TRADE SECRETS - February 14, 2015 - Thriving Creative Industries in Ontario - from the OMDC Speech - Gordon King Welke Leona Sackaney -

175 Bloor Street East South TRADE Tower, Suite 501, Toronto, Ontario M4W 3R8 SECRETS Telephone (416) 314-6858 Fax (416) 314-6876 Feb 14, 2015 – Gordon & Leona 175 rue Bloor est Thriving Creative Industries Édifice sud, bureau 501, in Ontario, Creating Good Toronto, Ontario M4W 3R8 Blindness (funded by OMDC) News Every Day! opened the Cannes festival a Téléphone (416) 314-6858 few years ago; Away from *A Special Thank You to Her and Barney’s Version Karen from the publishers of Télécopieur (416) 314-6876 garnered Oscar nominations; Trade Secrets, Gordon King and, in fact, In Darkness co- Welke and Leona Sackaney produced by The Film Works of Toronto's OMDC supports a range of became Ontario’s latest extre ONE-CPC mely (Our Neighbourhood succ Economy - Creative Peoples essfu Collectives) organization l including PBS ONE digital out busi of home advertising network, ness Window Shopping Network, to Window Shopping Dollars, busi QRShopping Discount ness Convenience Poster Stores, initia qrshopping.ca, and Trade tives Secrets, Secrets that make that the creative world spin go round. Trade Secrets is a on Home-Studio (Apt-Studio- behi Works) published print, nd the scenes at events like Academy Award nominee electronic and people the International Festival of just a couple of weeks ago! distribution media platforms Authors, North by Northeast, publication located at 993 the Toronto International nd Bloor street west, 2 Floor, Film Festival and HotDocs. Toronto, Ontario, M6H 1M1. Our films receive prime Toronto has been labeled the placement and awards at greatest music city in the festivals around the world – world so it’s no surprise that

our artists including Feist, President and Chief Ontario-made success stories Drake and Austra have Executive Officer that we’ll be talking about dominated international today, so it’s a perfect fit! “best album of the year” Ontario Media Development lists. And, that for the first Corporation (OMDC). Trade I’d like to thank the time in history we had four Secrets partners with dozen's Economic Club of Canada for Canadians on the Billboard of private, crown and public inviting me here today and Top 10! government companies as I’d like to thank all of you for well as not for profit taking the time to attend. One of the world's top organizations in order literary prizes, the Man Merci d’avoir assisté à la Booker Prize, featured three to accumulate and re- conférence aujourd’hui. Ontario- published books on distribute important Les industries ontariennes de their longlist this year. information content for la création vont à contre- every media PEP (print, In the Interactive Digital electronic, people) platform. courant et sont florissantes Media space, Sound Shapes en ces temps économiques by Queasy Games will be SPEECH TITLE difficiles. available soon on Sony’s new \"Bucking the Trend – portable device the Ontario’s Thriving Creative Playstation Vita, and was Industries\" recently included on Gamasutra’s list of the Most Ontario’s creative industries Anticipated Games of 2012. are bucking current trends A Speech to and thriving in difficult Ontario is probably the economic conditions. largest producer and The Economic Club of Canada exporter of children’s and Tuesday, February 7, 2012 And the Ontario Media youth programming – Development Corporation is Amberwood’s Rob the Robot by Karen Thorne-Stone leading the way to ensure has been licensed into 95 that our book and magazine territories and President and Chief publishing, music, interactive Executive Officer digital media, and film and This issue of TRADE SECRETS television production is condensed from a Speech Ontario Media Development industries continue to titled \"Bucking the Trend - Corporation (OMDC) prosper. Ontario's Thriving Creative Thank-you Emily for that Industries,” presented on generous introduction, and The video you just saw gives behalf of the OMDC (Ontario to you and Metric for lending you a small taste of the Media Development your music to our awareness incredible made-in-Ontario Corporation) content that’s enjoyed campaign! Metric and Last by Karen Thorne-Stone Gang Records are terrific around the world. examples of the very kind of

