SiriusXM Kicks Off Canada’s 8th Annual ‘Top Comic’ Contest

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It’s that time again: Time for another round of SiriusXM Canada’s 8th annual Top Comic competition. Each year, SiriusXM Canada holds a nationwide comedy competition in which comics from each province battle it out for top honors. More than just bragging rights and the title of “Top Comic,” whoever comes out on top will also receive a $25,000 check, a guaranteed spot at Canada’s three biggest comedy festivals: Just For Laughs Montreal, JFL42 in Toronto, and JFL NorthWest in Vancouver, and inclusion in the JFL: All Access program to air on Canada’s Comedy Network. It’s no exaggeration to say that winning this contest can mean big things for the career of whoever walks away the title, so competition will be fierce as per usual.

To enter, interested (and Canadian) parties should submit a video of themselves in action to the Top Comic website. From those entrants, 60 comics will be picked to come to a series of auditions being held in either Toronto or Vancouver, all in front of a live audience. There’s six auditions being held in total, meaning that there will be ten comics performing at each event. From there, a panel of comedy judges will pick three comics from each night of shows to move on. The 18 remaining comics will then have videos of their act put online to be voted on by the Canadian public; The six comics with the highest votes (plus two selected by the judges) will then go on to compete in the Top Comic Finale, taking place at JFL42 in Toronto. It’s a rigorous gauntlet for sure, but one that makes sure that only the best get through.

Last year’s competition was a tight race, with Toronto’s Chris Robinson eventually being crowned the “Top Comic” of 2016. You can check out a brief series of interviews we did with last year’s finalists, including Robinson, by following this link.

For those who might be interested in watching the auditions, or for comics so confident that they feel they need to plan ahead for when they’ll eventually be picked for the auditions themselves, here are the dates:

May 29th – Yuk Yuk’s in Toronto

May 30th – The Drake Underground in Toronto

May 31st – Absolute Comedy in Toronto

June 6th – The Comedy Mix in Vancouver

June 6th – The Comedy Mix in Vancouver (Late Show)

June 7th – Yuk Yuk’s in Vancouver

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Bill Tressler

Bill is a writer and comedy enthusiast from New York. An avid gamer and podcast fan, he strives to always toe the line between charming irreverence and grating honesty.
Bill Tressler
Bill Tressler
Bill is a writer and comedy enthusiast from New York. An avid gamer and podcast fan, he strives to always toe the line between charming irreverence and grating honesty.