Welcome to Profile 2025
Profile 2025 provides a detailed overview of production activity in Canada, with information compiled from federal and provincial agencies, as well as funding organizations such as the Canada Media Fund and Telefilm Canada. The financial information aligns with the fiscal year of these agencies and organizations; as such, Profile 2025 contains information from the start of April 2024 to the end of March 2025.
Total production volume in the Canadian film and television industry increased by 4.6 per cent to $10.17 billion in 2024/25. This growth was driven by a 9.5 per cent increase in foreign location and services (FLS) production, reaching $5.3 billion. Broadcaster in-house production also rose by 5.4 per cent, principally as a result of additional spending by CBC/Radio-Canada related to its coverage of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
In many ways, the increases in production activity represent a rebound, in part, from the significant decreases experienced in 2023/24. In that year, production volume was negatively impacted by the two lengthy labour strikes in the United States and Canadian broadcasters having caught up on their programming underspend during the COVID pandemic. However, this rebound has not returned volumes back to post-pandemic highs, as content commissioning significantly increased in that two-year period but has since come down. Examined over a longer ten-year timeline, production activity in 2024/25 resumes a growth trend seen prior to the disruptive pandemic period, especially in relation to FLS production.
In its 2025/26 budget, the federal government announced additional measures to support Canadian creators and the cultural economy, as well as protect the CBC as Canada’s national broadcaster. Stabilized funding for Telefilm Canada, and more funding for both the Canada Media Fund and the CBC will encourage more Canadian content production. But more is needed, principally because the issues at play are systemic in nature.
At the same time as growth resumes in the FLS space, data shows Canadian broadcaster revenues continuing to decline, along with their expenditures on Canadian programming. Project green lights are becoming increasingly difficult to secure, raising concerns about the commissioning of content in the years ahead.
Data from the CRTC shows that Canadian broadcaster revenues are in decline, as are their expenditures on Canadian programming. While online service revenues already total more than five billion dollars annually, they are not required to contribute to the development and production of Canadian content from their Canadian subscribers. For Canadian producers, the impact is clear and felt from multiple industry access points.
The Online Streaming Act introduced amendments to the Broadcasting Act. Principle among them is the inclusion of online services as part of the Canadian broadcasting system, including a specific requirement for those services to also contribute to the development, production and discoverability of Canadian programming.
The implementation of a modernized regulatory framework by the Canadian Radio-television Communications Commission (CRTC) has been delayed. While an initial decision in June 2024 established a base contribution requirement, it was appealed and a decision from the Federal Court of Appeal is still pending. Subsequently, in November 2025, the CRTC did provide a revised definition for the certification of Canadian content. However, a counterpart decision regarding the revenue-based contributions themselves was not issued at the same time, and at the time of publishing Profile 2025, we continue to await that decision. A third phase, reviewing the specific contribution proposals provided by broadcasters and online services, is not expected to start until later in 2026.
Notwithstanding these challenges, a revised regulatory framework holds the key to a better and more sustainable Canadian broadcasting system. It will provide the existential bridge from traditional broadcasting to multi-platform distribution and ensure the continued participation and representation of Canadians and Canadian stories in that system.
There are also a number of firsts for this year’s report.
Indigenous production
Chapter 2 on Canadian content now also includes summary data for Indigenous audiovisual production. The estimate for 2024/25 indicates the highest level of total production volume ($347 million), since that data was first tracked in 2019/20.
The New Digital Format
This year’s edition of Profile introduces a new digital site from which readers can access the data contained in the report. This digital format is designed to provide a more user-friendly experience, enabling more effective and efficient exploration of information related to the production industry.
In the years ahead, we intend to continue building on the digital foundation established with this edition of Profile.