Last year alone, the live action film industry contributed $52 million to Ottawa’s economy. The city’s film industry not only benefits the actors seen on the silver screen, but creates a positive ripple effect across multiple sectors.
From food services to carpentry, a variety of employers and workers benefit when a film is shot in town.
“Whenever there is a film coming to Ottawa, restaurants, hotels, and catering jobs are being created. This generates a lot of revenue,” says Sandrine Pechels de Saint Sardos, commissioner of the Ottawa Film Office.
The city has seen a sharp increase in recent years in live action films choosing Ottawa as a locale. And that helps explain why more than 1,000 potential job-seekers showed up last month to a film industry career fair at Ottawa City Hall.
The city has incentives to make Ottawa film-friendly, such as tax credits and the waving of permit fees. Productions made in Ottawa may be eligible for federal and provincial tax credits for labour expenses, too.
Productions that are shot in Ontario entirely outside of the Greater Toronto Area can receive a 10-per-cent bonus on all Ontario labour expenses. The City of Ottawa offers free production permits, if submitted at least five business days in advance of filming.
These financial incentives are designed to make Ottawa a competitive player in the global film industry, and they’re proving to be effective.
“We have really good bylaws, regulations, and permits,” says Pechels de Saint Sardos. “It’s a great attraction.”
Other cities, including Montreal and Toronto, include a fee for filming permits.
The growth of the film industry in Ottawa was illustrated recently by the massive turnout at the Ottawa Film Office’s 2025 Career Fair.
The annual event held March 22 saw its best-ever level of interest, with 1,500 registered attendees and 18 booths set up by industry players. Booths included a variety of Ottawa-based career opportunities from education programs for film, animation and production, studios, entertainment law, and various other casting and production agencies.
Six panelists along with the event’s keynote speaker — Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe — spoke at the event. The film industry is vibrant and growing, Sutcliffe said: “This is not the same Ottawa I grew up in.”
All six panelists are currently active in the industry, including careers in entertainment law, podcast and documentary production, animation, filmmaking and location management.
The panelists explained that there is no single route to breaking into the film industry. Whether it’s a background in journalism, law, social work or Snapchat, the industry is vast — and opportunities are accessible to people with all kinds of skills and experiences.
“The route is not a straight line,” said panelist Mark Edwards, founder and managing partner of Edwards Creative Law, LLP.
He added that there are many different careers within the film industry beyond filmmaking and casting, including law, accounting, gaming, carpentry, cooking, production, management and much more.
“The key,” Edwards advised, “is to take what you love to do and apply it to the industry.”
Panelist Hoda Elatawi, a journalism graduate from Carleton University, is now a senior producer and president of Ottawa’s GAPC Entertainment. She said the industry is special because “we get to tell stories, by Canadians.”
Her words were met mid-sentence by an enthusiastic round of applause from the audience.
The reaction illustrated how storytelling through film is deeply embedded and integrated within local and global communities. In short, locally produced films contribute to the local economy, while telling important stories.
What is the film industry?
The film industry encapsules more than simply film, TV and animation production. It’s about an entire ecosystem that supports these productions.
From hotels, restaurants and catering services to local shops, the industry has a broad economic impact, according to the OFO.
In 2024, live action film production alone generated $52 million for the city, up from $46 million in 2023, though a bit behind the all-time high of $56 million in 2022.
These figures reflect a strong, growing sector that’s helping to fuel the local economy.
The animation sector has seen a recent decrease in production, notes Pechels de Saint Sardos,
“They’ve seen some tough years. The streamers are not commissioning like they used to,” she said.
However, this is not special to Ottawa, she said. It’s a worldwide phenomenon.
This year’s career fair was held in collaboration with the International Film Festival Ottawa, which ran from March 12 through 23.
Sixteen Ottawa filmed or produced projects have been nominated for the 2025 Canadian Screen Awards. That includes two nominations for Netflix’s Geek Girl (Episode 6 shot in Ottawa) and two nominations for Canada’s Ultimate Challenge (Episode 3 was filmed along the Rideau Canal).
“From animation to on-location filming, our city’s talent is making waves nationally,” the OFO said in highlighting the Ottawa-linked productions nominated for the Canadian industry’s top awards. “We couldn’t be prouder!”
