About Us
We serve as the spark that ignites the sharing of a truly Canadian culture. Our stories. Our ideas. Our uniqueness.
We do it by championing the content produced by the diverse people of this land. First the spark glows – and then it grows.
We’re not just fostering Canadian voices for entertainment’s sake. We’re celebrating the history – and the future – of this great nation.
Vision
A world where Canada’s talent and experiences transcend platforms and borders, triggering emotion, innovation and ideas.
Who we are
Champions and nurturers of
courageous storytelling.
WHAT WE DO
We foster, promote and finance Canadian content, across all audiovisual platforms, and help share it with the world.
HOW WE DO IT
We help our creators thrive in a disruptive environment. We support innovation and Canada’s full range of diversity, perspective and independence of thought. We open doors through industry and private sector partnerships.
WHY WE DO IT
An experience shared from the heart spreads light, dismantles walls and opens the hearts of others.
Our Team
Valerie Creighton is an industry leader in arts, culture and media, recognized for reenergizing some of the country’s most important organizations in the sector over the last thirty-five years. An expert in organizational change, Valerie has been recognized as a visionary in promoting Canada’s cultural wealth.
Currently serving as President and CEO of the Canada Media Fund, Valerie positions Canadian programming at the forefront in world markets advocating successful, innovative Canadian content and software applications for current and emerging digital platforms. Valerie has taken part in foreign trade missions and is regularly called upon to present the CMF model internationally.
Valerie was invested into the Saskatchewan Order of Merit in 2016 and the Order of Canada in 2019. She was named one of 2016’s 20 most powerful women in global television by The Hollywood Reporter, was recognized in 2017 by Women in Television and Film – Vancouver for her major contribution to promoting gender equality in media, and was bestowed the Honorary Maverick Award at the 2017 Female Eye Film Festival. Most recently, she received C21’s 2020 Content Canada Impact Award.
Valerie holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Saskatchewan, has served on a variety of regional, national and international juries and boards and has produced radio dramas for the CBC in Saskatchewan, where she owns and operates the Red Horse Ranch.
Sandra Collins has over fifteen years of experience in the film and television industry. Since joining the organization in 2007, she has been responsible for finance, legal, human resources, information technology, risk management, administration, as well as research and data. She now contributes to the oversight of all the corporations operations.
Previously, Sandra held various senior positions at Alliance Atlantis Communications, including Senior Vice President, Finance, Entertainment Group, and Vice President, Systems Integration, Corporate Group.
Sandra is a Certified Management Accountant and holds an H.B. Comm from the University of Windsor and a B.A. from the University of Western Ontario.
Kelly Wilhelm is a bilingual strategist with more than 20 years’ experience leading innovation and change in Canada’s creative industries, arts and culture. She has led major strategy and policy initiatives to respond to disruption, capitalize on opportunities for growth, and secure new investment. She brings to the role extensive experience in stakeholder and government relations at the most senior levels.
Wilhelm has previously worked as an independent strategist, advising executive teams at organizations such as Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, the National Arts Centre, City of Toronto Economic Development and Culture, and the National Gallery of Canada. Between 2016 and 2018, Wilhelm was Senior Policy Advisor to the Minister of Canadian Heritage on complex files in television, digital media, broadcasting, film and news media. She was previously Director of Policy, Planning and Strategic Foresight at the Canada Council for the Arts, where she spent ten years, and where her accomplishments included leading the strategy work to secure the doubling of the Council’s funding in 2016 and the development of its last two strategic plans. She has a BA in Literature and Art History from Queen’s University and a Master’s Degree in Museum Studies from the University of Toronto.
A Montreal native, Mathieu moved to Toronto in 2000 to be a cast member on U8TV: The Lofters, Canada’s first reality TV show. He frequently appears on Radio-Canada, covering a wide range of social, cultural, and political affairs and he has published over a thousand stories in French and English entertainment magazines.
