Ralph Benmergui

Raphael "Ralph" Benmergui (born 1955) is a Canadian television and radio personality, writer, ordained spiritual director, and strategic adviser in political, environmental and academic fields.

Since 2025, he has been executive director of ALEPH Canada, an organization associated with the Jewish Renewal movement in Canada.

Early life and education

Benmergui was born into a Sephardi Jewish family in Tangier, Morocco, and was raised in Toronto. He studied journalism at Ryerson Polytechnical Institute, where he was news director and a program producer at the university's radio station, CKLN-FM.

Career

Benmergui began his career in stand-up comedy.

After returning to Toronto, Benmergui hosted Prime Time, a nightly entertainment program on CBC Radio, and its weekend counterpart, The Entertainers. He later co-hosted the CBC Television current-affairs program Midday with Valerie Pringle.

In the early 1990s, Benmergui hosted the weekly CBC Television variety program Friday Night! with Ralph Benmergui. After the show ended in 1999, Benmergui continued with the network as a contributor to CBC Morning and On the Arts.

In 2004, Benmergui joined Toronto jazz station JAZZ.FM91 as host of its morning program. He left the station in November 2010 to become director of communications for Ontario minister Glen Murray, and was succeeded as morning host by John Donabie. He also produced the six-part series God Bless America, about religion and politics in the United States, and hosted comedy specials titled Seriously Funny in Canada and Punchlines in the Sand in the United States.

In 2009, Benmergui joined the Green Party of Canada as a strategic communications adviser.

He later served as director of strategic initiatives at Sheridan College.

In 2021, Benmergui began hosting Yehupetzville, a podcast produced by The Canadian Jewish News about Jewish life in smaller Canadian communities. He has also hosted the podcast Not That Kind of Rabbi for The Canadian Jewish News. He also returned to JAZZ.FM91 that year as host of the podcast The Torch, which featured conversations with established jazz artists about their experiences and perspectives.

In 2022, Benmergui published the memoir I Thought He Was Dead, which reflects on his career in broadcasting and comedy, family relationships, spirituality, ageing and mortality.

Personal life

Benmergui is married to Cortney Pasternak, a former television journalist who later became a psychotherapist. The couple moved from Toronto to Hamilton, Ontario, after a friend advised them that Hamilton would be a better choice if they wanted to make a difference in their community. They settled in a Victorian house near Locke Street.

Benmergui has four children and three grandchildren. Two of his sons were living with him and Pasternak in Hamilton when he was profiled by The Hamilton Spectator in 2019. In the profile, he discussed his regrets about the effects of his divorce on his first wife and children, as well as his efforts to improve those family relationships.