Ontario’s film and television industry had record year in 2015: government

TORONTO – The provincial government says Ontario’s film and television industry had its best year ever in 2015.

The ministry of tourism, culture and sport says the industry poured $1.5 billion into the province’s economy and supported almost 32,500 direct and associated jobs last year.

That’s an increase of almost 4,500 jobs over the previous year.

It says domestic productions accounted for half of the total spending on film and TV, although foreign spending rose 52 per cent from the previous year to $763 million.

Some of the productions that included work done in Ontario are the Oscar-winning films “Room” and “Spotlight.”

The government says Ontario is the top film and TV production centre in Canada and the third largest by volume in North America, after California and New York.

“The 2015 numbers confirm that Ontario continues to be the No. 1 choice in Canada for film and TV production, reinforcing our reputation as a world-class hub for screen-based industries,” said Michael Coteau, the minister of tourism, culture and sport.