Rick Mercer

Richard Vincent Mercer was born on October 17, 1969, in St. John's, Newfoundland, and raised in Middle Cove. He is a Canadian comedian, television personality, political satirist, and author. He is best known for his work on the CBC Television comedy series This Hour Has 22 Minutes and Rick Mercer Report.

Mercer attended Macdonald Drive Elementary and later left Prince of Wales Collegiate in St. John's before completing his diploma requirements. As a teenager, he was a member of the Royal Canadian Sea Cadets. He first achieved national attention in 1990 through his satirical political stage show Show Me the Button: I'll Push It (or Charles Lynch Must Die), performed at Ottawa's National Arts Centre. He followed this in 1992 with his second popular touring stage show, I've Killed Before, I'll Kill Again.

In 1992, Mercer collaborated with Cathy Jones, Mary Walsh, and Greg Thomey to create the CBC Television comedy series This Hour Has 22 Minutes. During his time on the show, Mercer became recognized for his direct-to-camera political rants and the comedic street-interview segment Talking to Americans. In 2001, he co-produced a Talking to Americans television special that drew 2.7 million Canadian viewers. That same year, he left 22 Minutes to focus on Made in Canada, a sitcom satire of the television production industry that he co-created and which ran from 1998 to 2003.

Mercer launched a new CBC series, Rick Mercer's Monday Report, in January 2004. Moving to Tuesday nights in 2005, the show was renamed The Rick Mercer Report and featured prominent political, arts, and sports figures until concluding its 15th season in April 2018. Mercer's other television and film projects include hosting It Seems Like Yesterday, launching Comedy Night with Rick Mercer in 2022, guest-starring on Republic of Doyle, and appearing in feature films such as Secret Nation and Bon Cop, Bad Cop.

In addition to his television career, Mercer is an accomplished author. He has published several bestselling books compiled from his shows and rants, including Streeters in 1998, Rick Mercer Report: The Book in 2007, A Nation Worth Ranting About in 2012, and Rick Mercer Final Report in 2018. He also authored a two-part memoir consisting of Talking to Canadians in November 2021 and The Road Years in October 2023.

Over his career, Mercer has received more than 25 Gemini Awards, the Sir Peter Ustinov Comedy Award, and the Lifetime Artistic Achievement Award from the Governor General's Performing Arts Awards. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2014 and a Member of the Order of Newfoundland and Labrador in 2023. He has been involved with various charitable efforts, including serving as co-chair for the Spread the Net campaign and as an honorary patron of Hope Air. He lives as an out gay man and has been with his spouse, television producer Gerald Lunz, since 1990.