Mathieu has a BA in Communications from l’Université du Québec à Montréal and a Master’s Degree in Journalism from Carleton University in Ottawa, and he recently completed a Certificate in Strategic Perspective in Non-profit Management from Harvard Business School.
For more than 20 years, he has cultivated connections with stakeholders in the entertainment industry, first as a reporter and then as an executive at Cineplex Media. As a volunteer, he raised substantial funds for the Canadian Foundation for AIDS Research (CANFAR), The 519 Community Centre, and the Museum of Contemporary Art Toronto (MOCA). He’s now the co-chair of Ciné-Franco, Toronto’s French movie festival.
Nathalie Clermont has been working in the film, television and digital media industry for more than twenty-five years, with extensive experience in policy development and financing. Since joining the organization in 2007, she has been a key advisor on CMF policies and programs. She also ensures consistency in service standards and application processes for all CMF programs, with a focus on developing alternative funding partnerships to leverage CMF investments.
Prior to joining the CMF in March 2007 as Director of Program Management, Nathalie spent 15 years at the Société de développement des entreprises culturelles (SODEC), where she was the team leader of the Business Affairs Unit, which was responsible for equity investment programs in cinema and television.
Nathalie holds a B.A. in Film, Communications, and Public Relations from the Université de Montréal.
Richard Koo has nearly 20 years of experience in the Canadian media industry. Since 2014, Richard has been the head of TV and digital measurement initiatives at the CMF, and also co-manages the CMF’s annual calculations of over $350 million in production and development financing. Previously, he spent five years as the lead Research Officer for CBC Sports, working on major broadcast properties including Hockey Night in Canada and the Olympic Games.
Richard is also a multiple Boston Marathon qualifier, national umpire with Rowing Canada Aviron and an active contributor to the Olympic movement in his role as president of the International Olympic Academy Participants Association based in Athens, Greece. Originally from British Columbia, he holds a B.A. from the University of British Columbia and a Master of Science in Planning from the University of Toronto.
Coming soon...
Catherine Mathys has worked in the audiovisual production and media sector for almost 20 years. Chronicler, reporter and animator, she specialized over the last decade in the analysis of technological and media transformations. She holds a bachelor's degree in sociology and a master's degree in communication, and she particularly appreciates our relationship with technology and its impact on our daily lives.
Her work has been recognized at the Québec Independent Journalism Awards and the Canadian Online Publishing Awards (COPA).
As Director, Programs and Policy at the Canada Media Fund, Rod is responsible for developing CMF policy and analyzing and advising on legal and regulatory issues that impact the CMF.
Prior to joining the CMF, Rod worked at the Writers Guild of Canada and Entertainment One.
A trained lawyer, Rod obtained his Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from Queen’s University and his Bachelor of Arts (Hons.) degree in Media, Information and Technoculture from Western University.
Alain Cousineau is a seasoned senior executive with over 30 years of board experience. Mr. Cousineau formerly held positions as President and CEO of Loto-Québec and Groupe Secor. He is also a former Chair of Tourisme Montreal and Société des alcools du Québec. Prior to that he had a distinguished career in the academic field, primarily at the Université de Sherbrooke where he ended his tenure as Dean of the School of Business. Mr. Cousineau has also held board positions in a diverse range of industries including the healthcare, life sciences and pharmaceutical industries, aeronautics and electronic business solutions. Mr. Cousineau has extensive consulting experience in marketing and communications and corporate planning and strategy.
Jason Badal is Director, Multinationals at Shopify. In this role, Jason is global head of the Multinational segment within Shopify tasked with transforming and bringing mass adoption of e-commerce to the world's largest companies. Prior to Shopify, Jason led Business Affairs and Development at Rogers Media and Sportsnet. Prior to that, he served as head of Business and Legal affairs at Score Media. Jason practised as a technology and corporate lawyer at McCarthy Tetrault LLP, taught at Ryerson University and Osgoode Hall Law School, and serves as an advisor to several start-ups in the sports, technology and direct to consumer commerce industries.
