Late Show host Stephen Colbert pokes fun at Alberta over syphilis outbreak

NEW YORK CITY – Alberta was the butt of a joke on a popular late-night show this week.

Stephen Colbert poked fun at Alberta on his show for the province’s unusually high rates of syphilis.

“Apparently there is a horrifying number of syphilis infections in Alberta. What is up Alberta?” he said.

“And be careful, Saskatchewan. Keep rubbing up against that and you might get an infection in your Regina.”

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Earlier this week, reports came out about syphilis rates in Alberta that haven’t been seen since the 1940s.

“In Alberta right now, if you are having partners outside of a mutually monogamous relationship, you are potentially at risk of getting syphilis,” said Ameeta Singh, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Alberta.

READ MORE: Alberta’s syphilis cases reach highest level since 1940s

In 2020, there were almost 2,500 cases in Alberta, with almost half of them in Edmonton, which is also sitting three times higher than Calgary.

Singh said social media dating apps and technology are fueling the syphilis epidemic.

Colbert closed his bit by saying Canadians should put a “toque on your hockey stick, eh?”