Basics of Filming in Ontario

Film shoot in Toronto. Photo by Alan Daly

Ontario is a province rich in stunning locations, with cities that can easily double for major North American locations like New York and Chicago. The abundance of varying architecture and historic locations are also ideal for giving an authentic feel to film and TV projects set in various time periods. Producers such as Amazon, Netflix, and Sony all film multiple productions throughout Ontario every year.

Ontario’s provincial government and the federal government of Canada offer attractive tax incentives for those looking to film in the province, as do individual hot spot cities, like Toronto, which has it’s own tax incentives available.

All applicable tax credits are bankable with Canadian financial institutions. The local province of Ontario offers a 21.5% tax credit for eligible film and television productions and the Canadian Government offers an additional tax credit of 16% for service productions. Ontario provides a 35% tax credit on eligible Ontario labour expenditures with an additional 10% regional bonus. The Canadian Government also offers 25% (for domestic productions) on Canadian labour costs. An additional 18% is provided for eligible labour on VFX and animation in Ontario, including on-set labour costs for green-screen shooting. The City of Toronto Tax Incentives include stackable, as well as domestic and treaty co-production tax credits.

Various tax credits can be combined offering savings of up to 45% on qualified labour costs and up to 35.2% on total production costs.

Ontario has a wealth of local talent, including VFX and post production facilities. The Director’ Guild of Canada database hosts a wealth of information to keep producers informed with crew availability across the province. Ontario Creates is the go-to government agency advocating on behalf of the industry, as well as hosting a one stop portal for filling in applications for tax credits and applicable programs. In addition to these organizations are unions such as IATSE and Nabet, as well as associations like ACTRA.

Other organizations that are pro-active in assisting foreign and domestic production that wish to film in Ontario, include Toronto Film Office and FilmOntario. Together with Ontario Creates, these organizations are devoted to fighting for productions to ensure the best level of customer service is being met.

Ontario is also home to many premium studio spaces and backlots. Sullivan Studios’s 120,000 square foot studio is one such location, equipped with a 65,000 square-foot backlot.

Some other the benefits of filming in Ontario include: