The live events industry is booming, and that’s created a bigger playing field for an independent Canadian-owned company like Showpass. Lucas McCarthy’s Calgary-founded ticketing and tech company is one of the biggest in the country by volume of tickets, an achievement backed by an expansion strategy that covers a wide variety of events from theme parks, museums, fairs and more, including live music. In 2026 alone, McCarthy says Showpass has already invested $3 million into the Canadian economy while implementing technology into its ticketing platform that bigger operators have not yet. McCarthy sees the company as bigger than ticketing, also financing shows, festivals and other experiences to remove barriers and create space to launch and take risks.