The Debaters: Live on Tour - 20th Anniversary Holiday Special

The Debaters have been entertaining Canadians on the airwaves for 20 years! To celebrate all the great laughs and questionable facts from the past two decades we’re crossing the country with a holiday tour for all ye faithful fans and listeners. Joining host Steve Patterson on this hilarious sleigh ride are a couple of his favourite debating elves, Deborah Kimmett and Matt Wright, ready to deliver a delightful evening of stand-up comedy and two joke-filled debates in the format made famous on CBC Radio. Book your tickets now to avoid the holiday rush!

These special shows are just for live audiences and aren’t recorded for broadcast.

Meet the Cast

Steve Patterson

Steve Patterson is an award-winning comedian with over two decades of international performance experience. Best known as host of the long-running hit radio show and podcast The Debaters and theatre show The Debaters Live, Patterson’s brand of comedy is best described as honest and erudite combining well-crafted writing with unparalleled off-the-cuff wit. Twice named Canada’s Best Male Stand-Up at the Canadian Comedy Awards, Steve has also taken his award-winning humour to the literary world with The Book of Letters I Didn’t Know Where to Send and his newest release Dad Up! available wherever books are sold.

Deborah Kimmett

Whether on the page or the stage, Deborah Kimmett is a hilarious, award-winning comic and well-known author who has been a perennial performer on CBC for over 45 years. She is a regular on CBC Debaters and Laugh Out Loud. She has three best-selling albums (Downward Facing Broad, Overnight Sensation and Smoke Show) and is the author of five books. Windowshopping for God was long-listed for the Stephen Leacock award for humour and won the Silver Prize for Indie Book of 2025.

Matt Wright

Matt Wright is a two time JUNO Award nominated stand-up comedian, writer, and actor who has appeared on multiple televised galas for Just For Laughs, Winnipeg, and Halifax Comedy Festivals. He has opened for Jerry Seinfeld, Jim Gaffigan, John Mulaney, Theo Von among others, and regularly tours comedy clubs and theatres across the country.

Matt wrote for six seasons on CBC’s This Hour Has 22 Minutes where he was nominated for a Canadian Screen Award, as well as two episodes of Still Standing. As a filmmaker, his short “Snowstorm Roulette” was nominated for Best International Short at the Austin Comedy Festival. Matt recently released his debut comedy special ‘Live at The Majestic’ which can be streamed on YouTube.