Truth North, strong, and funny: Best Canadian comedies to watch when you’re chilling out

O Canada, O Canada — who knew our country has quite a sense of humour. 

There’s been plenty of well-known comedy shows based in the U.S. since television was introduced. In recent times, many of these series include big names such as The Big Bang Theory, SpongeBob SquarePants, and Saturday Night Live.

Even across the world, there’s other famous series known for their comedy such as Mr. Bean from the U.K. and Japan’s Spy x Family.

However, Canada isn’t lacking when it comes to getting laughs out of people. Believe it or not, there’s plenty of comedy series created here.

Notable names include This Hour Has 22 Minutes and Schitt’s Creek — and both offer plenty of ways to keep audiences entertained. There’s even some more niche gems, such as Being Ian, a cartoon series loosely based on the creator’s life in Burnaby that captures some crazy adventures along the way. 

For those wanting to get into Canadian comedy, I hope to provide something that piques your interest. 

Kim’s Convenience

Kim’s Convenience is about a Korean family trying to find their way around Canadian life. Based in Toronto, it seems like a run-of-the-mill family comedy show.

These types of comedies have been around for so many years. However, I feel like living in a Canadian city makes it different enough to get invested in what’s happening in the series. 

Sadly, it ended a few years ago, but I still think it’s worth recommending for people to watch. 

Just for Laughs Gags

Imagine Mr. Bean, but with a Canadian flavour. This is about as best as I can describe Just for Laughs Gags. Based in Quebec, this series has plenty of quick gags to prank people.

If anything, it’s still running, and for a series airing since 2000, there’s a lot of gags — just for laughs.

Yvon of the Yukon

Yvon of the Yukon is one of my favourite cartoon series of all time. I still watch some of the episodes every once in a while. The concept of a French person frozen for centuries to be thawed in modern, northern Canada is about as funny as you think it sounds. 

One of my favourite episodes in the show is when Yvon is left out in the cold. He somehow becomes child-like as he gets kidnapped by two men thinking he was a blue-skinned baby who lost his sanity. He gets fed some hot drink and comes back to his senses shortly after. In the midst of the panic, one of the men throws him back out into the snow to make Yvon cold and turn him back into acting like a child again.

I don’t know if I did the series justice with that explanation, but I recommend it if you like cartoons. 

Video On Trial

Admittedly, Video on Trial is one of the more controversial inclusions I have on the list. It isn’t because it’s not funny, as I’ve lost a lot of air in my lungs watching some of the episodes. It’s more about what’s being “joked” about in the show. 

At the expense of music videos, there’s people making jokes about what’s going on in them. How many of them are warranted or not is honestly up to the viewer.

I will say as someone watching this series growing up, it’s definitely dated and a product of its time, but it’s still enjoyable for those interested. 

North of North

The newest Canadian comedy on this list, North of North follows a single Inuk mom living in an Arctic town. I’ll admit it somewhat overlaps with Kim’s Convenience content-wise, but I still think it stands on its own.