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Homegrown Shows Boost economy

Homegrown films and TV shows are proving to be one of the strongest sectors of the Canadian production industry according to a study released today by the Canadian Film and Television Production Association (CFTPA). According to the study these certified productions constitute over 85% of the $440 million in exports of Canadian content programming, and have greater marketing opportunities abroad.

“This definitely shows Canadians can make programming that sells abroad, and it’s one of the ways of the future for a country with such a small marketplace,” said Elizabeth McDonald, CFTPA president and CEO.

Commissioned by the CFTPA and conducted by PWC Consulting, The Economic Impact of Non-CTF Certified Canadian Film and Television Production investigates productions that fill Canadian content requirements for broadcast and tax incentive purposes, but do not qualify for funding from the Canadian Television Fund (CTF). Certified productions are the strongest part of the Canadian content production industry, accounting for $1.6 billion in total production for 2000/2001.

These productions have also created jobs; 44,000 direct and indirect jobs in 2000/2001. In 1995 the federal government introduced labour-based tax credits to encourage production companies to hire Canadians for such prime creative jobs as directors, screenwriters, actors and technicians among others. Certified productions have some flexibility for hiring foreign talent, particularly directors and actors. In fact the inclusion of such foreign elements are a prerequisite for these productions selling well internationally. Some examples include: Little Bear, Nuremberg, Relic Hunter, Tales from the Cryptkeeper, The Worst Witch and Varian’s War.

“It’s great to have truly Canadian shows like This Hour Has 22 Minutes. We need that as a country, with our distinct sense of humour, but it’s a pretty tough sell in Italy,” said Julia Keatley, CFTPA chair and executive producer Cold Squad. According to Keatley Canadian programs with foreign elements give producers access to bigger production budgets, and the ability to pre-sell to foreign markets.

CTF funded productions have a cultural mandate to promote identifiably Canadian stories – stories that can be seen on the screen as reflecting Canada. Consequently CTF productions acknowledge Canadian locations and do not use American stars. That combination can make them more difficult to market abroad. CTF productions include: Made in Canada, The Red Green Show, the miniseries Trudeau and The Associates.

“In this economic climate we can’t ignore the importance of making our own productions,” said Guy Mayson, CFTPA executive vice-president. “Certified productions that sell abroad ultimately strengthen Canadian companies and our production infrastructure.”

The CFTPA is a non-profit, trade association representing almost 400 Canadian companies involved in the media content production industry. With offices in Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver, the association promotes the interests of media content producers by lobbying government on policy matters, negotiating labour agreements, offering mentorship programs, copyright initiatives, holding an annual conference, and producing industry publications..

For more information on this, please contact:

Jane L. Thompson
Director of Communications
Canadian Film and Television Production Association

Tel: 613 233 1444 ext 227