A beloved Ottawa comedian celebrates her new album and a career reborn, proving that creativity does not come with an expiry date
Lisa‑Gay Tremblay is a local Ottawa comedy icon who has performed on stages across Canada and the United States for decades. The release of her new comedy album, Unretired, is rapidly approaching, and Tremblay is returning to her Ottawa roots to celebrate this major milestone.
The album marks Tremblay’s return to comedy at 67, a stage of life that some might view as unconventional for a new chapter, yet she sees it as exactly the right moment to step forward again. “At 67, I do not feel like I am winding down. I feel like I am hitting my stride.” Tremblay believes too many people fall into the mindset that certain ages signal the end of adventurous years, saying, “Too many people convince themselves they are too old to start something new. I do not believe that for a second. If you still have the passion, then you owe it to yourself to see where it leads.”
This drive is part of what inspired Tremblay to create Unretired. She also humorously described a secondary motivating factor: her husband’s retirement. “Suddenly, he was home all the time, following me from room to room, and I thought, one of us needs to go back to work. That is where the title Unretired really came from. There is truth behind the joke. But the bigger reason is that I still had something to say. Life does not stop giving you material just because you reach a certain age. In fact, it gets funnier.”
This theme carries throughout Unretired. Tremblay explains, “If people finish listening to Unretired feeling like they have spent an hour laughing with a friend, then I have done my job. I hope they see a little of themselves in these stories, laugh at the people they love, laugh at themselves, and maybe leave feeling that getting older is not something to fear. It is just another chapter with a lot more material.”
The album’s release on Canada Day carries significant importance for Tremblay. “Releasing Unretired on Canada Day feels like the perfect way to celebrate coming home. Not just to Canada, but to myself.” She adds, “I am incredibly proud to be from Ottawa. My roots here go back four generations. The Codys, Tunneys, Clouthiers and McCanns are all part of my family history, so this city is not just where I was born. It is part of who I am. That is one of the reasons releasing Unretired here means so much. It is not just coming back to the city where I started. It is coming home to generations of family history, lifelong friendships and the community that helped shape me. No matter where my career has taken me, Ottawa has always been home.”
Ottawa has shaped not only Tremblay’s personal history but also her comedy career. She began performing at Yuk Yuk’s Comedy Club during the pivotal early years of her career, experiences that helped shape the talent she has today. She recalled one of the most important early moments of her decades in comedy at Ottawa’s National Arts Centre, where she opened for Dionne Warwick. “I remember when I was a kid, when they opened the NAC, however many years ago that was, and we went on a tour. I was maybe ten, and I remember standing on that stage thinking, this is really impressive. So to be standing on that stage fifteen years later was the highlight.”
Unretired will be celebrated with a launch event in Ottawa on Canada Day, featuring a floating tiki‑style gathering with Ottawa Palapa Tours on the Ottawa River to watch the fireworks, a fittingly Canadian send‑off for one of the country’s most seasoned entertainers.
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