Item - 2026.EC26.1

The Economic and Community Development Committee recommends that:

1. City Council adopt Toronto’s Screen Future: A Strategic Plan for Continued Growth 2025-2030, as outlined in Attachment 1 to the report (February 9, 2026) from the General Manager, Economic Development and Culture, and request the General Manager, Economic Development and Culture to modify, adapt and innovate the implementation of actions as required in response to the changing state of the film industry.

2. City Council direct the General Manager, Economic Development and Culture, in consultation with other divisions, agencies and partners, as appropriate, as well as local Councillors, to apply and refine the tactics and metrics of the film strategic plan for Scarborough by establishing a Scarborough centric working group with the Film and Television and Digital Media Office to foster the ongoing emergence and stabilization of local screen-based industry, and to report back as part of progress updates to the Film, Television and Digital Media Advisory Board as appropriate.

Toronto's film and television production industry is highly valuable to the city, producing an annual direct spend as high as $2.6 billion and supporting a skilled workforce of 40,000. The City has a legacy of strategic investments in Toronto's film industry over decades to achieve this success. Today, the result is that Toronto is one of the top five largest production hubs in North America, defined by world-leading talent servicing almost 3 million square feet of studio space. Toronto’s industry is globally competitive, with local talent winning Oscars, Emmys, Golden Globes, and Canadian Screen Awards for work done here. This strength is the product of decades of investment and strategic support from the City of Toronto, other orders of government, domestic and international partners, and Toronto’s film and television workers themselves.

Building on these strong fundamentals, Toronto’s film industry is currently navigating a period of rapid change. Jurisdictions in the United States and around the world are increasingly competing for production investment through enhanced tax credits, expanded studio infrastructure, and other supports, which requires a coordinated and competitive response to protect Toronto’s market share. The risk is compounded by recent efforts by the U.S. administration to retain American film and television production domestically and by growing trade-related uncertainty. As U.S. producers account for a majority of film production in Toronto, the City must continue to promote the local industry to U.S. producers while also growing domestic production through increased co-production investment by other international partners.

The sector also faces capital-specific challenges that constrain long-term growth. The development of new and expanded studio space has become increasingly difficult due to high land costs, global construction inflation, and tariffs on imported building materials, alongside broader economic uncertainty and shifting international trade conditions that have slowed new investment. To address these constraints and capitalize on future opportunities, the City is pursuing measures to enable a more film-friendly infrastructure and environment, such as stronger planning tools to protect and

expand core employment areas, streamlining regulatory processes to support film-friendly uses, and collaborating with industry to identify strategically located lands for future studio and production infrastructure development.

Evolving technologies, new distribution models, and global audience growth also present significant opportunities for Toronto to further strengthen its position as a leading screen hub. These technologies are rapidly accelerating, creating opportunities for innovation in production, post-production, and visual effects while carrying risks that require an informed, ethical, and inclusive approach. While current market conditions reflect a period of adjustment following the pandemic, recent labour disruptions, and trade-related uncertainty, these are understood as temporary market adjustments rather than permanent shifts. In this context, the City’s focus is on future-looking actions that avoid short-term, reactive decisions and instead build out a resilient, film-friendly city that is well positioned for renewed growth as conditions stabilize.

To protect and grow Toronto's industry, a new five-year Strategic Plan for the film industry is needed in alignment with priorities identified in various Council-adopted City strategies, including, but not limited to:

- Sidewalks to Skylines: An Action Plan for Toronto’s Economy, which calls to grow Toronto’s global competitiveness in key anchor and high-productivity sectors, highlighting creative industries such as film;

- Mayor’s Economic Action Plan in Response to United States Tariffs, which notes the need to ‘support tariff-resilient sectors able to drive long-term economic growth and job creation’, foregrounding creative industries within this group; and

- Culture Connects: An Action Plan for Culture in Toronto, which notes the need for sector-specific strategies for shaping new policies, programs, and investments in growing industries including film, music, public art, the visitor economy, and esports.

This report presents Toronto’s Screen Future: A Strategic Plan for Continued Growth 2025-2030, the new Film Strategic Plan for the City of Toronto. The Strategic Plan—which includes 13 actions, with metrics, across four strategic priorities—was developed through extensive engagement, and research and analysis on the current state of the film industry and the key factors to maintain Toronto’s global competitiveness.

It sets out a high-level roadmap to expand studio and production capacity, workforce development, incentives, sustainability, and client outreach to meet growing demand and defend and grow Toronto’s market share. It also aims to increase targeted support for the domestic production sector to diversify and stabilize the industry and to strengthen the City’s operating conditions so that the Film Office can move at the speed of industry, securing long-term investment, quality jobs, and broad community benefits. Together, priorities and actions are intended to ensure that Toronto remains one of the world’s leading and most film-friendly production centres through 2030 and beyond.

At its meeting on September 15, 2025, Film, Television and Digital Media Advisory Board considered Item FB8.1 and made recommendations to the Economic and Community Development Committee.

 
Summary from the report (September 15, 2025) from the General Manager, Economic Development and Culture:
 
The film and television industry is a key economic and cultural driver, producing an annual direct spend as high as $2.6 billion and meaningfully contributing to Toronto's cultural vibrancy. As the Economic Development and Culture Division develops a five-year Film Strategy in alignment with the priorities identified in both Sidewalks to Skylines: An Action Plan for Toronto's Economy and Culture Connects: An Action Plan for Culture in Toronto, it retained the services of Olsberg SPI Ltd., to ensure an informed approach based on the current industry and economic landscape. This report includes their key findings, based on comprehensive research, an analysis of the current state of film production in Toronto, and extensive engagement – including 7 roundtables with 43 stakeholders, 25 one-on-one consultations with senior executives, and a sector-wide survey that reached 200 industry professionals.

The City acknowledges receipt of Olsberg SPI Ltd.'s report and the significant amount of research and insight from subject matter experts and industry leaders reflected in the report. This report was commissioned in order to inform Toronto's Film Strategy. The report is included as Attachment 1.

Marguerite Pigott, Film Commissioner and Director of Entertainment Industries, Economic Development and Culture Division, City of Toronto will give a presentation on Film Strategy Recommendations.

The presentation will cover recommendations to support Toronto’s Film Sector from Toronto’s Screen Future – A Strategic Framework for Continued Growth 2025-2030, for discussion by the Film Board.