Editing Rick Mercer (section)

====''Talking to Americans''====
{{main|Talking to Americans}}
One of Mercer's comedy routines on ''22 Minutes'' was ''[[Talking to Americans]]'', in which he would travel to a major American city or institution and conduct on-the-street interviews with Americans on topics such as Canadian politics and weather, using the subject's ignorance about Canada for comedic effect. One famous example saw Mercer asking Americans' opinion on whether Canada should change its "20 Hour Clock" to the 24-hour one used by the United States. He received approval from citizens and from the Governor of Iowa, [[Tom Vilsack]]. On another occasion he got the support of [[Arkansas]] Governor [[Mike Huckabee]] in calling on Canadians to save the "National Igloo".

Mercer made international headlines in 2000 when he pulled a ''Talking to Americans'' stunt on then-presidential candidate [[George W. Bush]]. He successfully got Bush to answer questions about non-existent Canadian Prime Minister "Jean [[Poutine]]".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/22-minutes-star-pulls-prank-on-george-w-bush-1.212339|title=22 Minutes star pulls prank on George W. Bush|publisher=CBC|date=2000-03-22|accessdate=2022-04-21}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB951954624643262149|title=George W. Bush gets ambushed by comic in another name gaffe|first=Julian|last=Beltrame|publisher=Wall Street Journal|date=2000-03-02|accessdate=2022-04-21}}</ref> Bush was not amused at the time, but he did make a joking reference to this incident during his visit to Canada in 2004. In the same US election campaign, Mercer asked Democratic candidate [[Al Gore]] to promise to visit the "Canadian capital city" of [[Toronto]] after his election. Gore did not question Mercer's incorrect identification of the capital of Canada.

In 2001, Mercer co-produced a CBC special based on ''Talking to Americans'', which attracted 2.7&nbsp;million Canadian viewers—the highest-rated television special in Canadian history. Later, the respected [[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]] program ''[[Nightline (US news program)|Nightline]]'' would devote a show to it. This was his last major project related to ''22 Minutes''—at the end of the 2000–2001 season, he announced his departure from that show to focus on his other television show, ''[[Made in Canada (TV series)|Made in Canada]]''. ''Talking to Americans'' was nominated for a [[Gemini Award]], but following the [[9/11 attacks]], Mercer declined the nomination.