What becomes immediately apparent is that Cao is an exceptionally skilled performer. Her comedic timing is sharp, her delivery confident, and her ability to connect with an audience is among the strongest on display at this year’s festival. It would not surprise me to see Cao emerge as one of the standout performers of Ottawa Fringe 2026.

For comedian Cassie Cao, Just For Laughs New Faces was pivotal to boosting her career. Cao and fellow Canadian comedian Ali Hassan join host Elamin Abdelmahmoud on Commotion to talk about the cancellation of Just For Laughs and imagine a future for Canadian standup comedians without the festival.

Economist-turned-comedian, writer and actor Cassie Cao shares her experiences on the Toronto dating scene.

Leaving a successful desk job behind for the stage, Cassie Cao is a smart and incredibly talented comedian leaving her mark on audiences across the country. Cao is one of the featured comedians in the CBC Gem special The New Wave of Standup.

In conversation, Cao’s economics background is undetectable, but her warmth and sense of humour are inescapable. When they spark a compliment, she is winningly gracious.

Because she does improv, you give her a microphone and she shines, her likeability is off the charts.

Cassie Cao sits down with ET Canada digital reporter Graeme O'Neil at the "Just For Laughs" comedy festival in Montreal and shares what it's like to be the first Chinese female to take part in the "New Faces: Canada" show.

The stand outs for me were Cassie Cao’s Erin whose timing was perfect, especially when dealing with a cat in a lululemon bag. But beyond that, Cao was always perfect with every pseudo-spiritual-I-have-a-post-about-that-on-my-phone interruption.

Conversations with Cassie are magical, and her quick and skillful deconstruction of human interactions and behaviours always leaves me in awe and laughter. I’m so excited for her audiences to experience the same magic.

Cassie Cao will be starring in RICE – An Asian Comedy Showcase on May 15 at the Rivoli (332 Queen St W). We caught up with her this week.