Expert’s Polling Report: How Canadians View the Contributions of Global Studios & Defining Canadian Content
On behalf of the Motion Picture Association – Canada, Bruce Anderson (formerly Chairman of Abacus Data, currently Partner, spark*advocacy) has conducted several public opinion studies over recent years, including a major survey of 2,500 adults in December 2024. This report is intended to describe the most recent results as well as to bring forward relevant data points from earlier studies.
Summary:
In survey after survey, Canadians express significant appreciation for the production work that streaming services and global studios do in Canada. People see both economic and cultural benefits and want policies that encourage more of these projects as a result.
Canadians believe the definition of Canadian content should not hinge on whether a film or show is owned by a Canadian production company – they prefer to see a broader set of benefits for Canadians used to frame policy in this area, including recognizing productions that hire locally, feature Canadian locations and use Canadian studios.
Canadians are skeptical of the argument that streaming services push American products at the expense of Canadian and international productions – more Canadians now say they watch international content on streaming services than on broadcast television.
If streaming companies are required to do more to contribute to Canadian goals, most believe this is best done by letting streamers pick the projects to invest in, based on their expertise. They believe that the contributions required should include the sorts of activities that streaming companies have routinely been undertaking as part of their work in Canada, and they feel the government’s policy approach should be flexible to allow smaller streamer companies to continue to operate in Canada.
Canadians do not believe the definition of “Canadian content” should impinge upon consumers having the choice to choose the content they want to watch.