The success stories from our Let me give you a couple of billion dollars to the cultural media sectors are examples of what we have province’s economy. too many to count and achieved together: continue to surprise and That’s a 31 per cent increase excite us every day. In fact, The number of consumer over 2010 and the strongest on every newscast, blog and magazines in Canada has result since we began financial report these days it grown by 36% over the past keeping records in 1986! is content and distribution decade. More than half of Let me break those figures companies that are creating those magazines are down for you: the buzz in this digital world. produced in Ontario, and half of those titles ship to readers There was a stunning 165% These industries have a outside the province. increase in domestic feature tremendous impact on the film spending (thanks in large health of the provincial and Ontario is home to more part to co-productions like national economies. than half of Canada’s book Resident Evil: Retribution, publishing industry, with Ontario’s entertainment and Ontario- based companies Foxfire, and Cosmopolis). creative industries are bringing in revenues of $1.4 Foreign television and film responsible for contributing a billion dollars a year. production was up too. For staggering $12.2 billion example, Universal Cable dollars to the province’s GDP Ontario’s music industry is Productions (a division of each year. the largest in Canada, with NBC) had five series in the highest revenues across That is big business. the board, from record production here in 2011 production to publishing to (shows like Covert Affairs, The creative industries are sound recording studios. Suits and Warehouse 13). bigger than each of the Mining, Agriculture & There are now more than We also saw two of the Forestry, and 1,000 digital media largest feature films ever companies in the province, shot in Ontario – Sony Energy sectors. up from 600 just ten years Pictures remake of Total And better yet, they are ago. Recall, and Legendary Productions blockbuster growing. Between 2000 and Now, film and television Pacific Rim. 2007 Ontario’s creative production, in particular, has industries grew 38% where been experiencing Better still, domestic the rest of economy grew spectacular growth in recent production accounts for only 17%. almost 70% of all activity years. with shows like Flashpoint, And despite the recent In fact, I am delighted to Murdoch Mysteries, and The slowdown in economic announce today that Tudors. We’ve built a stable growth the trend line is still Ontario’s film industry had its and growing domestic positive and will outpace the best year ever in 2011 – industry that’s part of a rest of economy. contributing almost $1.3

robust and balanced In 2009, Magazines Canada Arts & Crafts Productions production system. created a digital newsstand, completely redefined the supported by OMDC’s role of the music label and What’s even more manager by allowing artists impressive is that these Partnerships Fund. It was the to customize their own results are rolling in at a time first of its kind in the world, it degree of involvement and when the generated new revenue representation. Canadian dollar is strong and global markets are soft. streams, and it provided By the way, while we’re content when, where and talking about innovation, did how readers wanted it. By Ontario is succeeding, in 2011, it had sold 867,000 you know that our gaming part, because we offer a magazines – 60% of which and 3D technologies are world-class Film Commission were to foreign countries. proving to be incredibly and a total package of valuable well beyond the incentives designed to realm of entertainment? attract foreign and retain They are now being exploited domestic productions. for use in cartography, flight simulation, and medical Smokebomb Entertainment imaging! took full advantage of the viral nature of the mobile space when they launched I challenge anyone to name Totally Amp’d just a couple another industry in this of weeks ago. These first-of- province reporting these their-kind “appisodes” are Ontario’s quality, reliability, kinds of results in today’s high-quality, compelling and growth are attracting economy! content combined with a companies from around the world to bring their trusted wealth of interactive brands to us. elements. There are a number of reasons why Ontario’s creative industries are But, Ontario’s innovation is Thomas the Tank Engine is leading the world. The first is not limited to content or pulling in to Ontario! In a the innovation and technology – it also extends deal that was a result of an entrepreneurial spirit of our to new business models. OMDC trade mission, new creators. seasons of one of television’s longest-running series will be

