Aside from voicing the lovable Shrek, appearing in a minor role in the 2009 movie Inglourious Basterds and occasionally showing up on Saturday Night Live, we haven’t seen a whole lot of Ontario-born actor Mike Myers in the last little while.
It turns out the funnyman is doing a partial Canada tour over the next few weeks, stopping in Halifax, Ottawa, Montreal, Calgary and Toronto to promote his first book, simply titled Canada.
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“In my book I talk about my 53-year relationship with the country that I love, which is Canada,” Myers said in a promotional video. “But you have your own stories about Canada. Just send in a picture from wherever you are in this great country of ours. C’mon Canada, show us your Canada!”
Myers, along with Penguin Random House Canada (the book’s publisher), is encouraging Canadians to post to social media using the hashtag #MikesCanada. (The hashtag #GordDowniesCanada is a similar initiative.) “I showed you mine,” the now-silver-haired Myers riffs.
Canada is “part memoir, part history and pure entertainment,” says Penguin Random House Canada. It features “Myers’ funny and thoughtful analysis of what makes Canada Canada, Canadians Canadians and what being Canadian has always meant to him.”
Myers says his relationship with Canada continues to deepen and grow, and American friends have actually accused him of enjoying being Canadian — and he’s doesn’t shy away from that. Myers believes he’s in a unique position to explore Canada from inside and outside the country, and Canada is a wholly subjective account of his Canadian experience. “Some might say, ‘Why didn’t you include this or that?’ I say there are 35 million stories waiting to be told in this country, and my book is only one of them,” he said.
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The book includes personal photographs and Canadiana from the Austin Powers star’s own collection. Published in the lead-up to Canada’s 150th birthday in 2017, Myers claims this is a birthday gift to his fellow Canucks. Or, as he puts it: “In 1967, Canada turned 100. Canadians all across the country made Centennial projects. This book is my Centennial Project. I’m handing it in a little late … sorry.”
Myers is doing a five-stop Canadian tour to promote the book, and will be signing copies at the following dates/times/locations:
Friday, Oct. 21 — Toronto
Bram and Bluma Appel Salon
Toronto Reference Library
789 Yonge St.
7:30 p.m.
Monday, Oct. 24 — Ottawa
Chapters Rideau
47 Rideau St.
7:00 p.m.
Tuesday, Oct. 25 — Montreal
Indigo Books and Music
1500 McGill College Ave.
7:00 p.m.
Wednesday, Oct. 26 — Halifax
Costco Halifax
230 Chain Lake Drive
6:00 p.m.
Thursday, Oct. 27 — Calgary
John Dutton Theatre (presented by WordFest)
616 Macleod Trail SE
7:00 p.m.
Many Canadians have already started taking pictures and posting them.
Born in Scarborough, Ont., Myers has appeared in numerous Canadian productions, including TV shows The Littlest Hobo and King of Kensington.
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