Issues with infrastructure and marketability have been identified as key roadblocks in attracting productions to Ontario regions outside of Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area, according to a newly published report.

The study, titled Attracting Film Production to Small Town Ontario, assessed how towns outside the province’s primary film and TV hubs can become go-to destinations for productions.

The municipalities incorporated in the study included Collingwood, The Blue Mountains, Wasaga Beach, Adjala-Tosorontio, Bradford West Gwillimbury, Essa, Innisfil, New Tecumseth, Meaford, Oro-Medonte and the County of Grey.

Additional travel costs due to lack of adequate infrastructure and transportation, a lack of awareness about film industry resources, outdated or missing information for film locations, and limited resources for developing film policies are among challenges these towns face, said the report. It noted that while some towns have seen growth, others see major films visit “once a decade.”

The report also highlighted the value of having a regional film office or liaison, estimating that they increase “the amount of film production and direct economic impact by three to 10 times the organic rate of production in a small town.”

North Bay was cited as an area of growth, with the support of Cultural Industries Ontario North, with the region attracting 94 productions over 2400 production days, generating a direct economic impact of $167 million between 2012 to 2022.

The Nottawasaga Futures Film Liaison Office has also seen overall film production growth, stated the report, and provided location support and permits for the film The Marsh King’s Daughter (2023). It also facilitates ongoing access to the South Simcoe Railway, which regularly hosts television shows such as CBC’s Murdoch Mysteries.

“A film office can make it very easy to find more than one location, and sometimes a film officer or liaison helps us find everything we need. There is great value in having that local expertise available,” said filmmaker Boris Mojsovski, who was a consultant on the study.

Nine out of 10 small towns surveyed for the study did not have a film policy or permitting procedure in place. All the surveyed towns indicated capacity-building as an important action item in town strategic plans.

The report recommended short and long-term strategies to tackle these challenges, which include marketing unique town characteristics, establishing film offices, developing a tiered permitting system, and engaging local governments to simplify regulations. Waiving costs for permit fees or reducing costs are advertised as an incentive by some rural and distant small towns outside the GTA, read the report.

Long-term strategies recommended in the study include incentives to hire local talent, partnering with educational institutes for capacity-building initiatives, and developing studio facilities in strategic locations. The report also recommended establishing partnerships with hubs like Toronto for knowledge and resource sharing, in addition to creating joint ventures for large-scale projects that can utilize resources from both areas.

The study also explored areas where the film and local tourism sectors overlap to evaluate how these towns could develop film infrastructure, assess economic impacts, and boost workforce training and capacity, noting that “the same attraction qualities that draw tourists to small towns near the GTA, within a few hour’s drive, are very similar to what attracts on-location filming to a town.”

For example, the town of Niagara-on-the-Lake saw a 30% spike in tourism after its landscape and historic sites were showcased in popular films.

The study was co-authored by producer Tom Strnad and Tracey Strnad on behalf of the South Georgian Bay Media Association, and conducted in collaboration with Ontario Creates, Community Futures South Georgian Bay, Nottawasaga Futures Film Liaison Office and Town of The Blue Mountain.

The municipalities involved in the study were engaged using interviews and surveys directly through staff and/or through film representatives. The study also tapped into insight from film professionals, consultants, private location owners, film liaison office staff, economic development officers, and town department managers. This was gathered through interviews between September and December 2023, and a roundtable discussion in November 2023.

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