Who would have thought? Canadian spot-makers may have the solution for the age-old Canadian stressor – keeping our country united. Bernard Landry must be rolling around his summer home, taking out the woodshed with a croquet mallet.

Almost universally, commercial houses in Montreal are working on deals with their Toronto counterparts to represent their rosters for directing work in Quebec. Cinelande satellite 401 is probably the farthest ahead, cutting a deal with Radke Films several months ago and recently scooping up former Voodoo Arts executive Stephanie Lord to head up the effort. As well, Montreal’s Kissfilms is already signed up with Wayne Fenske’s LTB Productions in Toronto.

Other Montreal companies are also courting Toronto houses. Jet Films, Voodoo and La Fabrique d’images are at various stages of negotiations with Toronto companies including The Partners’ Film Company and Avion Films. Go ahead, readers – mix-and-match. When the deals are done, OTS will let you know if you made the right connections.

The question for the spot industry is why, and how can we do it better to inspire the rest of the country?

Why? According to 401’s Lord, Montreal agencies had always been conflicted when they coveted a Toronto director but wanted to keep their business in Quebec. The new setup allows them to have their gateau and eat it, too. Already, Lord says, the agencies are excited and the spot business in Montreal has picked up as a result.

The cost (there’s always a price in this business) is less motivation for Montreal agencies to recruit Montreal directors. Now, with the ability to access Toronto directors while still keeping their business local, some Quebec-based directors will see their workload shrink.

Until Toronto shops get better at selling Montreal directors to their agency clients, it will continue to be the Montreal directors who suffer, even while their prodcos profit.

Despite the messy details, there’s a model here for unity on a national scale. French or English, the bottom line is still cash (quelle surprise). If we can make each other money, why not be friends?

Now, if Toronto could start supporting Quebec directors the way they support Ontario’s, we might really be getting somewhere.