The Canadian Film and Television Production Association is celebrating its 25th anniversary, and then some.

Originally formed in 1948 as a fledgling upstart with hopes of organizing feature film producers, today it is a well-oiled lobbying machine (amongst other things), representing almost 400 production companies working in film, TV and interactive media across Canada.

The current incarnation of the CFTPA is responsible for lobbying government on policy issues that impact the production community; negotiating with unions and guilds on behalf of producers; operating a successful nationwide mentorship program to help young people find jobs in the industry; hosting the annual Prime Time conference in Ottawa; and providing an indispensable reference guide of the industry.

This trade association was officially registered as a federal corporation in 1984, but it began in the ’40s, before television was invented, as the Association of Motion Picture Producers and Laboratories of Canada. It added television to its roster and title in 1974.

Throughout the ’80s, it ran neck-and-neck with the film and TV industry as it expanded and weathered some serious growing pains. At that point there was a splintering of producers and several competing associations, each of which claimed to represent the interests of the production sector.

Doug Barrett, president and CEO of PS Production Services, was on the board of the then-Canadian Film and Television Association in the late ’80s and recalls that the competing groups expended most of their energy on ‘jealous positioning against each other.’ As a result, all the producer associations were ineffectual in lobbying Ottawa because there were too many disparate voices crowding around the table.

‘The first major milestone of the organization was in bringing the producers organizations together into one cohesive group,’ says Barrett. ‘This, frankly, consumed many months of delicate negotiations, much compromise, and a considerable amount of alcohol.’

By 1990, the CFTA had merged all the competing producers organizations under its wing and the association changed its name to the CFTPA.

Stephen Ellis, president and CEO of Ellis Entertainment and former chair of the CFTPA board (2000 to 2002), says that one of the association’s key strengths continues to be its ability to maintain a united front while representing the country’s diverse production community.

‘The smart thing that the CFTPA did in 1990 was expand its board to 26 members – which is a bit insane – but it ensures that there are voices from across Canada at the table and that policies work across the country,’ says Ellis.

Former CFTPA chair (’97 to ’99) Linda Schuyler jokes that leading a board of entrepreneurial independent producers ‘is like trying to herd cats.’ But she notes that at critical times, the CFTPA representatives always put aside their differences and regional interests and take a leadership role.