I heard Canada has a HUGE movie/tv business? Is this true?

Question

I really love the thought of living in Canada - anyone ever lived there? What's it like?

Answer 1

Yes the film industry is thriving - I live in Vancouver. It's really beautiful here, very cosmopolitan and vibrant city. There are alot of outdoor activities. You don't have to go very far to go skiing if you want - only about 20 minutes drive or something like that to Grouse Mountain in North Vancouver. Whistler about 2 hours away or so, if I remember correctly.

Here is some info on how big the film industry is in Canada.

In British Columbia:

http://www.bcfilmcommission.com/industry_profile/

The British Columbia Film and Television Industry

In 1978, the film and television industry spent $12 million directly on production in British Columbia.

In 2005, the film and television industry spent over $1.23 billion.

On average, more than 90 percent of the production crews are British Columbians.

About 30,000 British Columbia residents rely on the industry for their livelihood.


There is quite an active film industry in Toronto, Ontario too:

http://www.toronto.ca/tfto/stats.htm

$898.245 million worth of film and television productions were shot in the City of Toronto in 2005.
Major productions: $773.103 million
Commercials: $120.6 million
Music Videos: $4.542 million
The industry provides 25,000 jobs in Toronto, making it one of the city's largest employers.

The value of production spending in Toronto by US companies increased 7% in 2005 from $398.416 million in spending in 2004 to $425.213 in 2005


The value of feature film production spending rose 21% from $294.457 million in 2004 to $355.522 million in 2005

In 2005 the City's Film and Television Office issued 4,154 location filming permits for 1,258 projects totaling 7,319 days of shooting. We also handled 14,372 telephone inquiries.

One of the reasons why the film industry is so big up here is not only that the US dollar goes farther up here, but also because the provincial governments give big tax breaks to US production companies.

Keep in mind that if you aren't Canadian, you can't just move up to Canada to work. You either have to have permanent resident status or else have a work permit. However if production is done here, they tend to hire locally, so you'd have to immigrate unless you have some unique skill that no one in Canada has and they absolutely have to hire a non-Canadian. Another reason why they hire locally is so they don't have to pay travel and accomodation costs for people coming in from out of the country.

Connections are very important, as more than one person told me the industry is pretty tight-knit. So like alot of things out there, it's not necessarily what you know but who you know. Do your research.

Answer 2

Absolutely! But the stars still come from Hollywood or India. However, the technicians, cameramen, stunt people, costumers, extras, bit players, etc.etc.etc. are all Canadian, so it is really a huge industry.
Canada is very special. It's like the US in some ways, but in most other ways, it's its own country. People in Canada are a little more open than in the US. They're very outgoing, and very enthusiastic about outdoor activities. Snow stuff - skiing, skating, ski-doos, etc in the winter, hiking, climbing, paddling, boating, etc. in the summer. Beach volleyball has taken over the coastal areas, and there's a vivid and wonderful live theatre community in Canada.
Why not come up for a visit and see for yourself?

Answer 3

Yes it is true there are a lot of films shot in Toronto. We have the Toronto Film Studios where the 50 Cent movie Get Rich or Die Tryin was shot. Just do a search for the films shot in Toronto and you'll see how much were filmed here. Also do a search for films currently being shot in Toronto and you'll get some good info- actors, director, when they're being shot and even phone numbers.

Answer 4

yes we have a huge move industry in Vancouver. I've lived here all my life...never wanted to leave..it's beautiful....and I worked for a major airline for 31years but I always wanted to come back here.

Answer 5

ya america is getting expensive to film in so peope are movin north