Dozens of Canada’s top entertainers have been on the show as hosts, cast members or musical guests.

By: Anastasia Blosser

Since its first episode aired 47 seasons ago, Saturday Night Live has spent 90 minutes each week bringing comedy sketches to television. The skits often parody contemporary news, politics, and culture with a group of recurring cast members. Each episode also features a musical guest and celebrity host.

SNL was created by Torontonian producer and screenwriter, Lorne Michaels, in 1975. Michaels graduated from a constituent college of the University of Toronto with a degree in English and received an honorary degree from X University in 1999. His first work in broadcasting was at the CBC. Michaels has continued to produce Saturday Night Live since it first aired but took a five-year hiatus from the program in 1980.

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Canada’s connection to the late-night sketch show doesn’t stop with Michaels. From Nova Scotia to British Columbia, dozens of Canada’s top entertainers have appeared as hosts, cast members or musical guests.

Jim Carrey

Hosted May 18, 1996, and Jan. 8, 2011

Comedian Jim Carrey hosted Saturday Night Live on May 18, 1996, and on Jan. 8, 2011. Born in Newmarket, a suburb of Toronto, the actor auditioned to be a cast member for seasons six and 11 but was not selected. Best known for films like The Truman Show and Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, Carrey last appeared on the show on Nov. 7, 2020, where he impersonated President Joe Biden.

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Michael J. Fox

Hosted March 16, 1991

Born in Edmonton, Michael J. Fox hosted Saturday Night Live on March 16, 1991. The actor and producer is best known for his role as Marty McFly in the Back to the Future trilogy. Fox was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 1991 and retired from acting in 2020 due to his worsening health.

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Mike Myers

Hosted March 22, 1997 / Cast member from Season 14 to Season 20

Scarborough native Mike Myers was a permanent cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1989 to 1995. During that time, he created the fan favourite character, Wayne Campbell. The character’s popularity later launched the actor into the full-length comedy film Wayne’s World and its sequel. Both were produced by Michaels. Myers later returned to host the show in 1997.

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Sandra Oh

Hosted March 30, 2019

Sandra Oh is a Canadian American actress born in Ottawa. Most recognized for her portrayal of Cristina Yang on Grey’s Anatomy and Eve Polastri on Killing Eve, she hosted the March 30, 2019 episode of Saturday Night Live. Oh used the opening monologue to celebrate her one-year anniversary of becoming an American citizen, referring to herself as “Asian Canadian American”.

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Elliot Page

Hosted March 1, 2008

Elliot Page, best known for his work in Juno and The Umbrella Academy, hosted Saturday Night Live on March 1, 2008. Page is from Halifax. After coming out as queer and non-binary on Instagram in December 2020, they became the first openly trans man featured on the cover of Time magazine for the March 29 / April 5, 2021 issue.

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Matthew Perry

Hosted Oct. 4, 1997

Matthew Perry hosted the Oct. 4, 1997 episode of Saturday Night Live. Born in Massachusetts and raised in Ottawa, Perry is best known for his role as Chandler Bing on the sitcom Friends. While hosting, he impersonated co-star Matt LeBlanc’s character Joey Tribbiani. Known for his sarcastic sense of humour, he also starred in Saturday Night Live’s infamous “Sarcasm 101” skit.

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Ryan Reynolds

Hosted Oct. 3, 2009

Ryan Reynolds hosted Saturday Night Live on Oct. 3, 2009. Born in Vancouver, the actor is best known for films like Deadpool and The Proposal. Reynolds last made a surprise appearance on Saturday Night Live on Nov. 23, 2019, when host Will Ferrell pointed him out in the crowd during his opening monologue.

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Martin Short

Hosted Dec. 6, 1986, Dec. 7, 1996, and Dec. 15, 2012 / Cast member from Season 10 to Season 11

Born in Hamilton, Ont., Martin Short was a cast member of Saturday Night Live from 1984 to 1985. The actor and comedian graduated from McMaster University with a BA in social work. Best known for his roles in Father of the Bride and Three Amigos, Short hosted Saturday Night Live on Dec. 6, 1986, Dec. 7, 1996, and Dec.15, 2012. He is currently starring in and producing Only Murders in the Building.

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Bowen Yang

Cast Member from Season 45 to the present

Bowen Yang is an American comedian who grew up in a suburb of Montreal. After two years as a writer, he joined Saturday Night Live as a cast member in 2019, becoming the show’s first Chinese and third openly gay male cast member. In 2021, Yang was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. He is the first featured player to ever be nominated.

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Simu Liu

Hosted Nov. 20, 2021

Actor and stuntman Simu Liu hosted SNL early in the show’s 47th season. Best known for the character of Jung in Kim’s Convenience and the titular role in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Liu was born in China but moved to Canada at a young age. Raised in Mississauga, Ont., Liu worked as an accountant before pursuing fame. While on Saturday Night Live, he jokingly competed with Yang to see who could collect the most ridiculous “First Asian” awards.

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The future of BIPOC representation in the mainstream film and television landscape seems promising

By: Kuwarjeet Singh Arora

If you’re looking for an exciting movie to watch over the holidays, look no further than Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, already streaming on Disney Plus.

Like millions of us, I saw Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings during the theatrical release of the film. Having played the titular character Shang Chi, Canadian actor Simu Liu experienced the impact of representation firsthand.

