Some people might recognize Cedric Newman from CTV鈥檚 Amazing Race Canada a couple of seasons ago, but his real career is in comedy.

The veteran joke-teller is on a tour of B.C. that includes shows in 性视界传媒 and White Rock in the last half of May.

Newman recently moved from Toronto back to Montreal to help care for his ailing mother, who has dementia.

That鈥檚 no laughing matter, of course, unless Newman tackles the subject himself.

鈥淚鈥檝e talked about my mother鈥檚 dementia in my show but generally I do observational comedy, you know,鈥� he said in a recent phone call, and was quick to give an example: 鈥淵ou know, I had an ex-girlfriend who was bisexual and she turned bipolar, and I didn鈥檛 get a chance to say bye-bye, just things in my life.鈥�

He tries not to touch political jokes.

鈥淭he most I did was in Winnipeg where the potholes are so bad, you know. I said that if a Ukrainian came around here, was Russia here first?鈥�

Some people might recognize from Amazing Race Canada, but his real career is in comedy.

My chat with the veteran joke-teller and former psych-unit staffer, on stages in and in last half of May:

鈥� Tom Zillich (@TomZillich)

Newman was contestant on Season 8 of Amazing Race Canada with his son, Tychon-Carter Newman. They father-son duo didn鈥檛 win, but the experience gave the comedian fodder for his show.

He鈥檒l perform (at Elements Casino, Cloverdale) and then twice on in White Rock.

The Jamaica-born Newman, 53, got into comedy a quarter-century ago, at age 28.

鈥淚 worked at a psych unit full-time and took acting classes, and a fellow by the name of Brad said, 鈥榊ou鈥檙e pretty funny, why don鈥檛 you try comedy,鈥欌�� Newman recalled. 鈥淚 knew it would be hard, but what he said stayed in my head for years, and I started writing jokes. It took me three years to go up there.

鈥淚 do it full-time now,鈥� he added, 鈥渂ut during COVID I had a mechanic鈥檚 certificate and went back to work in a garage.鈥�

Speaking of the pandemic, it was hell on performing artists including Newman.

鈥淚t鈥檚 so funny too, because when I talk to audiences now, they鈥檙e very socially awkward because the pandemic made people timid,鈥� he revealed.

鈥淎s a comedian I try to bring the crowd together as one, you know, so the 20-year-old and the 60-year-old are able to come together as a group,鈥� Newman elaborated. 鈥淚 feel probably closer to 60 but my stuff can appeal to the younger cats, too. I want them to say, 鈥榊eah, I can relate to this,鈥� no matter who they are.

鈥淭he hard part right now is that with younger people, their attention spans are so short. I鈥檒l be talking and then something will distract them for a second and I鈥檒l go, 鈥楬ey, it鈥檚 not TikTok, I鈥檓 over here talking,鈥� you know. It鈥檚 crazy how short the attention spans are. I can鈥檛 talk to kids anymore.鈥�

Tickets for Newman鈥檚 show at Elements Casino are $25 on . In White Rock, seats are $30 on the website , with guest comedians Rachel Schaefer, Harmeet Singh Kohli and Lisa Person.

Garry Yuill, CEO of Icarus Capital/Yuk Yuk鈥檚 Media, said Newman鈥檚 current B.C. tour is part of the company鈥檚 expansion of shows in theatres across the province.

鈥淲e are thrilled to showcase Cedric鈥檚 new material, aligning with our mission to elevate Canadian comedy and connect with audiences across the region,鈥� Yuill said. 鈥淭his also offers a sneak peek into our forthcoming touring endeavours.鈥�

Eric Y. Lapointe, COO of the comedy company, said Newman鈥檚 performances in White Rock cap 鈥渁 really successful year with shows averaging well above 350 sales per evening. We couldn鈥檛 be more excited to have a remarkable conclusion, with Newman headlining the marquee event, and we look forward to an exciting second season in 2024-25 for White Rock, and now Abbotsford.鈥