Mercedes' George Russell left it to his last lap to take pole in Saturday's qualifying.
He pipped team-mate Kimi Antonelli by 0.068 seconds to take the top spot for the race.
"It is the most exhilarating feeling in the world when it comes at the last minute out of nowhere," he said over the radio.
Russell won the sprint race on Saturday, converting it from a pole position, but it did come with some drama. In Turn One on lap six, Antonelli tried to overtake Russell around the outside and ended up off the track.
Antonelli was quick on the radio but was told by Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff to stop "moaning".
Will Russell do the double this weekend in Canada? He'll want to make a clean start off the line and extend the gap from the rest of the pack.
Max Verstappen has threatened to quit Formula 1 at the end of this season if planned changes to the engine regulations for next year are blocked.
Governing body the FIA said two weeks ago that an agreement had been reached in principle to changes that would reduce the need for energy management with the new engines introduced this year.
But opposition has emerged in subsequent talks around the detail of the plan and there is currently not enough support for the move to be passed under F1's governance protocols.
"If it stays like this, it's going to be a long year next year, which I don't want," said Verstappen.
"It's just mentally not doable for me to stay like this. It's really not."
Verstappen confirmed that if he did decide to stop, he would not come back. "There's a lot of other fun things out there," he said.
Drivers have been complaining this year about the way the new engines, which have a nominal 50-50 split between internal combustion and electrical energy, have reduced their ability to drive on the limit at all times.
Four-time World Champion Max Verstappen qualified sixth for Sunday's race, just ahead of his team-mate Isack Hadjar.
Earlier this week, Verstappen said the planned changes to Formula 1's engine rules for next year would return racing "almost back to normal" and hinted he would stay in the sport as a result.
But he's threatened to quit if these changes are blocked.