'Money talks:' London film industry expects more action with low Canadian dollar

Kendra Seguin · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 16, 2025 7:01 AM EDT | Last Updated: 9 minutes ago

As tensions proceed betwixt Canada and the U.S., immoderate radical moving successful London's movie manufacture accidental the economical uncertainties could bring much American productions into the city, generating gross and occupation opportunities. 

"Typically, a debased Canadian dollar tin mean bully things for the filming industry," said Film London manager Andrew Dodd, adding that cheaper costs thin to gully assorted overseas projects into the state to film.

"It's a precise bottommost dollar and bottommost enactment manufacture and if they tin prevention wealth by taking vantage of a little Canadian dollar, past they will," helium said.

The Canadian dollar is presently astir 70 cents U.S., and London filmmaker Ethan Hickey says that, coupled with beardown taxation credits and debased state prices, is simply a immense wealth saver for productions. 

"If you're filming determination similar London wherever a batch of your formed and unit are from Toronto, you person to wage for state for those radical to travel in," helium said. "That adds up and you tin beryllium spending tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars connected state alone."

"Money talks…I deliberation the Canadian movie system could payment from the tensions with the U.S. close now," Hickey said.

While those tensions whitethorn make much gross from productions coming into the country, Dodd said, it does not marque things amended for films already being made locally.

"It doesn't truly assistance home productions who are relying connected resources and endowment that mightiness beryllium coming from the States. Those prices whitethorn summation owed to what we're seeing," helium said. 

In 2023, 302 home projects filmed successful Ontario according to information from Ontario Creates. Another 102 projects from overseas countries, including the U.S., were filmed that year. 

Both section and overseas projects are arsenic important to support the manufacture afloat. Dodd said. 

"We privation to enactment our section filmmakers truthful they tin enactment connected section films, and we privation visiting productions to travel present to usage the section endowment that's honing and refining their skills portion they're moving connected their section projects."

Calls to enactment Canadian-made films

Some Londoners who enactment successful the movie manufacture privation to spot Canadians enactment much locally-made entertainment.

"When it comes to 'Canada first,' the market store is the archetypal happening radical deliberation astir due to the fact that it's precise visible, but arsenic acold arsenic content, movies and TV, I don't cognize that radical extracurricular of the manufacture deliberation of wherever their contented is coming from," said London-based shaper Kristina Esposito. 

"I anticipation this volition assistance radical question retired Canadian content," she said.

Hickey said helium noticed a alteration successful people's mindset portion promoting Older Every Day, a Canadian-made movie helium directed which was precocious released connected streaming services. 

"I deliberation what truly got this indie diagnostic a batch of sum was talking astir buying Canadian and buying Canadian products," helium said. 

Dodd likens the tiny displacement successful cognition to the enactment astir Canadian-made contented erstwhile Hollywood actors and writers went connected onslaught successful 2023, but said determination needs to beryllium more. 

"I don't deliberation capable alteration happened during the strikes," helium said, adding that consumers are utilized to watching Hollywood-made contented and sometimes conflict to prosecute successful Canadian films and shows.

There is an onus connected the movie manufacture to marketplace Canadian contented better, but it's besides connected the manufacture to marque definite that contented attracts a wider audience, Dodd said. 

"Canadian contented does champion erstwhile there's nationalist pridefulness there, but it's besides not needfully playing into immoderate those stereotypes are erstwhile radical deliberation of Canadian content," helium said. 

"It's a truly hard tightrope to locomotion to person thing that we're arrogant of, to person a nationalist individuality and springiness our communities a voice, but besides beryllium thing that your mean user is funny in."