Stand-up comedy A resident of Mississauga since he was 14 years old, He then returned to
Bell Canada, where he had worked previously, and eventually was promoted to associate director of corporate investigation, while also working part-time as a
stand-up comic. Bullard had a long-time association with the
Yuk Yuk's chain of comedy clubs, as both an
emcee and headliner, since first appearing at the Toronto club in July 1988. He started performing at the venue after being introduced to Yuk Yuk's founder,
Mark Breslin, by his brother, writer and comedian
Pat Bullard. Bullard asked Breslin for spots
emceeing shows at Yuk Yuk's rather than as a
headliner or a spot in the lineup in hopes of preparing himself to eventually become a talk show host. Yuk Yuk's proprietor Mark Breslin, who knew Bullard for 35 years, said of him: "He was probably the best emcee and host in the country. Nobody did
crowd work like Mike. That was his real super strength."
Television Bullard's stand-up career led him to television in 1993 with a regular spot on
Friday Night! with Ralph Benmergui, produced by Breslin, before becoming a late-night host in his own right as the host of
Open Mike with Mike Bullard in 1997. The
late-night talk variety show was considered the first successful Canadian attempt at the genre, following the previous failures of
90 Minutes Live and
Friday Night!. The show aired nightly for six seasons on
The Comedy Network and the
CTV Television Network and won two
Gemini Awards during its run. At its peak,
Open Mike had higher Canadian ratings than
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and
Late Show with David Letterman. In 2003, Bullard's contract with CTV was to expire. After CTV allegedly offered him only a one-year contract and limited control over the show - with longtime television critic Bill Brioux alleging that CTV had told him at one point that his show was to be cancelled, Bullard was hired away by Global with a multi-year deal to host
The Mike Bullard Show in the same timeslot, with much of the same staff and sketches as
Open Mike. After leaving CTV, Bullard accused executives at his old network of not supporting the show and of being "dysfunctional"; in turn, they noted his "bitterness" after having "burned his bridges" with CTV and the Comedy Network. The new show on Global was cancelled on March 12, 2004, after 13 weeks, due to poor ratings against
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, which CTV aired against it. Bullard returned to television to host
HouseCapades, a reality series which aired 250 episodes from 2005 to 2007, featuring people showcasing their homes for sale. In August 2009, he became the host of
The Mike Bullard Show on Talk820 (
CHAM) in Hamilton, Ontario; his evening show was cancelled when CHAM switched to a country music format in July 2010. He hosted
Beyond the Mic with Mike Bullard weekdays at noon on
Newstalk 1010 (CFRB) in Toronto from 2010 until 2016 when he was terminated after being arrested for allegedly harassing his ex-girlfriend. Bullard returned to broadcasting in October 2018 on
Sauga 960 AM in Mississauga as host with Lawrence Morganstern of the afternoon drive time show,
The Getaway. The show ceased production in late January 2019. From 2019 to 2020, Bullard hosted a
podcast,
You Too with Mike Bullard. ==Humanitarian work in Ukraine==