Your tour of India this past winter was the first by a North American comedian. How did that go?

It was good. There were a lot of Indians there—it was like being in Brampton. They were so on top of everything. They caught every nuance of every joke, every insinuation, everything.

Do different countries find different jokes more funny?

Absolutely. I usually make a local reference. When I was in the Middle East, I made fun of Lebanese people. They’re kind of like the Ginos of the Middle East. But when you say it here, it doesn’t really play well.

Is it mostly the Indian diaspora that you’re performing to?

It’s funny, because the media always asks me that and I’m like, “Are you out of your mind? Do you really think 7,000 people are gonna be one race?” I performed in England for eight years straight, and it wasn’t until the last two years that Indian people started showing up at my gigs.

One of Toronto’s points of pride is that it’s uniquely multicultural.

I think the country that shadows us the most in demographics is Australia. The thing with Australia and Canada is that all the immigrants are new, so all the multiculturalism is more live and direct. The Italians speak Italian here, the Greeks speak Greek. You’ll meet Greeks and Italians in the States, and they can’t speak a word. Irish people here, their parents are probably from Ireland. In the States—what are you? I’m Irish. Oh yeah, what part? Boston.

Why don’t you do religious comedy?

People are ready to die for their religion. I’m Catholic. Do you think I’m willing to die to be Catholic? No. And if any Catholics are offended by that, they have to forgive me. Too many people are fanatical about it, and who’s to say whether they’re right or wrong?

You’re one of the first YouTube stars. How long were you doing small clubs before it started to snowball?

I started at the Yuk Yuk’s that used to be at Yonge and Eglinton. My following in Canada was always strong, long before YouTube. But when I go out now in Toronto, it’s not the same as it was a year ago. I go to the mall and I’m stopped every couple of feet. Somebody said to me, “Isn’t that annoying?” and I go, “No, you know what would be annoying? If people stopped me and said, ‘You suck.’ ”