Canada’s political satire torch continues to burn

By Connor Atkinson

​

Television history was made on Oct. 8, 1993, when an audience of hundreds filed into CBC’s studio in Halifax.

The crowd sat in on the first taping of a six-episode tester for the comedy phenomenon, This Hour Has 22 Minutes. Now in its 25th year, Canada’s first satirical news programming maintains its legacy.

Cory Gibson, field producer for the show, says that the program operates differently as the times change.

“The show had a cast of unknown people. They could approach politicians unbeknownst to them,” Gibson says. “Security is different now. You can’t roll up to Parliament Hill whenever you want. With politicians, some are apprehensive about speaking. We’ve become almost the same as regular media in how we approach an interview.”

Canada’s political satire continues to thrive decades later, by-way of the The Beaverton. The outlet began in 2010 as a light, satirical dose of daily news inspired by The Onion. Founder Lauren Noonan created the publication as a labor of love while studying at the University of Toronto.

The site had little viral appeal initially, but has since grown in popularity. It is now one of the top destinations for satirical articles about Canadian and world issues, and has also grown into a television series. The second season aired on the Comedy Network and CTV in November.

​

Gibson says the fame of 22 Minutes came from Canadians being willing to laugh at themselves.

“Canadians get a reputation for thinking we’re ahead of other countries. Our comedy is pointed back at society,” Gibson says.

​

On the other hand, Beaverton editor Alex Huntley credits their success to taking on taboo issues that other people won’t talk about.

“From indigenous issues, sexual assault, government… other programs had that void. We consider taking a critical look, stopping the gentle ripping and being friends in the end- it’s a less apologetic stance,” Huntley says. “It’s seemingly anti-Canadian to not be apologetic, but that’s what The Beaverton does. It fills that void of being loud and opinionated and other times just plain stupid. It takes on more of a dark and biting perspective in Canadian satire.”

That friendly, apologetic approach to satire is ultimately what inspired The Beaverton. Mercer and This Hour Has 22 Minutes were lacking in punch, while Huntley and company “punched up”, in an attempt to deconstruct the power of Canadian politicians.

Luke Gordon Field, the editor-in-chief at The Beaverton says he was “co-raised by Jon Stewart.” Stewart’s opinionated, pointed satire was influential in the publication’s formative years of creating diverse commentary that brings strength to satire. 

​

“We don’t do it right all of the time. We’re not worried about offending people, as long as they’re the people we intended to offend,” Field says. “You can’t have an entire room of straight, white dudes commenting on the subject of race or sexuality without hearing from people in those communities.” 

In a time of outlandish personas like Donald Trump and Justin Trudeau, Huntley feels the jokes can often write themselves. Outlets like Twitter give a voice to millions of people, but The Beaverton always strives to be original.

22 Minutes films in front of an audience of 200 every Monday. Although it is a small sample size for the nation, Gibson says that if any of their humor is uninspired or off the mark, he will “hear the groans, or even worse, the silence.”

“It’s a very collaborative room between the writers, directors and producers. We are basically shooting at a 2:1 ratio for what’s shot and goes to air,” Gibson says. “Surely there’s stuff that wouldn’t play as well now as it did in the past. I think that would be true for any comedy troupe or satirical outlet. That’s part of culture and society changing for the better.”

​

“Humor can be considered generational. I think it’s good that 22 Minutes, Rick Mercer and CBC Comedy are around. They provide to their audience. I think we’re appealing to a generation that is sick of a nation-building project. We look critically at the government, Canadian media and society, instead of just rounding off and making a generic joke about maple syrup or hockey,” Huntley says.

​

As to whether The Beaverton’s humor will age with the times, Huntley refers to The Onion’s book Our Dumb Century. “Clinton Deploys Very Special Forces To Iraq” offensively digs at disabled people, but was not critiqued as harshly in 1999.

While some content might be deemed offensive, Huntley believes The Beaverton is often conscious of the future, and their material will still be funny years from now.

“It’s good to question whether comedy can even be contemporary. It changes, just as values do.”