Rick Mercer

Richard Vincent "Rick" Mercer (born October 17, 1969) is a Canadian comedian, television personality, political satirist, and author.

He is best known for his work on the CBC Television comedy shows This Hour Has 22 Minutes and Rick Mercer Report.

He is the author of four books based on content from the shows and a memoir, Talking to Canadians, published on November 2, 2021.

Mercer has received more than 25 Gemini Awards for his work on television.

Mercer first came to national attention in 1990 when he created and presented his one-man stage show Show Me the Button, I'll Push It, or Charles Lynch Must Die at the National Arts Centre's Atelier in Ottawa.

A satirical political commentary on Canadian life after Meech Lake, Show Me the Button made Mercer a national star as he toured the show across Canada.

In 1992, he created and performed his second stage show, I've Killed Before, I'll Kill Again at the National Arts Centre's Studio Theatre, which also became a popular touring show.

In 1992, he began to work with former CODCO members Cathy Jones and Mary Walsh, and fellow Newfoundlander Greg Thomey, to create a new television series for CBC Television which became This Hour Has 22 Minutes.

In the first eight seasons of 22 Minutes, Mercer provided some of the show's signature moments, including an Internet petition (on the 22 Minutes website) to force Canadian Alliance leader Stockwell Day to change his first name to Doris.

The website used for the petition was later repurposed as a way to have Canadians send Christmas cards to peacekeepers in Bosnia.

In 1998, he published a book, Streeters, which compiled many of his most famous 22 Minutes rants.

It became a national bestseller.

Mercer co-created the series Made in Canada, which ran for five seasons on CBC Television from 1998 to 2003.

The show was a fast-paced situation comedy which self-referentially satirized the Canadian TV production industry, often drawing from details of its own production companies and including thinly veiled parodies of contemporary programs.

It was syndicated abroad as The Industry and won several Gemini Awards (which were themselves satirized in subsequent episodes).

Mercer hand delivered these to the troops in a December 2000 special.

Mercer made international headlines in 2000 when he pulled a Talking to Americans stunt on then-presidential candidate George W. Bush.

He successfully got Bush to answer questions about non-existent Canadian Prime Minister "Jean Poutine".

This was his last major project related to 22 Minutes—at the end of the 2000–2001 season, he announced his departure from that show to focus on his other television show, Made in Canada.

Talking to Americans was nominated for a Gemini Award, but following the 9/11 attacks, Mercer declined the nomination.

In 2001, following an incident in which an aide to federal MP Rahim Jaffer posed as the politician in a radio interview, Mercer performed a parody rap based on Eminem's "The Real Slim Shady", with the lyrics "Will the real Rahim Jaffer please stand up?

Mercer's two-minute "rants", in which he would speak directly to the camera about a current political issue, shot in a style similar to those Denis Leary used in MTV commercials, quickly became the show's signature segment.

In 2001, Mercer co-produced a CBC special based on Talking to Americans, which attracted 2.7 million Canadian viewers—the highest-rated television special in Canadian history.

Later, the respected ABC News program Nightline would devote a show to it.

In 2003, Made in Canada ended its run, and Mercer began to work on a new CBC series, Rick Mercer's Monday Report.

Also in 2003, Mercer went to Afghanistan to visit the Canadian troops stationed there, resulting in the television special Christmas in Kabul.

Despite reports of a long-standing feud Mercer invited Walsh to appear on Monday Report as a special guest to promote her own series Hatching, Matching and Dispatching.

At the end of its second season, Monday Report was the highest rated arts and entertainment show on the CBC.

Former Prime Minister Paul Martin gave him a private tour of 24 Sussex Drive and former New Democratic Party leader Ed Broadbent made snow angels with Mercer on Parliament Hill.

Other prominent guests were NDP leader Jack Layton (who was Mercer's own MP); Conservative Party leader Stephen Harper (former Prime Minister); Green Party leader Elizabeth May; then-Conservative MP Belinda Stronach; Conservative MP Peter MacKay; former Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Danny Williams; Olympic gold medallist Kyle Shewfelt; author Pierre Berton; recording artists Jann Arden, Bif Naked, Rush, bassist Geddy Lee, drummer and lyricist Neil Peart, and Sarah McLachlan; publishing mogul Conrad Black; and former prime minister Jean Chrétien.

Bush was not amused at the time, but he did make a joking reference to this incident during his visit to Canada in 2004.

In the same US election campaign, Mercer asked Democratic candidate Al Gore to promise to visit the "Canadian capital city" of Toronto after his election.

Gore did not question Mercer's incorrect identification of the capital of Canada.

Similar in format to 22 Minutes and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, the show debuted in January 2004.

In 2007 he published his second book, Rick Mercer Report: The Book.

In November 2010, Mercer contributed a rant he had previously recorded in 2007 on the subject of the bullying of gay and lesbian teens in high schools to Dan Savage's It Gets Better Project.

One of Mercer's comedy routines on 22 Minutes was Talking to Americans, in which he would travel to a major American city or institution and conduct on-the-street interviews with Americans on topics such as Canadian politics and weather, using the subject's ignorance about Canada for comedic effect.

One famous example saw Mercer asking Americans' opinion on whether Canada should change its "20 Hour Clock" to the 24-hour one used by the United States.

He received approval from citizens and from the Governor of Iowa, Tom Vilsack.

On another occasion he got the support of Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee in calling on Canadians to save the "National Igloo".