User blog comment:Raised By Wolves/Character Analysis – Courtney/@comment-29999497-20170104044616/@comment-5231983-20170104045150

Taking out Courtney out of the first 12 episodes and replacing her with Ezekiel would have been a poor decision in my opinion; the trials that Courtney puts her team through (specifically Duncan, DJ, Harold, Tyler and Bridgette) benefit them well and give them a lot of positive development to head their characters in the right direction. In that sense, Courtney can almost be considered a catalyst for development, along with herself developing. She's easily one of the most versatile Total Drama characters, and you'll see this in later seasons – specifically Total Drama Action and the second half of Total Drama World Tour. Had Ezekiel stayed, some contestants would not have had a great interaction source, and Duncan wouldn't have a love interest (unless he develops a crush on another girl on his team, like Katie).

I'm pretty sure it was Duncan since he makes a remark toward Ezekiel during the elimination ceremony ("Dude, you got a lot to learn about the real world"). Although, Duncan didn't seem too fond of Courtney either, blatantly favoriting DJ over her.