As a Chartered Professional Accountant, Barry Chapman has over 30 years’ experience in the telecommunications industry at the executive level, extensive knowledge in regulatory affairs, mergers and acquisitions, as well as strategic and financial planning.
He held the role of Vice President, Regulatory Affairs at Bell Canada between 1989 and 2017. He brings extensive corporate governance experience, having sat on numerous boards.
Ms. Clayton is an independent television and film consultant with multiple Gemini Award credits. Highlights from her career include serving as General Manager of the Biography Channel, Vice President of Programming for The Movie Network, Moviepix, and The Family Channel, and Senior Film Policy Advisor for the former Federal Department of Communications.
She has served on the Ottawa Art Gallery Art Auction Committee and the boards of the Rogers Documentary Fund, the Alliance for Children and Television, and the Canadian Television Fund.
A lawyer by training, Chantale Coulombe practiced intellectual property for nearly 20 years at the national firm Norton Rose Fullbright, where she was a partner. Subsequently, she held the position of Vice-President, Corporate and Legal Affairs of the ComediHa! Group, a major creator of audiovisual content in Québec. Ms. Coulombe is currently President and Chief Executive Officer of the College of Corporate Directors at Laval University. She chaired the Jeune Chambre de commerce de Québec, was one of the founding members of the Center de la Francophonie des Amériques and sat on the Board of Directors of the Table de concertation de l'Industrie cinématographique et télévisuelle de Québec. She is currently a member of the Board of Directors of Arsenal Media and of the Ethics and Governance Committee of the Office du tourisme de Québec. Ms. Coulombe is a Chartered Director (C.Dir.).
Mr. Fournier is an author, playwright, story editor, film producer, and screenwriter, with more than 300 television dramas to his credit. He was a founding member and President of the Institut québécois du cinéma and served as National Vice President of the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television and President of the Academy’s Quebec chapter.
He has served on the boards of Oxyx-Films Inc., SMA Inc. Télé-4, Les Productions du Verseau Inc., Télévision Quatre-Saisons, Télé-Québec, and CBC/Radio-Canada. He is currently serving on the board of Le Théâtre du Rideau Vert and La Pyramide. He is a member of the Order of Canada.
Based in Calgary, Gary Pizante has since 1988 held positions with increasing responsibility in the Canadian telecommunications, cable, and satellite business.
He brings extensive experience in financial and economic analysis. Mr. Pizante was previously Vice President, Pricing and Analytics at Shaw Communications. He has a Master’s Degree in Economics from Michigan State University and a Master’s Degree in Communications from the University of Denver.
Michael Schmalz is President of Digital Extremes, a top development studio in the interactive entertainment industry. Dr. Schmalz has over 17 years of experience in the digital media industry, focusing his attention on innovation in the gaming sector.
Prior to that, he practiced as a civil engineer. He holds several degrees including a PhD, MA and MESc from Western University and an MBA from the Schulich School of Business. Dr. Schmalz is a Chartered Professional Accountant, Licensed Professional Engineer and a Chartered Director.
Sanae Takahashi is an experienced strategic planner and marketing professional, now retired, with 20 years of executive experience in the Canadian broadcasting and telecommunications industry. She served since 2016 as Senior Vice President, Planning, Insights and Business Models at Shaw Communications after holding various senior leadership roles at Shaw. Prior to that, she held the role of Vice President, Consumer Marketing at Rogers Wireless. Her professional experience has centered on responding to customer needs and expectations in the context of media and telecommunications products and services. She holds a BSc in Molecular Biology from Concordia University.
Our Funding Contributors
The Canada Media Fund receives contributions from the Government of Canada and Canada’s cable, satellite and IPTV distributors. The CMF thanks its financial contributors for their continued support of Canadian television and digital media content.
