Canadians subscribe to major streaming services by the millions, and we contribute to a lot of the content on those services. How many times have you been watching the latest movie or TV show and noticed it was filmed in a very familiar location? Fort Langley or Steveston’s storefronts pop up repeatedly, as do the skylines of Vancouver or Toronto. For West Coasters, every time we see something filmed in a damp forest of cedars and Douglas fir, we know we’re watching something made in Canada.
Canadian locations stand in for Maine and Seattle and Everytown USA, for various alien planets and fantasy worlds. But rarely does Canada get to play itself. That may be about to change. The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has updated its policies under the Online Streaming Act.
The largest streaming companies operating in Canada must now put 15 per cent of their Canadian revenue into the creation of Canadian movies, TV, and local news. That’s up from five per cent when the the policy was first adopted in 2023. If the American-based companies don’t manage to overturn the law in court (they’re trying), it would mean about $2 billion a year in funding for CanCon. It’s about time.
For too long, Canada has been a market for U.S. companies, and a cheap location for production, but we’ve been cut out of any ability to tell Canadian stories. We have the performers and writers and crews ready to throw themselves into it. Canada has seen breakout successes. “Heated Rivalry”, “When Calls the Heart”, “Letterkenny”, “Schitt’s Creek”, and “Kim’s Convenience” have all found international audiences despite being firmly set in Canada. This funding could allow us to supercharge our cultural production, and to gain valuable soft power on the international stage.
Sure, South Korea has made cars and ships for decades, but ask anyone about their exports today and the first thing that comes up is Kpop. Hopefully, we’ll soon see Canadian creators able to tell more stories about people in the towns and cities, the provinces and territories, and the country they call home.