In this SHIFTER cover story, meet Lindura, a Canadian model turned star of the CTV, CW, and Netflix #1 series, Sullivan’s Crossing.

Canada has had its share of TV success stories as of late. For one, Heated Rivalry has become the most-watched original series ever on Canadian streamer Crave and the biggest debut for a non-animated acquired series ever on HBO Max. Schitt’s Creek has won a number of awards on both sides of the border, including 33 Canadian Screen Awards, two Golden Globes, two Critics Choice Television Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and nine Prime Time Emmys. These accolades are unheard of for a Canadian series.

Now, there’s another series to add to Canada’s growing list of successful television exports.

Enter Sullivan’s Crossing, a co-production by CTV and CW, set in Nova Scotia. Based on the novel series written by Robyn Carr, the series is centered around neurosurgeon Maggie Sullivan who returns to her hometown in rural Nova Scotia after facing legal trouble in the big city.

What started out as another Bell Media produced Canadian series has reached heights most wouldn’t have expected.

In July 2025, seasons one and two reached the #1 spot on Netflix’s daily stream charts, both in Canada and the United States. Season one spent three weeks on Netflix’s global top 10 with 59.3 million viewing hours and eight million completed views. Seasons two and three each spent one week on Netflix’s global top 10, while season four spent two weeks on Netflix’s global top 10. With that being said, CTV, CW and Netflix have a quantifiable global hit on their hands.

With this rising success, Sullivan’s Crossing is turning its cast of Canadian actors into global stars. Among them is Lindura, who plays Sydney Shandon, Maggie’s childhood best friend turned successful New York model who returns to Nova Scotia to help her brother Rob run his diner and take care of her nephew after her sister-in-law’s death. For the model turned actor who values family and friends, the story hits close to home.

DIGITAL COVER STORY | AUGUST 2026

Family is everything

Lindura grew up in Mississauga to Ghanaian and German-Canadian parents who instilled a love and appreciation for family.

“We were always around family”, Lindura told SHIFTER. “Growing up I was around my cousins a lot. My aunties and uncles. You’d just go over and show up at their house and everybody treats each other like family. If my mom’s not around, whatever adult is around, that’s my uncle, that’s my auntie.”

“…for me, community and family are really important to me.”

This sense of family even extended to her friends and is something she continues to live by well into adulthood.

“Even once we got older and started to bring our friends around the house, my parents treated them like family”, she recalls. “So I’ve learned to treat friends like family. That’s why, for me, community and family are really important to me.”

Even back then, the seed of what she would become was evident. Her love for family, and the environment they created, also gave birth to her creative expression.

“Looking back now, I think I’ve always had an eye for visual imagery”, she explains. “I’m a visual person. I remember I always used to be the person with the camera. So we’d have family parties, and I’d be the one taking photos. Or my friends would come over and I’d be the one taking random home videos. I’d love to envision things in a frame and make it picturesque and cute.”

After being behind the camera, Lindura began to think about what it would be like to be in front of the camera.

“In my teen years, I started to think about what it would be like to be the subject.”

Unfortunately, she was hesitant to make it a career. She believed that as soon as she made it a job, she wouldn’t love it anymore.

“Looking back now, I think I’ve always had an eye for visual imagery…In my teen years, I started to think about what it would be like to be the subject.”

Hard work pays off

After graduating with Honours from Carleton University’s Cognitive Science program and deciding not to pursue her Masters, she found herself at a crossroads. That is until her mother asked her a life changing question.

“If money wasn’t a thing, like you had all the money in the bank, what would you do?”

This led her back to modeling.

“As soon as I decided that I wasn’t going to do the typical corporate job, I think I just didn’t see myself as having a career per se. In my mind it was, ‘What do I need to do to make enough money to just enjoy my life, to be paying my bills, paying my rent, and to enjoy waking up everyday?”

She did her auditions by day, and worked as an airport valet, restaurant server, and brand ambassador to pay her bills. That changed when she landed a modeling contract with an agency in Cape Town, South Africa, a country she always wanted to visit.

