Ika started out her game relatively strong during her stay, despite being nominated for eviction the first week. She stayed with no votes against. During Week 3, Ika won her first Head of Household competition and was the first woman of the season to do so. During this time, Ika and the rest of the women in the house targeted Heather Decksheimer for eviction. Unbeknownst to Ika and her women's alliance, both Sarah Miller and Sabrina Abbate were members of the dominating First Five alliance and were targeting Paul Jackson for eviction. Ika's Head of Household reign proved to be disastrous, as Paul was evicted due to Sarah's vote against, and the close 6-4 vote alienated Ika from outsider Heather. Ika's disastrous reign as Head of Household caused the beginning of the end for her, as the First Five targeted her for eviction the following week due to being seen as a strong and uncontrollable player. During Week 4, First Five member Sabrina convinced Head of Household Rachelle Diamond to backdoor Ika, sealing Ika's fate. While nominated, Ika won the opportunity to either take $5,000 or give her fellow houseguests letters from home. She chose the former. Ika was voted out in an 8-1 vote, with only fellow outsider Adel Elseri voting to keep her.
When Ika returned in season 5, her game was much repaired and polished than her first time. She notably formed strong relationships throughout the house, forming a vets alliance and alinging herself and eventually becoming a showmance with competition threat Demetres Giannistos. Together, she formed The Six with four other returnees, while also aligning herself with the likes of Cassandra, Gary, and The French Connection. The two played the middle from the start, aligning with and evicting the targets of The Six until the double eviction, where Ika headlined the blindside of alliance member Neda Kalantar. After that, Ika and Demetres continued their power reign with Demetres winning competitions and Ika relying on her social and manipulative gameplay to advance the two. Her strengths in the two areas brought her to the final four, where she was the victim of the sole vote of veto winner Kevin Martin, resulting in her coming in 4th place and becoming the 8th member of the Jury.
Despite her initally short stay, Ika is one of the most popular Canadian houseguests due to her sassy personality and shredding of her fellow houseguests' letters in exchange for $5,000, which is often considered one of the most memorable moments of Big Brother history. Once she returned, Ika's reputation shifted to one of respect toward her gameplay, with former houseguests and fans alike naming her one of of the best houseguests to play Big Brother Canada due to her strong relationships and manipulative ability without winning a single competition.
