Photo: Canadian Film Centre from Toronto, Canada via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
File No. 111588 · Adjudicated
Rick Mercer
Comedian — Rick Mercer Report, The Young and Prodigious T. S. Spivet, Bon Cop, Bad Cop
Born
1969
Birthplace
ST. JOHN'S, NEWFOUNDLAND
Citizenships
CA
Canadianness Score
🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁
5.0/ 5
Weighted across 2 scored criteria
Designation
Bleeds Maple Syrup 🍁
Born, raised, and still says “out for a rip” unironically.
Scorecard
Path A — born on Canadian soil
I. Origin
✓
Born on Canadian soil — yes
ST. JOHN'S, NEWFOUNDLAND
—
Canadian parentage — not scored
No Canadian parents on record
—
Citizenship on record — not scored
Automatic by birth
II. Residency
✓
Formative years spent in Canada — yes
Raised — Newfoundland
—
Lived in Canada by choice — not scored
Residency on record as an adult
—
Worked or filmed in Canada — not scored
Credits filed north of the 49th
III. Cultural evidence — not scored
Section III is recorded for the file only. Birth on Canadian soil already settles the matter.
—
Publicly claims to be Canadian — not scored
Says so, out loud
—
Canada claims them back — not scored
Claimed, enthusiastically
Fun fact
This Hour Has 22 Minutes ran a real campaign to get Stockwell Day's name legally changed to 'Doris' — Mercer's brand of satire has always had a habit of blurring into actual news.
The verdict
Spent decades as the voice of Canadian political satire, from This Hour Has 22 Minutes to The Rick Mercer Report, travelling to every corner of the country and turning national absurdities into shared laughs. Born and raised in St. John's, he's as Newfoundland as they come, which means he's extra Canadian. A national treasure who made being informed about Canadian politics actually entertaining, eh.
Adjudicated by
The Standings Committee
Status
Final — appealable
Related files
More from the files: Bleeds Maple Syrup 🍁 · Comedian