After getting to know other models, she learned that modeling could, in fact, become an actual career. She soon began auditioning for commercials as well, but there was one problem—she wasn’t good at speaking on camera.

“I was a largely unsuccessful model in the beginning”, she recalls with a smile.

“If money wasn’t a thing, like you had all the money in the bank, what would you do?”

Never one to give up that easily, this led her to take an introductory acting class in Cape Town. As more opportunities came her way, she eventually learned to be comfortable in front of the camera.

To further hone her craft, she enrolled in one-off acting workshops and a scene study class in Toronto.

“I love taking classes. I love it. It’s so fun and so nerve-wracking. It’s so good.”

As more and more jobs came in, she reached another crossroads where she had to make an important decision.

“The more the opportunities came, the more they would take up larger chunks of my time.”

In January 2020, with the COVID-19 pandemic just around the corner, she took a leap of faith, and whatever money she had saved up, and quit her other jobs to focus full-time on modeling and commercials. She hasn’t looked back since.

She appeared in her first movie in 2021. It was a supporting role in a gymnastics film where acted alongside children. That was followed by another indie film—a gangster movie where she played a mother whose son gets kidnapped.

The audition that changed everything

Then in 2022 would come the audition that would change her life. For Lindura, it was just a regular day.

“I was of the mindset that every audition that I get, I try to do my best and I mostly forget about them”, she explains. “I’m like, ‘Okay, onto the next one.” I had four self-tapes to do that day.”

“I knew I understood it. I was like, ‘Okay, I understand these scenes. I can relate to them. I have experience with these feelings.’ And one of my dear friends helped me with the tape. I sent off the tape and I forgot about it until I got a call from my agent like, ‘You booked this role’. I was like, ‘What? Okay? Crazy? What?’ I don’t think it even hit me at that time how cool and how much of a great opportunity it was for me.”

“Sullivan’s [Crossing] has been the biggest blessing and the biggest learning experience; the most fun playground to have as a new actor.”

Having the opportunity to appear on a #1 series, Lindura can only describe herself as blessed.

“Sullivan’s [Crossing] has been the biggest blessing and the biggest learning experience; the most fun playground to have as a new actor.”

But despite her gratitude, it would take some time for the success of the series to sink in.

“It takes me a long time for me to let things sink in and feel real. At the time I was like, ‘Oh cool, this is great’, but it would be months later that I’ll be like, ‘Whoa, our show’s on Netflix. And we’re number one.’ It’s just a gift and a blessing, and I’m just grateful for all the people who create it and make it happen. It’s pinch me moments every few months.”

Faith, learning and love

Behind her growing success, is a depth and soulfulness that she attributes to three things–faith, learning and love.

“As soon as I didn’t do the normal thing. As soon as I said, ‘I’m just going to live my life how I want to’…It’s always been faith in God, but not necessarily in a traditional Christian way. It’s believing in God, Spirit, Universe, and having the mindset that there’s something more to life than this physical plane of experience. And we are powerful beyond these physical things we can touch and do. Understanding the power of belief and the power of the mind.”

She also learns and grows through reading books, another passion of hers.

“I’ve always loved to explore ideas.”

But she also finds growth through love and romance.

“What can I learn and how can I do this thing called love better?”

These questions led her back to God.

“I’ve always loved to explore new ideas.”

“I’m always seeking something spiritual, faith wise…For me, it doesn’t really matter at what angle you’re coming at God from. God is there. There are many ways of tapping into it. It just makes life so much easier to be tapped in.”

And with her faith, drive, boundless creativity, and passion to explore, there’s no telling where her story will take her next.

Kevin Bourne is SHIFTER’s editor-in-chief and Senior Arts & Entertainment Reporter focusing on film & TV, music, and fashion. He was named one of 340 international voters for the Golden Globe Awards and a Tomatometer-Approved Critic by Rotten Tomatoes.

 

 

 

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