In the latest production of the hit Canadian musical, Come From Away, actor Lisa Horner noticed a difference in the crowd during performances on American stages.

The change was a response to how Canada was being addressed by U.S. President, Donald Trump, with threats of annexing and tariffing Canada.

“The climate of being the 51st state, which I don’t even like saying because it’s so insulting, there were different parts of the shows that we were getting applause for,” Horner, who played Beulah in Come From Away in different productions, including the North American tour that closed in May 2025.

“At the end of the show, we were coming up with Canadian flags and we would get a huge round every time.”

Come From Away tells the true story of the town of Gander, Newfoundland, which received 38 diverted planes on 9/11 the days after. Gander residents welcomed 6,579 passengers to Canada while the U.S. reacted to terror attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Arlington, VA.

The creators, David Hein and Irene Sankoff, received grants from the Ontario Arts Council (OAC) and workshopped it at Sheridan College in Oakville, Ont. They then took the story to the U.S., and Come from Away then became the most successful Canadian musical on Broadway, The Toronto Star reported.

“It became, quite frankly, the whole sensation,” said Horner, who is based in Toronto. “The fact that it was Canadian is not secondary to us, but I think it’s secondary to the story, meaning it’s about generosity and finding what makes us all the same, which is kindness is free.” Horner said.

Canadian stories more important than ever

Matthew Yipchuck, a theatre content creator and actor who performs in “Canadiana,” a musical review in Niagara Falls, Ont., thinks it’s time for all the chapters of Canadian history to take the stage. 

“As a theatre goer, as someone who loves theatre and is more interested in learning about my own history, I would love to have that available to me through the media I love, through theatre,” he said.

Horner said there should have always been Canadian stories on stage, or at least have a production completely made by Canadians, but now it’s more important than ever.

“We have to have stories that reflect who we are and things that we’ve done, not just to celebrate, but to inform. That’s what art does,” she said. “It celebrates, informs, uplifts. We have to do all those things in the Canadian space,  it’s been very clear over the last little while that that’s incredibly important.”

In June, Made In Italy brought a Canadian story to the stage. This December, an all-Canadian cast will the bring the Broadway hit & Juliet to life in Toronto. Besides the main productions, Canadian stories also take the stage every day in community theatres across Toronto.

Yipchuck said the more Canadian culture is represented on stage, the more people will be interested in watching it live.

“I think it’s always easy to forget how important our country and our cultural identity is to us until that foundation is shaken a little bit,” he said. “I think Canadian stories are always important, there’s just potentially a stronger interest in them now than there has been previously.”

A 2016 study by the Canada Council for the Arts reported that 49 per cent of Canadians believe that arts help us define and express what it means to be Canadian. 

Fostering the future of theatre in Canada

For Horner, advocating for the arts means more than cultivating creativity, it also means creating a space for emotional intelligence to be fostered.  

“Arts education is not for all kids to be actors. We’ve got to continue that sort of education because we need to be emotionally intelligent people,” she said. “If you have a twenty-year-old creator, or a five-year-old creator, that absolutely needs to be encouraged, because whatever they’re producing is a reflection of what they see, and that’s culture.” 

Yipchuck said theatre has to be accessible, not only for the audience, but for creators too. “It’s a balancing act, providing enough support and engagement for our Canadian creators to create because there’s no theatre without an audience,” he said.

“We have to tell our stories and take pride in what we do. I think sometimes we’re humble to a fault. We have to show our pride because we could lose what we have,” Horner said. “We have to be strong about it. And I think we are, that’s why I’m proud of Canada.”