Canada Media Fund publishes Canada’s first in-depth report of racialized creators and production companies
Toronto, May 26, 2021 – The Canada Media Fund (CMF) completed another first for Canada’s screen industry by commissioning an in-depth survey of the country’s racialized creators and production companies. The survey, conducted online between December 21, 2020, and February 16, 2021, by IPSOS Research, paints a compelling picture of the current business and personal status of racialized stakeholders in the Canadian audiovisual industry. This initiative is part of the CMF’s data-driven commitments in its Equity and Inclusion Strategy.
“Producing the first quantitative report like this is an important step for the CMF. It highlights both the inequities in the system and the barriers that prevent racialized producers from fully participating in the industry,” said CMF equity and inclusion program lead Diego Briceño. “The Canada Media Fund is committed to gathering information like this on an ongoing basis to help make better informed decisions going forward. We want to do all we can to promote greater inclusion for them on and behind our screens,” he said.
Many of the findings in the IPSOS report show just how difficult the situation is for racialized players:
- 38% of producers have personal incomes of less than $30,000 a year before taxes
- 40% of companies have annual operating budgets of less than $50,000
- Average annual operating budgets are 28% lower for businesses owned by women
- One third of businesses rely on 6 or more sources of funding
In addition to financial indicators, the report also provides other information for a thorough snapshot of racialized production operations in Canada today, including:
- Half or more of the employees self-identify as racialized individuals in 81% of the companies
- Most or all of current projects in 7 out of 10 companies involve Afro-descendant or other racialized individuals
- 90% of companies create content in English, 30% of them create in French, and 40% create in foreign languages
Issues raised by survey participants include limited access to training and career development programs, and difficulties in having their projects evaluated and assessed by industry decision makers. In its efforts to address difficulties creators from racialized communities face because of historical barriers, the CMF launched the Pilot Program for Racialized Communities to support the growth of English and French-language audiovisual production companies owned and controlled by members of these communities. The closing date for applications for the program is June 17, 2021.
About the Canada Media Fund
The Canada Media Fund (CMF) fosters, develops, finances and promotes the production of Canadian content and applications for all audiovisual media platforms. The CMF guides Canadian content towards a competitive global environment by fostering industry innovation, rewarding success, enabling a diversity of voice and promoting access to content through public and private sector partnerships. The CMF receives financial contributions from the Government of Canada and Canada’s cable, satellite and IPTV distributors. Please visit cmf-fmc.ca.
–30–
Press Contact:
André Ferreira
Senior Communications Manager
Canada Media Fund
416-554-2768
[email protected]