Canada's Animation Boom: Global Growth & New Films

Canada's animation industry is witnessing significant expansion, highlighted by a doubling of funding requests and over $270 million in production volume since 2017. Animated films from Canada have frequently appeared in the top domestic box office charts. This sector is also a major export earner, with 83% of its gross sales coming from abroad, far exceeding live-action film exports.

Key to this growth are co-production agreements and audiovisual treaties, which Telefilm Canada facilitates with over 60 countries. These collaborations, especially those offering special certification for national production status, are vital for animation projects that often have higher production costs. Canadian animation was recently showcased at the EFM, featuring diverse projects from family adventures to adult animation and medieval fantasy.

Among the highlighted projects are "Fifteen Dogs," an adaptation of André Alexis' novel about intelligent dogs in Toronto, directed by Chris Landreth; "Eliak and the End of the World," a post-apocalyptic tale about a young survivor by Melanie S. Dubois; and "Beshader," a dark medieval fantasy for young adults utilizing rotoscope animation, directed by Seth Smith. These productions leverage Canada's strong domestic production incentives, with provinces like Quebec offering substantial tax credits, establishing Montreal as a major animation hub.