Rick Mercer

The Rick Mercer Report

In 2003, Made in Canada ended its run, and Mercer began to work on a new CBC series,

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

In 2017, it was announced that the Rick Mercer Report would end production after its 15th season; the last episode aired on April 10, 2018.[11]

Other film and television work

Mercer has hosted It Seems Like Yesterday, which examines pop-culture from the 1950s to the 1980s. He has appeared in a few films, including Secret Nation, Understanding Bliss, How to Be Deadly and Bon Cop, Bad Cop.

In 2022, he launched Comedy Night with Rick Mercer, a CBC Television series showcasing stand-up comedy performances by emerging Canadian comedians.^[12]

Books

A book by Mercer, Rick Mercer Report: The Book, based on his television program, was published on September 25, 2007, by Doubleday Canada. This was Mercer's first book since Streeters of 1998, and contained a collection of Mercer's rants from the first four seasons of Rick Mercer Report, together with moments from interviews for the program and other writings by Mercer. On CBC Radio's Sounds Like Canada on September 21, Shelagh Rogers said of the book that "it's the most fun I've had in bed in a long time." The book entered the Globe and Mail books chart on October 6 at number three. It was number one in the Globe bestseller list in the week before Christmas 2007, and reprinted eight times.

An expanded and updated paperback version of Rick Mercer Report: The Book, called Rick Mercer Report: The Paperback Book, was published by Anchor Canada on September 16, 2008, and immediately entered the top ten of the Globe and Mail bestseller list. It has been reprinted several times.

Mercer's next book, A Nation Worth Ranting About, was published by Doubleday Canada on September 18, 2012. It was also a bestseller.^[13]

Rick Mercer Final Report was published by Doubleday Canada in 2018.^[14][15]

Talking to Canadians: A Memoir was published by Doubleday Canada on November 2, 2021.^[16]

The Road Years: A Memoir Continued was published by Doubleday Canada on October 31, 2023.^[17]

Awards

Mercer has received more than 25

In 2007, he was named honorary colonel of the Royal Canadian Air Force's 423 Maritime Helicopter Squadron, based at CFB Shearwater in Shearwater, Nova Scotia.^[23]

On June 30, 2014, Mercer was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada by David Johnston, Governor General of Canada, for "his ability to inspire and challenge Canadians through humour" and his work with charitable causes.^[24] He was formally invested into the Order in a ceremony at Rideau Hall on September 23, 2015.^[25] The same year, he was inducted into the Canadian Disability Hall of Fame.^[26] In 2019, Mercer received the Lifetime Artistic Achievement Award as part of the Governor General's Performing Arts Awards.^[27]

His memoir Talking to Canadians was the winner of the 2022 Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour.^[28]

In 2023, he was appointed a Member of the Order of Newfoundland and Labrador.^[29]

Spokesperson and endorsements

Mercer is co-chair, along with Belinda Stronach, in the Spread the Net campaign, partnered through UNICEF, which kicked off at Brock University on September 10, 2008. Spread the Net provides bed nets for $10 each to prevent the spread of malaria among children in Africa.

In December 2004, Mercer appeared on the commercials advertising the

In September 2005, Mercer became the national spokesperson for the 2005 Walk For Life, a series of 132 fund-raising walks across Canada that raise money for people living with HIV and AIDS. The Walk for Life is a project of the Canadian AIDS Society.

Mercer has narrated an animated science video on climate change for Science North in Sudbury.

In November 2010, Mercer joined the

Since 2011, Mercer has been honorary patron of Hope Air, a charity that provides free non-emergency medical flights for people in financial need.^[30]

Personal life

Mercer was born in St. John's, Newfoundland and raised in Middle Cove. His mother, Patricia Cook, is a nurse and his father, Kenneth Mercer, is an executive in the fisheries ministry.^[31] Growing up he attended Macdonald Drive Elementary and dropped out of Prince of Wales Collegiate in St. John's before completing his diploma requirements. He was a member of the Royal Canadian Sea Cadets during his teen years.

Mercer's spouse since 1990 is television producer Gerald Lunz. Although the romantic relationship came first, Lunz is also Mercer's long-time partner in business, who discovered him, fostered his career, and was the executive producer of Rick Mercer Report. He regards his personal life as private and says little about it in public beyond acknowledging that he is gay;