It looks like Mickey, Minnie and Donald Duck will be heading north this winter after all.

A spokesperson for Investment Canada in Ottawa says the Walt Disney Company of Los Angeles applied to locate in Canada under investment regulations governing cultural industries and has been granted permission to set up its first animation studio in Canada. Details of the Disney proposal could not be disclosed.

Lenora Hume, Disney’s director of international development, could not be reached in l.a. to confirm where the Canadian studio will be located; however, in an earlier interview she indicated Vancouver was a preferable site due to its proximity to l.a. and the burgeoning local animation community.

An announcement from Disney is expected by the end of January.