Think of the universe as a painting. There’s the image made in paint, and the surface it was painted on. The canvas.
The stars, the planets, the gasses, the matter and energy and even the space between are the paint. What’s the canvas? Is there a canvas? Would the canvas follow the same rules as the paint?
Dark energy…maybe. Unfortunately scientists don’t really know what it is or if it even exists. It’s somewhat controversial, but theoretical/mathematical indirect evidence points to the possibility. Sabine Hossenfelder on YouTube can explain this stuff far more intelligently and in more detail than I can.
One thing I try to keep in mind is: the observable universe is unfathomably vast… but that’s just the stuff we can detect with instruments. The “canvas” could easily exist beyond our limited abilities to measure or comprehend.
While I think I know what you mean when you say “canvas”, a physicist would probably want a more specific question. It could get into string theory and all kinds of weird stuff that’s way beyond my knowledge.