Mike Myers thanks Canadian taxpayers for career: 'I'd be nothing without you'
· Toronto Sun
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Comedian Mike Myers fought back tears as he was honoured at the 2026 Canadian Screen Awards with the Icon Award.
In a montage that introduced some of Myers’ career highlights Sunday night, the Scarborough, Ont.-born actor proudly said, “You can take the boy out of Canada, but you can’t take the Canada out of the boy.”
Featuring an introduction from Kids in the Hall’s Dave Foley, tributes poured in from fellow Canadian Will Arnett, who called Myers, 63, an inspiration for the whole country, and his Shrek co-stars Cameron Diaz and Eddie Murphy, who praised the comedian for bringing some of “the most memorable characters” to the screen.
“It’s very weird to watch that,” Myers said from the stage as he accepted the award.
The Austin Powers star went on to recount an anecdote in which one of his children told him he wasn’t funny and called him boring.
“Quite a contrast to today,” he quipped after he received a standing ovation.
“I had a whole speech written about how much I love Canada, but I suspect some of you might be sick of hearing that at this point,” Myers continued, before thanking his wife and children and his parents “for moving to Canada and stressing the importance of being silly.”
Fighting back tears, he also acknowledged his brothers, Peter and Paul. “Most everything you’ve liked can be traced back to Peter and Paul,” he said. “Both of them are very funny, but I was stupid enough to think I could do this as a career.”
Myers also recognized a number of other Canadian institutions and screen stars, including Eugene Levy, Martin Short (who he called “insanely generous”), the late Catherine O’Hara and Gilda Radner (whom he starred with in a TV commercial when he was 10 years old), the CBC, Louis Del Grande, The Littlest Hobo , Donald Sutherland, director Norman Jewison, MuchMusic and John Candy (“For being so nice to me”).
“I also want to thank the Canadian taxpayer,” he said to loud cheers. “I really do, actually. I always say to my American friends … I have 40 million people behind me.”
Myers also applauded the TTC and the people at Canada House in London. “I was literally down to $10 and they asked me, ‘Do you need a job,’ and I stuffed envelopes,” he said.
“Lastly, I want to thank Scarborough for teaching me the three Fs: When to fight, when to be funny and when to flee,” he concluded, blowing a kiss to the crowd. “I just want to say, Canada, I don’t know what to say, dude. I’d just literally be nothing without you.”
Myers on why he’s ‘elbows up’ for Canada
Even though he’s lived in the U.S. for more than three decades, in March 2025, Myers became a lightning rod for Canadian pride when he appeared on Saturday Night Live wearing a black “Canada is not for sale” T-shirt after President Donald Trump mused about making his birth country a 51st state.
As the credits rolled, Myers flexed his arm and mouthed “elbows up” to the camera, referencing a term that hockey great Gordie Howe had used to signal it’s time to fight back.
Thank you, @Shanemgillis, Tate McRae, and Mike Myers! Goodnight! pic.twitter.com/Lm5PNYwwDV
— Saturday Night Live (@nbcsnl) March 2, 2025
Myers also threw his support behind Prime Minister Mark Carney and the Liberals, rallying voters last spring with that same “elbows up” message. Political neophyte Carney leveraged the slogan, repeating it on the campaign trail as he promised Canadians he was the right leader to fight back against Trump’s threats of annexation and tariffs.
Myers said he didn’t have a strong recollection of doing the “elbows up” signal, but told CBC’s Paul Hunter last summer he couldn’t “stay quiet.”
“It came from a place of, ‘They brought me to the dance — Canada — it’s my country,'” he said about his decision to speak up.
“I would be nothing without Canada,” he added. “The Canadian taxpayer put money into the government, the government subsidized our rent when I was a kid. They accepted my parents from Liverpool, England … put my parents’ kids through very fantastic high schools … I would have gone to York University, that would have been subsidized. I worked at the CBC … That’s taxpayer money. That somebody paid their taxes is why I’m here.”