Canadian Comedian Shaun Majumder Comes Home. Elbows Up!
By Jennifer Hartley
After almost 20 years of living in California, Shaun Majumder packed his bags, sold his house and came home.
Shaun, best known for his years on This Hour has 22 Minutes, his sometimes irreverent stand-up comedy and his dozens of TV shows, took the keys to his new home in Halifax in June and brought his children (aged three and five) and wife Shelby with him for the ride.
“We chose Nova Scotia because I have a history here. Actually, I’ve got a history all across Atlantic Canada. But Halifax is close enough that I can get anywhere. It’s got a film and TV industry and the ocean.” Like many Canadians who have grown up by the ocean, he needs to be near one.
Shaun Majumder is all the things that make Canada so wonderful. He is kind, down to earth, extremely approachable and yes, funny, in part thanks to one of what he calls the most impactful elements in his life: growing up in small town Newfoundland. The community, called Burlington, was home to just 350 residents. Childhood memories of running free, playing in the woods and being a bushy-tailed little kid stick in his mind. Not surprisingly, growing up surrounded by nature has made environmental conservation a big priority for him today. “It’s important, don’t you think? We only have one Earth and I think it’s a big responsibility.”
Another childhood reality that has had an impact was being raised without money. “And not knowing I didn’t have money,” he adds. “That has a double-edged sword to it. On the one hand, it’s kept my perspective on what really matters, like not attaching your self-worth to how much you own or stuff you have, but on the flip side my lack of awareness of how money works is terrible. I’m coming to regret it now. Financial literacy is important. And it is the one thing I have had to learn the hard way.”
What’s the biggest surprise he’s ever had? “My second daughter.”
He and his wife used IVF with their first daughter after trying for eight months. “It was expensive but we both agreed. We weren’t getting any younger. We were only having one so we just did it. So we’re like, we’re done. But then one day, I remember we were in Newfoundland, and Shelby gave me a beer and I looked down and there was the pregnancy test on top.”
Still, he wouldn’t change a thing. He is a hands-on dad to his two girls. “I am very much involved. Shelby and I have never had help. We do everything ourselves. It is a blessing but challenging.”
What does he find funny? “Most everything, probably for the wrong reasons. But seriously, orangutans, animals doing funny things. Brilliant stand-up, like Ricky Gervais. There is Monty Python and let’s not forget about WKRP in Cincinnati.”
While animals make him laugh, they are also close to his heart, fed by a compassion and a regard for life in general. “Everything is connected on this planet. So, being aware of that, anything where somebody is fighting for that—to maintain a balance—I will support 100 per cent.”
He might not have been thinking so kumbaya about all creatures one night during COVID, though. He let his beloved, elderly Boston terrier Freddy out for one last time for the day and heard a heart-wrenching yelp. Shaun says it was the scariest night of his life. Terror gripped him and his wife, as coyotes had been seen in the area. He raced outside, discovering that Freddy had not been grabbed by a hungry coyote; instead, he’d gotten a hook caught in his eye. “I have never been so happy to see Freddy.”
Spare time? “Not a lot of free time. You know repatriation, after 20 years, picking up our lives and coming back to Canada has required a ton of work. Building and prepping for that new life, all the while maintaining the momentum of getting work, keeps me going all the time.”
Any leisure time at this point is spent writing, auditioning and collaborating. He has a comedy album just out, a tv series called The Miniature Wife on the way and he is heading out on the road for his Cool Dad Comedy Tour.
“Maybe some day I will get into carpentry. I love building things. My family is full of carpenters. And cooking too. I would like to learn how to do it well. You know eating healthy has become a priority after spending so many years putting garbage in my body without really thinking about it. We are all getting older!”
While Shaun is involved in many creative mediums, he says stand-up is the hardest. “When it works it is the best, when it doesn’t it is the worst. But you know, that is something I love most about my job. The industry I have chosen is allowing me to be exactly who I am.”
Still, there is a vulnerability about him that he overcomes with philosophy, always coming back to one book in particular: To Be Human by J Krishnamurti, introduced to him in his 20s. “It really challenges our brains in terms of our attachment to who we think we are and what our thoughts are. Are we able to listen? What does it mean to be human?”
That book continues to resonate. So does its notion that he has the power to choose hope.
“For me, maintaining a sense of positivity and optimism and not allowing the virus of negativity to overwhelm the brain—while it can be a constant, moment-to-moment battle— is a huge success.”
So is his involvement in Canada’s Elbows Up movement. Shaun has performed at rallies on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, at Alderney Landing in Halifax and at Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto. And he’s happy to be supporting what he calls the “new Canadian mojo. We are entering a new phase for Canadian pride and for our patriotism. I feel like we’re entering a new chapter. It’s so beautiful to see and it is there, regardless of your political stripe. It’s just nice to feel the Canadian flag be something that everybody can get behind and not just a specific group of people.”
Has he had any reaction from American colleagues about coming back to Canada? “Yes,” he says. “Envy and jealousy. They see what’s going on. The majority of America does not align with Trump’s rhetoric. My friends and people on the ground totally get my decision.”
And, for Canadians, it is fantastic to have him home.
