Canada Summary - Canada's Film Industry

Canada's Film & Television Industry

‘Hollywood North’ is a popular expression used to describe the film and television (TV) industry in Canada, most notably based in Vancouver and Toronto. The nickname reflects a historical understanding that Canada is widely considered an extension of the film and television production scene based in Hollywood, a neighbourhood of Los Angeles, California. Canadian actors and directors are prominent on the global stage and the industry is celebrated at large through international film festivals that recognize Canadian productions as well as international work.

The industry has expanded rapidly in recent years and demand for production, post-production and studio space in Canada’s two hottest industrial and land markets, Vancouver and Toronto, has been building. Though the former are key production hubs, the province of Québec (mainly Montréal) is close behind with interest for studio space also gaining momentum in Calgary, Alberta.

Further recognition of Canada’s growing role in North American film and television production came in April 2021 when California-based digital streaming giant Netflix announced that it would open its first Canadian corporate office in Toronto.

At a glance (2020)

$9.3B / -1.1%

Production volume year-over-year

244,500 / -5.4%

Jobs created year-over-year

$12.2B / -2%

Gross domestic product year-over-year

$6B / +5%

Foreign investment in production year-over-year

Production and Economic Contribution

Canada’s film and TV industry has recorded significant growth with a greater number of local and international productions being shot in the country annually since the Great Recession of 2008. In the 2019/20 season (the most recent year of published data from the Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA) that was released in June 2021 and covered April 2019 to March 2020), the film and TV industry generated $9.3 billion in production volume, contributed $12.2 billion to Canada’s GDP, and provided employment for 244,500 people. However, according to the CMPA, the greater screen sector value chain across the country accounts for almost 347,000 jobs, nearly $16 billion in labour income and slightly more than $23 billion in GDP for the Canadian economy.

According to GoCompare, a British financial services comparison website, Canada is the third most filmed country in the world after the United States and the U.K.

Film and TV production in Canada by U.S.-based producers increased dramatically in the second half of 2020 despite the COVID-19 pandemic thanks in part to Canada’s internationally recognized health and safety protocols with both Toronto and Vancouver surpassing pre-pandemic production levels.

Future production levels look promising with streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon and more recently Apple and Disney+ having radically increased production output – challenging the traditional domain of studios and broadcasters. According to Nordicity, yearly production spending from these streaming services is expected to be more than $65 billion by 2022, up from $40 billion in 2018. Meanwhile, the value of the global post-production market is forecasted to grow 25% in the next three years.

Quick takes

Total GDP impact of film and TV production in Canada fell 2% year-over-year to $12.2 billion during the 2019/20 season.
Regionally, Ontario (38%) and British Columbia (30%) accounted for 68% of the total volume of film and TV production nationwide in 2019/20 – with Ontario outpacing British Columbia in eight of the past 10 years.
Foreign investment in production in Canada increased $286 million or 5% year-over-year to an all-time high of slightly more than $6 billion in 2019/20 – up 162% over the previous 10 years.
The number of jobs (i.e. person count) generated by film and TV production in Canada (including direct and spin-off impacts) totalled 244,500 in 2019/20 – down 5.4% over the 2018/19 season, but up 22% over the past five years.
Direct Jobs (61% share of 2019/20 total) have grown by 28% over the past five years, while spin-off employment (39% share) has increased by almost 14% during the same period.

Total Volume of Film and Television Production in Canada

Source: Motion Picture Association of Canada, Profile 2020

Foreign Investment in Production in Canada vs Value of Canadian Dollar

Source: Motion Picture Association of Canada, Profile 2020; Bank of Canada ; Statistics Canada

Total Film & TV Production in Canada ($ Billions)

Source: Motion Picture Association of Canada, Profile 2020

Incentives and funding

The industry is supported by federal, provincial, territorial and municipal governments, which boost investment by domestic and foreign producers through incentives that help offset production costs. Big draws include a lower Canadian dollar, tax credits, immigration-friendly government policy, and a talented local labour force.

Incentives and tax credit programs cover broad industry categories such as film, video and animation, as well as digital media. An added benefit is that various federal and provincial tax credits can be combined to offer significant savings on qualified labour costs and total production costs.

Offsetting some of the lost revenue due to the pandemic, the 2021 Federal Budget included additional funding to support the industry. Telefilm Canada will receive $105 million of new funding over the course of the next three years – effectively increasing the agency’s budget by 50% in the third year. Over the same three-year period, the government also pledged $60 million to the Canadian Media Fund – focusing on supporting “productions led by people from equity-deserving groups”, and $40 million to the Indigenous Screen Office – “ensuring Indigenous peoples can tell their own stories and see themselves reflected on-screen.”