The industry shock felt throughout Los Angeles throughout Hollywood writers and actors attacked in 2023, and after the subsequent budget crunch, had grown to Canada, particularly Ontario and British Columbia. The strike caused a 26% decline in production spending in 2024 compared to 2023, darkening the local soundstage and bringing the production crew to idle.
They were hoping for a quick recovery after labor measures were resolved in the second half of 2023 and Hollywood returned to work. As LA continues to struggle to bounce, the Canadian location business is booming again, showing a rarely anticipated, rapid rebound.
“Despite all the uncertainty, it appears to be very well engraved at this point,” says Karen Thorne Stone, president and CEO of Ontario. “The production level looks good for us. The rebound was strong. We feel hopeful.”
Brutal pragmatism sending US production north is fuelled by a very generous tax cut and the Canadian dollar, which continues to lose its value compared to American greenback, increasing savings for US producers (And if President Donald Trump goes through the proposed tariffs, the Canadian dollar could plummet even further, saving even more).
Insiders say the Los Angeles wildfires are unlikely to have an immediate impact on location shoots in Canada.
“What’s going on in LA is tragic and we all see it with a broken heart and we are very hoping it won’t have a long-term impact on the industry,” Thorn Stone said. says. “At this point, I don’t think there’s a direct impact on production levels from that situation. The fire and production were happening before the fire.”
For the time being, the Canadian location sector has focused on post-strike recovery, with several provinces beginning to emerge from the shadow of Ontario. .
Manitoba, for example, has seen important activities. Marc Provissiero, co-founder of Odenkirk Provissiero Entertainment, has made three films in Manitoba in recent years. Worldwide – sequels Nobody 2 and The Striller Normal.
When asked about his experience shooting with Manitoba crew, Probichero is reluctant to say how he truly feels.
“I don’t want to be honest and then everyone will start going there,” Probichero says. “They’re amazing. We love them.”
Probichero remembers his producer partner Braden Aftergood and the first pitching he in Winnipeg and its possible Central America. No one is looking for a rubber belt.
“(Winnipeg) wasn’t anyone’s radar,” Probichero said. “If we had the location photos and images, we knew we could copy the steel towns of Ohio and Pennsylvania. So we worked for us.”
Added Lynne Skromeda, CEO and film committee member of Manitoba Film and Music. “We’re seeing momentum start again. We’re definitely getting inquiries from all over Canada. People in the US are really paying attention to what’s going on in Manitoba.”
Hudson & Rex is a family drama filmed in Newfoundland and Labrador on the East Coast of Canada.
Derm Carberry/Up Entertainment
Provissiero undoubtedly benefited from the 45% movie tax credit in Manitoba (65% have a bonus). Canada’s tax credits and grants continue to be the leading production drivers for local indie filmmakers and studios. But subsidies and incentives can do a lot in the face of industry contraction. For example, the Canada animation sector hit a 10-year high in 2023, but has been rushing at 55% in 2024. Despite industry headwinds, Toronto has remained a bustling hub of Canadian animation, producing hits like Spinmaster Entertainment’s Kids Series Unicorn Academy.
Elsewhere, a unique location with a 40% tax credit for Newfoundland and Labrador encourages a surge in recent location shoots for series like UPTV’s Family Police Drama Hudson & Rex and CW’s Son Crich It’s there. Apple TV+’s retirement also filmed an episode of the second season at a location along the Bona Vista Peninsula. The Amazon Reacher (photographed primarily in Ontario) was set in the summer at St. John’s in Newfoundland.
St. John of Newfoundland has doubled in Portland, Maine, due to Amazon’s hit series Reacher.
Sophie Girou/Prime
“We avoid Newfoundland being an exciting place where we can do a lot of great work,” says Laura Churchill, a film committee member for Newfoundland and Labrador. From the UK
Given its proximity to Los Angeles, British Columbia, a long-standing production hub for major studios and streamers, has also experienced an increase in calls and queries. “We had a lot of phone calls, location packages and scout requests both in December and January. Our team is extremely busy,” says BC Film Commissioner Marnie Guy.
To meet that demand, Bridge Studios, owner of the first dedicated studio facility in Vancouver, is set to open 20 new soundstages on 18 acres at Lake City Studios facility this summer. The studio is built with green specifications in mind and boasts 100% fossil fuel free.
Certainly, the sacrifices that film and television filming can take on the environment are a continuing challenge for the Canadian location sector, and the Los Angeles fires are in the forests and rivers of western Canada, in the BC industry It especially resonates. He had his own experience with uncontrolled wildfires that levelled the entire rural community.
“Our hearts are directed towards California,” says Prem Gill, CEO of Creative BC, which sells the state to Hollywood. “We contacted the California Film Commission, and our industry here in British Columbia is really trying to see if there’s anything we can do. Clearly, it’s devastating for our California colleagues. .”
Gill adds that the dangers pose by climate change are being taken seriously by the state’s production and location crew. “It was very realistic and we certainly had a community in BC that has been influenced over the years,” she says.
She points to the efforts of the local film industry to promote environmental sustainability, for example, by dumping diesel generators in film sets and locations and tapping on a growing network of clean energy electric kiosks. .
In Ontario, efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions include filmmakers providing access to clean electricity at provincial locations and using portable power generators instead of diesel. Masu.
The Major Studio Series’ powerful Ontario Pipeline is highlighted by Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale, who concluded filming the final season in Toronto and cast in the series’ creative cast directly to Extreme, which is scheduled to be filmed in Toronto. Masu. From March to August.
Apple TV+’s retirement filmed an episode of the second season at a location along the Bona Vista Peninsula in Newfoundland.
Courtesy of Apple TV+
But despite the surprising rapid recovery after the Canadian strike recession, insiders acknowledge that challenges remain. Businesses in highly competitive locations are even more crowded, with countries on the planet boosting incentives and tax credits to lure lucrative Hollywood productions to the coast.
While the UK and Eastern Europe offer particularly tough competition, players in the Canadian industry are confident that major studios and streamers will continue to select Canada’s highly developed location industries in the long term.
“The infrastructure here (both human and physics) will ultimately win,” said Victoria Harding, executive director of the Directors Guild in Canada, Ontario.
The story was featured in the February 5th issue of the Hollywood Reporter Magazine. Click here to subscribe.
