Off Duty is a series of lively conversations with influential people, from CEOs to celebrities, on life, work and the art of taking time off.
Rick Mercer's new book charismatically chronicles his 15 years travelling the country and filing lively reports on Canadian places and people – some celebrated, some obscure.Illustration by Photo illustration by The Globe
You say “off the air,” and Rick Mercer says “potato.”
Since he took his long-running Rick Mercer Report off the CBC Television airwaves in 2018, the born-and-raised Newfoundlander has released two memoirs (including this month’s The Road Years) and, among other things, learned how to grow spuds.
His new book charismatically chronicles his 15 years travelling the country and filing lively reports on Canadian places and people – some celebrated, some obscure. Mercer spoke with The Globe and Mail about boat races, desert island albums and, yes, his growing interest in vegetable gardens.
Rick Mercer Report has been off the air for five years. Is it possible that you miss travelling, and that your new book is just an excuse to do a book tour?
Well, with my last book, Talking to Canadians, because of the pandemic there was no book tour. But there is one with The Road Years, and, yes, I’m looking forward to it. I’m good at being on the road – I know how to do it. Some of the stops on this tour are solo events and some are with Jann Arden, which will be a gas. But I’m also worried, because every time I call her to ask what we’re going to do, she says, “I’m not worried at all,” and then she changes the subject.
Were there places you visited for the program that you knew you’d want to get back to for a longer stay some day?
Many times. I have a bucket list of places I want to visit. Take Tofino, B.C. I was there working, but I promised I would return. Parts of Alberta as well – the foothills struck me as incredible. I’d like to ride a horse through there. And one of the great things that happened to me in my career was that I got to visit the far north a number of times. But never long enough. Any Canadian that ever gets an opportunity to go to Iqaluit, for example, should absolutely do it.
Where would you send a foreigner for the ultimate Canadian experience?
The Royal St. John’s Regatta, in my home province. The entire city heads down to the side of Quidi Vidi Lake to watch the boat races, drink and play games of chance. What’s interesting is that it’s a municipal holiday, entirely contingent on the weather. Early in the morning, three civilians walk down to the water’s edge and stick their thumbs in the air to decide whether the wind is favourable enough to have the races. If it’s favourable, everybody has the day off. If it’s not, everybody has to go to work. So, the night before, people stay up and party, having no idea if they have to go to work the next day. It is completely absurd.
How dramatic was the change in lifestyle when you retired the show?
Very. People talk about a work-life balance, but I didn’t have one. It was all-encompassing, which was fine, because 90 per cent of the days were a blast. I don’t think many people enjoy their jobs as much as I was enjoying mine. The show had a sizeable staff, though. There was the responsibility for 40 people and that kind of payroll. Suddenly you no longer have that responsibility and you no longer have a job that requires you to be on the road. So, it was huge. But I have no regrets. And it wasn’t me just sitting at home. Among other things, it allowed me to write.
Do you think the country misses people like you and the late Stuart McLean, who week after week told uniquely Canadian stories?
It’s much harder to create that kind of thing today, and it’s certainly harder to punch through as an individual. But I listen to Tom Power on CBC Radio One’s Q. I think he’s a great voice, and I think he’s going to be around for a long time.
You live in Toronto, but where is your happy place?
It’s a cabin on the Avalon Peninsula, not far from St. John’s. I actually designed it with an old girlfriend of mine. I found it one of the most creatively satisfying things I’ve ever done in a very, very long time. And it was nothing like what I’ve ever done before, because I can’t draw a straight line.
You mention a lot of musicians in the book. What do you listen to? What are your three desert island albums?
I’m all over the board, but singer-songwriters are my fall-back – Neil, Joni, Ron Sexsmith, William Prince, Hawksley Workman. My desert island albums are Joni Mitchell’s Blue, Ron Hynes’s Cryer’s Paradise and the Tragically Hip’s Fully Completely. You didn’t ask for an all-Canadian desert island list, but that’s what it would be anyway.
Do you play any instruments?
No, I’m not musically inclined at all. I grew up in a house with a piano, and I resented that piano because my parents had this notion that they wouldn’t bring a television into the house until they could afford the piano. They didn’t have any money, so it took them forever. I did try to play the drums, though, and I can hold a basic beat.
Any hobbies or passions you’ve picked up lately?
I grew potatoes this summer. I have a vegetable garden, and a couple weeks ago I was down on the beach collecting kelp and putting in my new raised beds. So, in the spring, I’ll be ready to plant even more vegetables. And it won’t just be potatoes this time.
This interview has been edited and condensed.