Telefilm Canada is a Canadian

Crown corporation Crown corporation () is the term used in Canada for organizations that are structured like private companies, but are directly and wholly owned by the government. Crown corporations have a long-standing presence in the country, and have a sign ...

that supports Canada's audiovisual industry. Headquartered in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, Telefilm Canada provides services to the Canadian audiovisual industry with four regional offices in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, British Columbia;

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, Ontario;

, Quebec; and

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. The primary mandate of the corporation is to finance and promote Canadian productions through its various funds and programs.

Purpose

As one of the principal instruments for supporting Canada's audiovisual industry, Telefilm Canada's primary mandate is to provide support and promote all stages of screen-based content through its various funds and programs. It also fosters the commercial, cultural, and industrial success of Canadian productions and to stimulate demand for those productions both at home and abroad. It also administers the programs of the Canada Media Fund. The organization is also responsible for choosing Canada's annual submission to the

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...

for the Best International Feature Film award.

Coproductions

Telefilm Canada administers the Canadian government's coproductions, while supporting Canadian filmmakers and their international counterparts to coproduce films and television programs that enjoy the status of national productions in each of the respective countries.

Operations

Headquartered in

, Telefilm Canada provides bilingual services to its clients through four offices located in Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal and Halifax. The Atlantic Regional office, in operation since 1984 from Halifax, services

New Brunswick New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

and

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island is an island Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. While it is the smallest province by land area and population, it is the most densely populated. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", ...

. The Quebec Regional office is located in the Montreal head office and serves the province of

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

. The Ontario Regional office, in operation since 1968 from Toronto, serves both

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

and

Nunavut Nunavut is the largest and northernmost Provinces and territories of Canada#Territories, territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the ''Nunavut Act'' and the Nunavut Land Claims Agr ...

. The Western Regional office, in operation since 1984 from Vancouver, serves the Western provinces of

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

, the

Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories is a federal Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada. At a land area of approximately and a 2021 census population of 41,070, it is the second-largest and the most populous of Provinces and territorie ...

and the

Yukon Yukon () is a Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada, bordering British Columbia to the south, the Northwest Territories to the east, the Beaufort Sea to the north, and the U.S. state of Alaska to the west. It is Canada’s we ...

History

Creation

In 1967, the Canadian government founded the Canadian Film Development Corporation (CFDC), allocating $10 million in support of the country's feature film industry. Michael Spencer was named the first executive director of the CFDC, which by then included offices in Montreal and Toronto.

1970s

By 1976, the Canadian government had increased the CFDC's budget to $25 million annually, at which point it decided to finance the corporation with an annual parliamentary appropriation. Spencer was replaced by Michael McCabe in May 1978. Notable films produced with the agency's support included '' Goin' Down the Road'' (1970), '' The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz'' (1974), '' Shivers'' (1975), '' Why Shoot the Teacher'' (1977), '' In Praise of Older Women'' (1978).

1980s

The early 1980s sees the CFDC's budget increased yet again and the creation of the Canadian Broadcast Program Development Fund to revitalize Canadian television programming. At the time, approximately 85% of all prime time programming on Canadian television is imported from other countries—namely the US. Under the direction of André Lamy, in 1984 the CFDC is renamed "Telefilm Canada" to better reflect the organization's full range of activities in both the film and television industries. With the creation of the Feature Film Fund aimed at supporting feature films by Canadian filmmakers and the Feature Film Distribution Fund that makes credit lines available to Canadian distributors, Telefilm Canada takes a central role in the development and growth of Canadian cinema around the world.

1990s

Now under the executive direction of François Macerola, the Canada Television and Cable Production Fund is created. The Fund is a private-public partnership between the federal government of Canada and the cable and satellite television industry, with Telefilm administering the Equity Investment component of the Fund. By the end of the 1990s, in 1998, Telefilm Canada creates a five-year, $30-million multimedia fund, aptly-named The Multimedia Fund, with which to support Canadian work in the digital age. The Fund helps Canadians in multimedia to compete effectively in the new technologies arena.

