Is your favourite show CanCon enough? Here's why the definition of Canadian content may get a reboot
Canada's regulator is aiming to modernize, but foreign streamers are pushing back against Canadian rules
What's your favourite bit of CanCon?
Maybe Schitt's Creek, which aired on CBC but also streamed on Netflix, comes to mind. Perhaps some iteration of Anne of Green Gables. Or maybe a classic David Cronenberg flick like Dead Ringers? These are all considered to be CanCon — shorthand for Canadian content, it refers to film and television productions made in Canada by Canadians.
But maybe you have a favourite show like CBS's Tracker, which airs on Global TV in Canada. It's one of the most watched shows on broadcast and streaming according to the Nielsen ratings, a U.S.-based audience measurement system. It's filmed in British Columbia and employs Canadians, but it's not considered CanCon.
That matters because broadcasters in this country have obligations to ensure that a minimum percentage of the content they distribute to viewers meets government CanCon requirements to ensure Canadian stories are available on Canadian TV screens or streaming devices.
On-demand streaming changed the game, with global companies like Netflix, Amazon Prime and Disney+ dominating the market. But they haven't been held to the same CanCon standards as traditional Canadian broadcasters, and the streaming companies say it's not realistic to expect them to do so.
That's not necessarily something that's on the minds of viewers when they settle into the couch and reach for the remote or the laptop. So here's what you need to know about CanCon and the challenge of getting Canadian eyes on it.
I just want to watch my shows. What do I care?
Canada's broadcasting regulator, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), is at a bit of a fork in the road when it comes to CanCon.
The reason there are CanCon requirements is to ensure that Canadian stories and points of view don't get drowned out by the flood of content flowing in from the U.S.
"We are a small market in a big world and we sit next to a very experienced, prolific producer of content," said Dave Forget, executive director of the Directors Guild of Canada. "There should be some shelf space for the Canadian stories so that Canadians can also see themselves in their own experience."
In 2023, Canada's Online Streaming Act came into effect, updating broadcasting laws to include content streaming services.
It meant that foreign streaming companies would not only have to promote or recommend Canadian programming on their platforms, but streamers making $25 million or more in Canada will have to start paying five per cent of their domestic revenue to support the production of Canadian media content.
The CRTC estimates that the levy would raise around $200 million a year and said the funding would be used to boost local and Indigenous broadcasting.
But now the CRTC is also looking into updating what it considers to be Canadian content.
"Our goal is clear: to modernize the definition of Canadian content to reflect today's reality," said Vicky Eatrides, the CRTC's CEO and chairperson, during the start of public consultations last month aimed at reviewing what exactly constitutes CanCon, and to determine whether foreign streamers should be held to the same standards as traditional broadcasters in Canada.
The public hearings in Gatineau, Que., spanned two weeks and wrapped up on May 27.
So, how Canadian do series and movies have to be?
While many south-of-the-border movies and shows may have been filmed in Canada, with Canadian crews and talent, it's not enough to be considered CanCon in the eyes of the CRTC.
First, the film or show's producer has to be Canadian. Then, there's a 10-point system for key creative roles, and six out of 10 points are needed to meet the bar to be considered CanCon.
For example, if the director or writer is Canadian, that gets you two points. But, between the director and the writer, at least one must be Canadian.
That also goes for the top performers; one of the two leads must be Canadian. That counts for one point each.
Other crew roles such as production designer, director of photography, editor and music composer count for one point each. Other rules apply for animated productions.
On top of the point system, Cancon rules state that 75 per cent of production and post-production expenses have to go to Canadians or Canadian companies.
The requirements have been loosened before. The CRTC reduced the minimum number of points needed from eight to six in 2016, something the commission said would allow more films to become eligible for certain funding programs.
At last month's hearings, there was talk of actually increasing the number of points needed to 15, as well as whether a requirement to reflect Canadian cultural elements should be introduced.
So, what do Netflix, Disney+ and other streamers want?
Canadian broadcasters, producers — and even artists — want the foreign streaming services, primarily the big U.S. ones many Canadians use, to meet minimum CanCon requirements like they do in order to maintain broadcasting licences and qualify for subsidies.
Anthony Shim, a director whose credits include the critically-acclaimed 2022 independent film Riceboy Sleeps, admits it's a challenge to balance the freedom of creativity with the need to protect Canadian artists and storytelling — a goal he says should always be top of mind.
Toronto-born writer, producer and director Anthony Q. Farrell, who has worked on series including The Office, the British series The Secret Life of Boys and CTV's Shelved, says the definition of CanCon is more important than ever.
"Especially in a time where we're really focusing in on buying Canadian and taking care of our national voice, I think it's important that we … use our Canadian creatives to tell our stories," said Farrell, who provided recommendations at the CRTC consultations on behalf of the Writers Guild of Canada.
He agrees that streaming companies "making money off Canadians" should be putting some of their profits back into distinctly Canadian film and television production.
The streaming companies, however, don't see it quite the same way.
They were collectively represented at the consultations by the Motion Picture Association of Canada, which argued that they're already an integral part of Canada's film and television production sector but that they shouldn't be held to the same content requirements as traditional broadcasters.
Wendy Noss, the association's president, appeared at the hearings on May 16 and said the CRTC should make changes to its CanCon policies, including reassessing the number of points required in the 41-year-old CanCon points system, as well as re-evaluating which roles qualify for points.
She said that before the CRTC imposes Canadian content requirements on foreign streamers, they need to "introduce meaningful flexibility in modernizing the definition of Canadian programs."
"Broadcasting policies should be straightforward, sustainable and flexible to enable global producers to do what they do best: creating entertainment for audiences at home and worldwide," said Noss.
The CRTC will hold further CanCon consultation hearings at a later date.
But the big streaming companies are also set to battle the CRTC in court over the implementation of the Online Streaming Act.
They filed an appeal last year, after the commission ordered global online streaming services to fork over five per cent of their domestic revenues to support the production of Canadian content.
With files from Griffin Jaeger, Jenna Benchetrit and The Canadian Press