THE INSTANT #1 BESTSELLER

At the end of his memoir Talking to Canadians, Rick Mercer was poised to make the biggest leap yet in his extraordinary career. Having overcome a serious lack of promise as a schoolboy and risen through the showbiz ranks—as an aspiring actor, star of a surprisingly successful one-man show about the Meech Lake Accord, co-founder of This Hour Has 22 Minutes, creator and star of the dark-comedy sitcom Made in Canada—he was about to tackle his biggest opportunity yet.

The Road Years picks up the story at that exciting point, with the greenlighting of what would become Rick Mercer Report. Plans for the show, of course, included political satire and Rick’s patented rants. But Rick and his partner, Gerald Lunz, were also determined to do something that comedy tends to avoid as too challenging: they would emphasize the positive. Rick would travel from coast to coast to coast in search of everything that’s best about Canada, especially its people. He found a lot to celebrate, naturally, and was rewarded with a huge audience and a run of 15 seasons.

The Road Years tells the inside story of that stupendous success. A time when Rick was heading to another town—or military base, sports centre, national park—to try dogsledding, chainsaw carving, and bear tagging; hang from a harness (a lot); ride the “Train of Death;” plus countless other joyous and/or reckless assignments.

Added to the mix were encounters with the country’s great. Every living prime minister. Rock and roll royalty from Rush to Randy Bachman. Olympians and Paralympians. A skinny-dipping Bob Rae. And Jann Arden, of course, who gets a chapter to herself. Along the way he even found the time to visit several countries in Africa and co-found and champion the charity Spread the Net, which has gone on to protect the lives of millions.

Join the celebration, and revive a wealth of happy memories, with what is Rick Mercer’s funniest, most fascinating book yet.

Rick Mercer's profile page

RICK MERCER co-created and performed on CBC’s This Hour Has 22 Minutes, created and starred in Made in Canada, and created and starred in Talking to Americans, the most-watched comedy special in Canadian television history. He went on to host the hugely successful Rick Mercer Report for 15 seasons. Rick was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2014 for his work with charitable causes and “his ability to inspire and challenge Canadians through humour.” In 2019, he received a Governor General’s Performing Arts Lifetime Artistic Achievement Award. His 2021 memoir, Talking to Canadians, won the Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour. He is from Middle Cove, Newfoundland and Labrador.

Longlisted for the 2024 Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour

"[The Road Years] tells the story of the success of The Rick Mercer Report and all the great encounters and other adventures that making the show allowed Rick Mercer to experience. It's a celebration of happy moments told in Mercer's trademark positivism and humour" —CBC Books

"A rollicking read. . . . Hilarious, honest and tender." —Literary Review of Canada