The $13 billion Canadian film industry set to boom again
Canada’s reputation as a great destination for the filming industry has been further strengthened with a big announcement by Netflix. According to CIC New, the streaming giant Netflix has announced that it will open a new head office in Canada.
Ted Sarandos, Netflix’s co-CEO, announced that they will open a head office in Canada because the country has become such “an important part of our business” and it wants to” build on that momentum.”
Netflix has become one of the biggest names in entertainment over the past decade, producing critically acclaimed television shows, movies and hosting highly successful comedy specials.
“Since 2017 alone we have spent more than $2.5 billion Canadian dollars on productions in the country. But more than that, we have built relationships with so many talented directors, screenwriters, actors, producers, animators and more,” wrote Sarandos.
With an ambitious tax credit system and relatively lower production costs than elsewhere in the world, Canada has become a particularly attractive destination for television and film production companies.
The country is known for having one of the most diverse, innovative, profitable and dynamic film and television industries in the world. This makes it a major attraction for anyone developing content, and something that Netflix is also focusing on.
“Canada is an amazingly diverse country and growing our presence locally will help us share more authentically Canadian stories with the world, whether through the development of original content or through co-production and licensing opportunities,” Sarandos said in a blog post.
He also said Netflix will be announcing a series of local projects during the coming weeks.
GoCompare, a British financial services comparison website, ranked Canada as the third most filmed country in the world after the United States and the United Kingdom. Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal play a leading role in film and television production in Canada and these three major Canadian cities have become a prime location for major new film production investments in recent years.
Film and television production in Canada is an important part of the Canadian economy. It creates hundreds of thousands of jobs across the country and accounted for approximately $13 billion of Canada’s GDP in 2018-19. The film, television and video post-production industries, like many other artistic and cultural activities, have been severely affected by the pandemic. Despite the slowdown, they are storming back and activity is expected to return to, and even exceed pre-pandemic levels in the coming year.
