating around. I should have put my foot down and say ‘I’m with the Freakshow,’ and that was my mistake in the game.

Also, once I got to final six, final five, I shouldn’t have gone and tried to solidified final twos with a bunch of people. I told Kelsey and the brothers consistently that I wanted to be in the final two with them. I could have done what I did the whole time, and that is not necessarily make deals with everybody, but cozy up to people and be really friendly with people.

If it was Tim versus Cassandra in the end, who would have won?

My vote would’ve gone to Cassandra. I think Tim would’ve gotten most of the votes, but Cassandra was loyal to me and played as strong and as social of a game as Tim did and lasted from the very beginning of the game, day one all the way to the end.

What’s next? What’re you looking forward to doing?

I think the first thing that I’m looking forward to doing is eat real food on a consistent basis, something I didn’t get to do a lot of in the house. Sleep in a warm bed, and not just have the paranoia with so many people in separate rooms. It’s a very stressful experience, so I’m looking to just have a relaxing experience for a while before going back to work and everyday life.

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