2000s

With the new millennium, the Canadian government implemented a new Canadian Feature Film Policy, From Script to Screen, that effectively created the Canada Feature Film Fund (CFFF) to be managed by Telefilm Canada. Beginning April 1, 2001, with an annual budget of $100-million, the CFF's primary objective is to build larger audiences in Canada and abroad for Canadian feature films with improved distribution and marketing. Also that year, Telefilm Canada announces guidelines for the Canada New Media Fund, replacing the Multimedia Fund. Budgets grow from $6 million, to $9 million, and now sit at $14 million annually. The latter half of the decade brings about other changes for Telefilm. In 2005, the

minister of Canadian Heritage The Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture is the minister of the Crown who heads Department of Canadian Heritage, Canadian Heritage, the department of the Government of Canada responsible for Canadian culture, culture, Media in Canada, medi ...

announced a new collaboration between the organization and the Canadian Television Fund and, with it, renewed funding of 100 million for Canadian television programming. While the Board of the Canadian Television is responsible for the governance of all programs, Telefilm heads up the administration and delivery of the CTF programs.

2010s and 2020s

The

2012 Canadian federal budget 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to ...

cut funding for the

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; ) is a Canadian public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary films, animation, web documentaries, and altern ...

and Telefilm Canada by 10%. Today, following a new four-year plan, Telefilm has made stimulating demand for Canadian screen-based content one of its top priorities. In April 2022, Christa Dickenson announced that she would step down as executive director and CEO effective September 9, 2022.

Key people

Executive directors

* Michael Spencer – March 1969 to April 1978 *Michael McCabe – May 1978 to April 1980 *Pierre Thibault – April to July 1980, acting executive director * André Lamy – August 1980 to June 1985 * Peter Pearson – July 1985 to October 1987 *Judith McCann – October to December 1987, acting executive director *Michèle Fortin – December 1987 to May 1988, acting executive director *Pierre DesRoches – June 1988 to June 1994 *Peter Katadotis – June 1994 to March 1995, acting executive director * François Macerola – March 1995 to November 1998 *Peter Katadotis – November to December 1998, acting executive director *François Macerola – January 1999 to July 2001 *Johanne St-Arnauld – July 2001 to January 2002, acting executive director * Richard Stursberg – January 2002 to July 2004 * Carolle Brabant – July 2004 to January 2005, acting executive director * Wayne Clarkson – January 2005 to January 2010 * Carolle Brabant – March 2010 to March 2018 *Jean-Claude Mahé – March to July 2018, acting executive director *Christa Dickenson – July 2018 to 2023 * Julie Roy – 2023 to present

Chairpersons of the board

Georges-Émile Lapalme Georges-Émile Lapalme (January 14, 1907 – February 5, 1985) was a Quebec, Canada, politician who was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Quebec and leader of the Quebec Liberal Party. Background Born in Montreal Lapalme studied law at th ...

– February 1968 to November 1969 * Gratien Gélinas – November 1969 to February 1978 * Michel Vennat – March 1978 to May 1981 *David Silcox – September 1981 to December 1982 *Claude Morin – January to March 1983, chaired board meetings as vice-chair *Ed Prévost – April 1983 to June 1986 *Jean Sirois – July 1987 to April 1988 *Edmund C. Bovey – May 1988 to April 1990 *Harvey Corn – July 1990 to June 1993 *André Provost – June to July 1993, acting chair *Robert Dinan – July 1993 to July 1998 * Laurier LaPierre – July 1998 to July 2001 *François Macerola – July 2001 to February 2002 *Charles Bélanger – February 2002 to February 2007 * Felix (Fil) Fraser – February to October 2007, interim chair *Michel Roy – October 2007 to present

Regional agencies

Provincial

*Alberta Media Fund (

) * Creative BC Film Commission (

) *Manitoba Film & Music (

) *

Department of Tourism, Heritage and Culture The Department of Tourism, Heritage and Culture is a department of the government of New Brunswick. It was created in 2001 as the Department of Tourism and Parks from the Business New Brunswick and Department of Investment and Exports. Its mandat ...

(

) *PictureNL (

Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the populatio ...

) *Screen Nova Scotia (

) *Ontario Media Development Corporation (Ontario Creates) * Northern Ontario Heritage Fund (

Northern Ontario Northern Ontario is a primary geographic and quasi-administrative region of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario, the other primary region being Southern Ontario. Most of the core geographic region is located on p ...

) *Prince Edward Island Film Production Fund * Société de développement des entreprises culturelles (Quebec) *Creative Saskatchewan

Territorial

*NWT Film Commission (

) *Nunavut Film Development Corporation (

) *Yukon Media Development (

)

References

External links

* *
Telefilm Canada: History

{{authority control Federal departments and agencies of Canada Department of Canadian Heritage Canadian federal Crown corporations Film organizations in Canada Organizations based in Montreal 1967 establishments in Canada Film production companies of Canada