Political satirist and comedian Rick Mercer is the former star of CBC Television comedies This Hour Has 22 Minutes and the Rick Mercer Report.Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail
A comedian walks into a bar. A woman on a stool, out of nowhere, asks him if he’s running for office. “Would you vote for me?” he replies. She says she absolutely would.
The comedian is Rick Mercer, man of the Canadian people. The Newfoundlander is not running for office, but he’s just announced a cross-country stand-up tour that takes him from Vancouver to his hometown of St. John’s this fall. He does not need your vote, but buying a ticket would be appreciated.
We’ve settled into a booth at Allen’s, a New York-style whisky bar and popular restaurant on Toronto’s Danforth Avenue strip. He has a house in the neighbourhood (and one in Newfoundland); Allen’s is his local.
“I don’t come here to drink,” he says, gulping bottled water. “I will have the odd Scotch, though. And the curry is fantastic.”
Rick Mercer says he’s always celebrated Canada in his work, but he also has some thoughts about how we compare ourselves to Americans. He’s headed out on a cross-country tour called “Stand-Up for Canada.” (June 3, 2025)
The Canadian Press
Mercer, 55, is the beloved former star of CBC Television comedies This Hour Has 22 Minutes and, for 15 seasons, the satirical Rick Mercer Report. He’s wearing blue jeans and a black blazer with an Order of Canada pin and no tie. His curly hair is the same colour as the salt and pepper on the table.
The 21-city run of shows is called the Stand-Up for Canada Comedy Tour. Though we live in the “elbows-up” era of flag-waving these days, it’s nothing new for Mercer, who has never taken any threat to Canada sitting down.
“With my television show, every single week was about celebrating this country,” he says. “I’ve always asked what it means to be Canadian, but people are asking that question more than ever now.”
Rick Mercer shares his favourite Canadian destinations
Mercer believes celebrating the country doesn’t come natural to Canadians.
“Many times, writers on the show had a hard time adjusting,” he explains. “Their instinct as Canadians was to tear something down, which wasn’t what we were doing. We were building something up. It’s not radical, but for the longest time I felt I had the lane to myself.”
He says he isn’t sure about the material he’ll take on the road yet. “It’s a still few months out,” he reasons. “Things could change.”
Mercer is not wrong. Every day, it seems, is another chance for a tyrannical executive order or an annexation musing from U.S. President Donald Trump.
Hours before my interview with Mercer, U2 singer Bono said on Global TV that the “whole world is in awe” of Canada. The night before, U.S. singer-songwriting legend Paul Simon told his audience at Toronto’s Massey Hall that Canada was a “beacon in the darkness.”
Mercer isn’t buying the backslapping from rock stars and anyone else: “We have to be very careful. We’re a bit smug about America, always have been.”
To make his point he leans on his late friend, the actress Shirley Douglas, daughter of the crusading Saskatchewan premier Tommy Douglas. “She always said, anything that happens in the United States will happen in Canada, and that it is folly to think otherwise.”
The upcoming tour, Mercer makes clear, will not be about dunking on the major power to the south. The material will be on Canada, delivered by a comedian who travelled across the country from 2004 to 2018 for the weekly Rick Mercer Report.
“I have a very unique perspective on the country,” he says. “I travelled here so long, I’ve always said I knew the country like it’s my hometown. I know the coffee shops in Calgary, Regina and Saskatoon. Not many people can say that, but that was my job.”
Before we leave Allen’s, three men approach the booth. One from Newfoundland brings Mercer up to speed on the health of a mutual acquaintance. Another one asks about the Order of Canada pin. “It came with the coat,” Mercer cracks. The guy then asks the comedian why he got the honour. “Oh, I don’t know,” he answers. “For spreading mirth.”
A comedian walks out of a bar. Stop me if you’ve heard this one before.
Sign up for The Globe’s arts and lifestyle newsletters for more news, columns and advice in your inbox.
