Canada and the U.S.: A Long History of Cooperation in Film
Canada has long been a popular location for filming American movies and television shows.
By Alan Herrmann
MOVIE CRITIC
Growing up south of Buffalo, New York, put me in close proximity to Ontario, and growing up, my family spent a great deal of time in Canada. Having access to Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, we sailed from Niagara-on-the-Lake to Toronto and beyond.
We loved going to Canada and felt a warm affection for our neighbors to the north. My sisters attended the University of Toronto and the University of Windsor, both great schools. Over the years, my own family has enjoyed trips to Ontario and Quebec.
As a young man, I discovered that Canada had an up-and-coming film community in Toronto and, later, in Vancouver. The emerging industry collaborated with U.S. filmmakers, sharing studios, locations, and other resources. Being a film fan, this only made me appreciate our friends to the north even more.
Going back to the 1970s, filmmakers and television producers in Canada and the U.S. have had an amicable relationship. Several U.S. productions have been attracted by Canada’s substantial labor force, tax incentives, and the strong U.S. dollar as a large economic plus.
Canada’s beautiful scenery and similarity to U.S. locales also makes it ideal for filmmakers. It’s not unusual for American film and TV companies to use Toronto as a substitute for New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, or other urban settings. The University of Toronto has filled in for Yale, Harvard, and Princeton. Toronto is often referred to as the “Hollywood of the north.”
From a production perspective, the huge Pinewood Toronto studios in Ontario is responsible for several popular film and television productions.
The great director Guillermo del Toro enjoys filming in Canada so much that he has a second home in the Toronto area. In an interview in the Toronto Star, del Toro noted that he enjoys traveling around various neighborhoods in and around the city and is amazed at how many areas and buildings remind him of other places around the globe.
Del Toro filmed the Oscar-winning “The Shape of Water” in several Toronto locales, including the University of Toronto, and recently wrapped up his 2025 version of “Frankenstein,” filmed in Toronto and Glasgow, Scotland.
When the Hollywood labor strike of 2023 bruised the industry, Canada also took a hit. There were fewer productions ready to go forward in Toronto, Vancouver, Nova Scotia, and other parts of Canada, which affected their economy. Fortunately, once the strike was over and Hollywood’s film and TV production bounced back, so did Canada’s.
Last year, the relationship between the U.S. and Canadian movie and TV production was on the rise, but with weaponized tariffs, one has to wonder if this relationship will survive. It is hard to say if there will be a large impact, but it’s certainly possible. The current economic and political relationship with Canada, brought on by the Trump administration, makes me nervous, angry, embarrassed, and mostly sad.
Here are a few of the memorable films shot in Canada.
“Dolores Claiborne” (1995)
Director: Taylor Hackford
Writer: Tony Gilroy, from the novel by Stephen King
Cast: Kathy Bates, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Judy Parfitt, Christopher Plummer, David Strathairn
A well-made thriller with a top notch cast that explores hidden secrets involving the title character, who is accused of murdering her abusive husband while her estranged daughter searches for the truth. The story takes place in Maine, like most of King’s stories, but was filmed in Nova Scotia.
“Good Will Hunting” (1997)
Director: Gus Van Sant
Writers: Ben Affleck, Matt Damon
Cast: Matt Damon, Robin Williams, Ben Affleck, Minnie Driver, Stellan Skarsgard
A tour de force about a young South Boston janitor, who happens to be a mathematical genius and a troubled soul. He is discovered by a professor at MIT, who wants to work with him if he agrees to seek counseling from a psychologist. It’s a classic story about the pitfalls of higher academia and working-class limitations. Although several scenes were filmed in Boston, most of the interiors representing MIT and Harvard were shot at the University of Toronto.
“Insomnia” (2002)
Director: Christopher Nolan
Writer: Hillary Seitz
Cast: Al Pacino, Robin Williams, Hilary Swank, Maura Tierney
A very crafty serial killer is on the loose in Alaska, and a detective from the “lower forty-eight” confronts several roadblocks as he searches for the murderer. One of his biggest challenges is his lack of sleep in the “land of the midnight sun.” Although some ariel shots were taken over Alaska, the bulk of the movie was filmed in British Columbia.
“It” (2017) and “It, Chapter Two” (2019)
Director: Andy Muschietti
Writers: Gary Dauberman, Cary Joji Fukunaga, Chase Palmer, from the novel by Stephen King
Cast: Bill Skarsgard, Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy, Bill Hader, Sophia Lillis, Jaeden Martell
In yet another Stephen King classic set in Maine, a group of kids try to find who or what is killing kids in the small town of Derry, only to find that a monstrous clown who’s invading their dreams maybe the culprit. But their discovery and attempt to destroy It is unfinished, so years later they must return to Derry as adults and finish what they started. Both chapters were filmed in Pinewood Toronto Studios and other parts of Ontario, including Port Hope, which doubled for Derry.
“The Lighthouse” (2019)
Director: Robert Eggers
Writers: Max Eggers, Robert Eggers
Cast: Robert Pattinson, Willem Dafoe, Valeriia Karaman, Kyla Nicolle
Robert Eggers’ take on isolation involves two New England lighthouse keepers trying to keep their sanity while shut away from civilization. The result is buried thoughts coming to the surface and a struggle to understand what is real and what are hallucinations that eventually culminates in violence. The film takes place somewhere along the New England coast in the 1890s but was filmed in Cape Forchu and Halifax, Nova Scotia.
And a few more titles…
“The Revenant” (2015): Canadian Rockies for U.S. Rockies
“Capote” (2005): Manitoba for Kansas
“The Dead Zone” (1983): Niagara-on-the Lake for a small town in Maine
“Brokeback Mountain” (2005): Alberta for Montana
“The Paper Chase” (1973): University of Toronto for Harvard
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