Arnaud Soly uses humour to promote our culture
At 36 years old, comedian Arnaud Soly realizes he’s older than he feels. From the TV of his childhood to today’s streaming and online content, he’s watched the entertainment landscape transform. Now, as part of the Canada Media Fund/Telefilm campaign C’est à NOUS!, he’s inspiring young people to discover content, old and new, that was made right here.
Even though Arnaud Soly has “cut the cord” at home, screens still play an important role in his life. He's catching up on several Quebec TV series and discovering children's shows with his 4- and 6-year-old daughters. When his busy life as a father allows, he goes to the Beaubien Cinema, a few steps from his Montreal home.
“Even if technology has completely changed how we consume content, I still watch a lot of what’s made here,” he says. “I think it’s because I belong to a generation that grew up with [the now defunct] Canal Famille and VRAK.TV, and got the internet later.”
Viewing habits have changed since the demise of those TV channels, especially for young people. According to the report Québec Survey on Cultural Leisure and Entertainment, which was completed by the Institut de la statistique du Québec in 2024, 64 percent of Quebecers aged 15 to 29 primarily watch TV content that’s not from Quebec.
So it made sense for Soly, a comedian and content creator who’s popular with Quebec teens and millennials, to become the spokesperson for the online discovery campaign C’est à NOUS! (It’s OURS!), created by the Canada Media Fund in partnership with Telefilm Canada to help people find Canadian content.
“The mission of showcasing work from here is completely aligned with my values,” he says. “For me, it’s important to support our [film and TV] industry because it’s unique, and it really is a part of our culture.”
From newcomer to big brother
For the past few days, Soly has been posting short, funny videos to social media (both his own and the campaign’s) that riff off memorable scenes and characters from beloved Canadian films, series and video games. He’s putting the spotlight on older gems that made an impression on him, and new content that’s caught his eye.
He’s not the only one. Soly is joined by content creators Douaa Kachache, Emy Lalune, Pascale de Blois, Thomas Bédard, Tommy-Lee Salvas, Zoé Duval and Rosalie Vaillancourt (the spokesperson for the previous NOUS campaign), who are creating similar videos, sometimes solo, and sometimes as group sketches.
You can watch the first videos here, here and here.
“I’m happy to collaborate with this digital team, which I like, and I find funny and bright. I’ve been doing comedy for almost 10 years. I was always the kid, the internet guy. It wasn’t until recently that I realized I’ve acquired a certain notoriety, and I’m not really the newcomer anymore,” says the man who was named Discovery of the Year at the 2021 Olivier Awards Gala, which celebrates Quebec’s comedy industry.
Soly sees his fellow content creators as allies who can speak to young people and have a good grasp of online norms. With their help, he can reach audiences traditional publicity campaigns can’t.
“Young people don’t watch as much TV anymore, so they don’t necessarily see the ads for a series or film,” says Soly. “Today, a series often has to use the internet to reach us. And to create engagement there needs to be an online conversation about it, as was the case for Empathie and Vitrerie Joyal, among others.”
Humour as a way in
When he wants to get a reaction, Soly draws on his strengths — impersonations, dubbing, fake commercials and parodies. “Humour is a tone that works really well on social media; it can be short and catchy,” he says. “I think it’s a great way into our culture.”
Soly should know. He won Humorous Web Sketch of the Year for his parody Arnaud Jolicoeur, courtier hypothécaire (Arnaud Jolicoeur, mortgage broker) at the 2025 Olivier Gala. And his parody show, Club Soly, boosted his popularity on network TV and online.
“For the C’est à NOUS! campaign, though, I didn’t want to impose any judgements, or demonize American Netflix content, like Stranger Things. One doesn’t exclude the other,” he says. “Instead, I wanted young people to say, ‘Oh, I didn’t see this Canadian series,’ or ‘I don’t get the references from this Quebecois film, but it looks good and that makes me want to know more.’”
Changing cultural habits
Soly knows it’s difficult to change cultural habits overnight. He thinks part of the solution is to foster a love of local content from childhood, with help from parents. “The more kids learn about work from here at an early age, the more they’ll want to watch it growing up. These habits are going to stick with them for a long time,” he says.
He’s seen this phenomenon with his own kids, who are big Télé-Québec viewers, and even with his friend’s teenagers, who listen to albums by the 1970s French-Canadian rock band Harmonium, thanks to influence from friends and family.
“In Canada, and especially in Quebec, we really have our own culture, a culture that strikes a chord with us and allows us to recognize ourselves on screen,” he says. “It’s important to take care of it.”
