Ontario’s film and TV industry had another record year in 2016, with the industries contributing nearly $1.7 billion to the province’s economy, according to information released by the Ontario Media Development Corporation.

The findings were announced by Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport Eleanor McMahon at the William F. White Centre in Toronto on Monday. This marks the sixth consecutive year that film and TV productions supported by the province have contributed more than $1 billion to the local economy.

In 2015, the Ontario industry contributed $1.5 billion to the provincial economy and supported 31,800 full-time direct and spin-off jobs. In 2016, the industry added nearly 3,200 jobs from the previous year, up to 35,000 in total.

Growth in the province was largely driven by television series, both foreign and domestic. Foreign series production spending was up by 10.4% to $514 million in 2016, from $465.7 million in 2015. Notable international TV productions included American Gods and Designated Survivor. Meanwhile, domestic TV series spend was up by 6.7% to $684.5 million, from $641.4 million the previous year. Series such as Workin’ Moms and Letterkenny filmed in the province.

Overall, all domestic productions contributed $842.6 million to the Ontario economy, up from $761.9 million in 2015. The number of domestic features held steady at 27 in 2016, while 120 Canadian series filmed in Ontario in 2016, compared to 113 in 2015. Domestic television movies, miniseries, specials and pilots also saw a significant jump in 2016 to 77, from 64 the previous year.

International productions contributed $847.3 million to the economy in 2016, up from $763 million in 2015. While foreign spend was up, the number of projects fell to 79, from 98 the previous year. Only 23 features filmed in the province last year, from 28 in 2015; meanwhile 31 TV series and 25 MOWs and specials shot in Ontario, down from 44 and 26 respectively.

Of the 224 domestic productions supported by the province, 15 were animated, down from 17 in 2015. Of the 79 foreign productions, nine were animated, down from 26 the previous year. While the industry experienced a significant drop in animated projects year-over-year, spend on animation in 2016 ($120.8 million) still exceeded historical averages. The OMDC report notes that after an abnormal spike in foreign animation projects in 2015, numbers returned to normal levels in 2016.

According to the report, there are currently 26 productions in preproduction or currently filming in Ontario, including Robert Budreau’s Stockholm and major TV series such as Star Trek and The Strain. 

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