Pellerin: Ron James thinks Ottawa is funny — so it must be

Did you hear the one about the public servant's workday? Ron James swears Ottawan audiences love it. And he loves us.

Published Oct 18, 2024  •  Last updated 2 minutes ago  •  3 minute read

Comedian Ron James is at Centrepointe next week. RONJAMES.CA

Comedian Ron James is performing at the Meridian Theatres at Centrepointe on Oct. 24 as part of his “Not Nearly Done Yet” tour and what better opportunity for me to have a great conversation with a smart, funny and keenly observant Canadian about politics, the role of comedy and what makes Ottawa special. I suggest you buckle up.

The man who’s been dubbed Canada’s number one road warrior has driven all over everywhere, even more than I have, which is saying something. The son of a “feisty little Newfoundlander who could really rattle off a joke” and a Cape Breton mother who’s still making people chuckle at 92, he agrees with that other legendary Canadian comic, Dan Aykroyd, that funny is genetic.

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There’s no denying his ability to surprise you by making you laugh at absurdities you hadn’t even noticed were right there in your face.

James does a tour every other year, and with each iteration he brings stories and perspectives on news, and shares his views about our slightly dysfunctional political culture.

He says he often gets asked whether it’s true that people from the Maritimes are funnier than other Canadians. We — an East Coaster living in Toronto and a transplanted Quebecer — would agree Ottawans can be funny, too. But the humour around here is usually, well, tamer.

Except, I suppose, for this week’s disturbing revelation that we have a collection of unexploded Second World War ordnance near the Mer Bleue hiking trails, popular with families and children. I didn’t think the Department of National Defence was into hilarious historical guffaws like that. Any other pranks we should know about?

As James says, “a comedian’s job is to connect the dots in the chaos we’re walking through so that people can process the daily trauma of the life journey in the language of laughs.” So … does this mean we can crack jokes about bombs in the bog?

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No? That’s too bad but it won’t stop any comedian, or columnist, worth their saltshaker. “One of the pillars of comedy is to speak truth to power,” James said. “And to rock the apple cart, not ride in it.” Coming from a working-class background and having “majored in binge drinking and minored in hash knives,” may have contributed to his irreverence. Unless that, too, is hereditary. In his book, All Over the Map, there are quotations from his family members that, while deliciously funny, are thoroughly not repeatable in a family newspaper.

I’ve been in this town now for 24 years and, like every long-term transplant, I’m starting to feel a little bit Ottawashed. I wanted to ask Ron James what we locals are missing. How are we fun? I mean, we are, right?

It’s not just federal politics or the presence of lobbyists anywhere there’s a free drink to be had. “You’re so close to the seat of power that it must permeate every aspect of your life,” he says with what I can only describe as sympathy, before launching into a joke about why public servants can’t look out the window in the morning.

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Because they’d have nothing to do in the afternoon. He swears people in Ottawa laugh at that one.

There’s also the classic story of finding himself at the end of a show once, around 10 p.m. during Winterlude, and not being able to find chicken wings and beer anywhere … except in a bar on the Quebec side. We weary locals might find that one more wince than haha.

But seriously, what we tend to forget is people’s generosity of spirit. And our good humour. Ron James likes being in Ottawa knowing that no matter what political opinions people have, in the theatre they can all enjoy a laugh together, despite how fractured and polarized our world can be.

“From my perspective,” he says — with no trace of irony but much affection — “it’s a cool town.”

Brigitte Pellerin (they/them) is an Ottawa writer.

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