At the age of five, Liu immigrated to Canada with his family. He was born in Harbin, China, and brought up by his grandparents. He was raised in Erin Mills, a neighbourhood of Mississauga, Ont., as an only child. In his early work, in 2015, he used to be a stuntman and then got cast in the OMNI Television crime series Blood and Water. Later that year, Liu played the lead in the TV adaptation of a play of the same name, Kim's Convenience, for CBC. This remains his most memorable television success, having been nominated for and winning numerous awards internationally, including Best Comedy Series at the 2018 Canadian Screen Awards and Most Popular Foreign Drama at the 2019 Seoul International Drama Awards.

It was back then that Liu talked a lot about Asian representation in the Hollywood landscape. He said he wanted that not only for himself but for his community as well. From there, he went mainstream in 2019.

At Comic-Con 2019, it was announced that Liu has been cast as Shang-Chi, the lead superhero in the film Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Marvel's first Asian-led film, which takes place in ancient China. Upon release, the film broke the record for Labour Day openings with estimated ticket sales of $94.4 million. Additionally, it was the first Marvel film with an Asian lead and a predominantly Asian cast.

I saw Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings because it was the first Asian American superhero movie, which talked a lot about the lack of representation of BIPOC communities in the mainstream media.

This movie’s plot talks about the representation of Asian language and culture. In the film, Mandarin-Chinese is the first language spoken and it is present in a large amount of dialogue, showing that director Destin Daniel Cretton wished to emphasize the importance of other languages besides English. The story explores themes of identity when many Asians immigrate to America. In order to adapt to a whole new country, they have to leave a part of their true identity behind. In this film, characters are reminded to never forget their roots or those who came before them through a combination of cultural elements.

Previous Marvel movies have also touched on social issues, from the generational effects of systemic racism in the Black Panther to sexism in Captain Marvel with their first female lead. Like its fellow Marvel releases that showcased notable "firsts," Shang-Chi's release in theatres has been connected to a frustrating discussion related to box office sales, equality, and representation. The concept is that Asian-American superheroes like Shang-Chi deserve a big box office haul because they are as valid as their white rivals. It's an advantage for mainstream media and the film industry to report on major movements like #BlackLivesMatter or stories about Asian hate when they hit the mainstream news. I don't know whether the hype around Shang-Chi will be a social justice gamechanger for Asian-Americans. It is unfair to expect a movie to solve complex problems such as racism or inequality in two hours.

When it comes to Asian representation, there are a lot of times when films don't really have a full Asian cast or fail to challenge the unpleasant stereotypes of being portrayed as nerdy or negatively as some sort of villain. Most of the time we are represented through side characters helping a white protagonist. It's always great to have new representation, but at the same time, I wonder if it took too long. The reason I think this movie was late in releasing was the fact that Asian hate as a whole is on the rise. If this movie had been released before the Marvel universe, people’s perceptions of Asians might have been influenced positively. For the first time ever in history, Asians will be the main cast and the storyline will reflect and represent their culture.

As a result of exploring Chinese values and avoiding offensive jokes, the film challenges typical Hollywood stereotypes about Asians. As a result, characters are no longer merely "quiet and smart Asians" but have flaws of their own: Shang-Chi and Katy both refuse to grow up; their mothers and friends never joke about Katy's "tiger mom." situation. Despite her strong and independent personality, Shang-Chi's sister is never sexualized to the point where she seems like a "dragon lady."

Additionally, the film addresses issues of immigration and identity. With uncertainty about her identity, Katy must discover who she is and what she wants, while Shang-Chi must deal with the conflicts presented by his past as a trained killer and a new existence in the United States.

Mainstream discourse needs more BIPOC voices. Those with resources and power need to tell stories about issues like Black Lives Matter, how Asian hatred is soaring, and why BIPOC are the first ones targeted when it comes to literally anything.

It’s hard to say that BIPOC communities are fairly represented in the Hollywood landscape. As a Sikh, I don’t see someone who looks like me as a Marvel hero and I think that needs to change. This change is urgent because a lot of the hate crimes on the rise are the result of misconceptions about people's backgrounds.

We still haven't seen a Sikh superhero with a turban and a beard, and representation of my community in the mainstream Hollywood industry. This is especially true of people of colour who have a religious identity to maintain, for instance, a Sikh man like me or a woman wearing a burqa or hijab. Hollywood needs to address this issue because people who look like me are often portrayed as taxi drivers or as terrorists.

When it comes to the future of BIPOC representation in the mainstream film industry, I think there is hope that movies like Shang-Chi will inspire people to demand more BIPOC representation in mainstream media. Yet, at the same time, everyone needs to think about why BIPOC communities are misrepresented in the Hollywood landscape in the first place.

We need more diversified faces in Hollywood and more BIPOC lead roles, who are there to reflect their communities. An important fact to remember is that a considerable percentage of North America's population is composed of immigrants. But there are barely any movies that truly represent minorities’ values. Films such as Shang-Chi, starring an Asian actor, represent Asian heritage in one of the best possible ways.

I dream of living in a country that proudly tells stories of my community, as well as cultural stories that are rarely represented in the Hollywood landscape. Where it’s normal to have a person who is recognized as a BIPOC or from the LGBTQ+ community become the lead character in the mainstream entertainment industry. Where it’s normal to have a superhero with a turban or brown, Muslim women as superheroes. We need to further challenge the status quo with the power of cinema.