Canadian film and TV production volume in Canada 2004-2020

After several years of fluctuation, budgets for Canadian-only TV and film productions rose to almost 3.55 billion Canadian dollars nationwide during the 2019/20 season. Compared with the previous season, the production volume of Canadian content increased by over eight percent.

Canada’s booming TV and film sector

Canada’s film and television industry has experienced significant growth in recent years, with numerous local and international productions being shot in the country every year. During the 2019/20 season, the total volume of film and television production in Canada reached a record 9.3 billion Canadian dollars. Canadian content alone generated and supported more than 62 thousand direct or spin-off jobs in the country, signaling the industry’s role as a driver of economic growth. With over 3.5 billion Canadian dollars in production budgets, British Columbia had the highest TV and film production volume of all Canadian provinces that year.

TV production spending

In 2019/20, Canadian television production volume rose to 2.6 billion Canadian dollars, making it the second-largest segment of the Canadian screen sector and the biggest contributor to overall TV and film production budget growth. Split by production types, Canadian television series accounted for the largest share of television production volume in Canada. With that said, most of the increase in TV production volume can be attributed to higher spending on fiction television series as opposed to higher production quantities: Between 2015 and 2020, the number of Canadian TV series productions decreased from 836 to 757 projects per year. Considering the impact that the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic continues to have on production schedules worldwide, a further drop in numbers can be expected.