produced at Arc Productions and from the screen to the Trigger, This Movie is Broken, here in Toronto. page. and Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage are all recent The Cat in the Hat is co- Ontario has many successes Ontario films that feature produced by Portfolio like this – Payback, written fabulous Ontario-made Entertainment and is by internationally acclaimed artists and soundtracks. distributed to over 40 author Margaret Atwood and Collaborations like these are territories around the world. published by House of Anansi supported in many ways by Press, was adapted as a Some of Hollywood's biggest documentary which just OMDC. blockbusters are also coming screened at the Sundance here for post production and Film Festival. Watch for it to visual effects work. Tron, be released here in March. Many of you are familiar with Harry Potter and Twilight: the mega international hit Breaking Dawn were all done game Sword and Sworcery by right here in Ontario by our our very own Capybara talented artists and After airing as a radio games. But, did you know technicians. documentary, Hana’s that it also features a Suitcase was adapted to a custom-created Our reputation for quality, children’s book by Second leading industry standards Story Press, and has since and innovation make Ontario been made into two businesses a trusted partner television documentaries, a for international companies. stage play, and a feature film. soundtrack by Ontario’s Jim Guthrie and his band? The So many of the examples that I’ve been talking about And now House of Anansi’s soundtrack alone has now have yet another success latest crime series about sold more than 10,000 factor in common – protagonist Ava Lee has been copies! collaboration. optioned for the screen by Strada Films. As a fan of the One of Ontario’s great books, I am really looking advantages is our strength forward to that release! across so many different And then there is Scaredy sectors. OMDC’s Page to Our cross sector successes Squirrel. He has gone on-line, Screen event encourages the don’t stop there. The most he has his own Facebook transformation of stories and successful Canadian feature page and he has just characters from books to film of all time, Resident Evil; launched a new mobile app! film, from games to print, Afterlife was based on a And Ontario magazine titles video game. Cottage Life and the Walrus

have gone well beyond the Franklin the Turtle has sold are providing impressive traditional with their own TV 65 million books in 30 returns on modest channels! different languages. investments, and they have enormous potential to advance even further. International success has When Nelvana released an been key to Ontario’s updated tv series called success. “Franklin and Friends” it Our creative entrepreneurs immediately sold to should be proud of international broadcasters everything they have from more than 15 countries. accomplished, but this remarkable industrial capacity has also been Shaftesbury’s Life with Derek helped by stable, reliable government programs; is enjoyed by kids in 145 OMDC is proud to have nimble policy; world-class different countries around supported so many of these infrastructure and talent; and the world. businesses through our range of course, financial and of investment and incentive business development programs. We invest in support from agencies like companies and content, OMDC. open doors to new markets, And then of course, there is help in innovative ways to Epitome’s Degrassi franchise, kick start deals, and support which has been ‘the first’ in an accelerated transition to so many categories it is hard new business models. We But we can’t rest now and to keep track – longest are the agency that has the we can’t afford to laud these running, multi-platform, unique and effective position successes without transition from tv to film, and from which to build on the recognizing the very real of course, it too has a strengths of all of Ontario’s challenges that our creative devoted international fan creative sectors. industries face. base. I’ve only just scratched the OMDC’s Strategic Plan, which We’re leaders in the surface of Ontario’s will be released soon, children’s publishing space as impressive success stories addresses these challenges. well – Kids Can Press with today. These industries are their lovable and popular international leaders, they

of financing. Although the rewards can be great, so too is the risk. But that would be disastrous. So, new business models and The environment and the new strategies to finance the Not only are they key to our quality of life, the creative marketplace are changing. In creation and distribution of industries are key to our fact, the new reality is a quality content will be key to future prosperity – to constant state of change – the long term success of our achieving a stable and and that trend is not going to creative industries. growing economy and stop. ensuring high value jobs into the future. Ontario has a remarkable list Our small and medium sized of advantages to offer our Everyone here has a role to companies are struggling to local companies and our play. You – the creators and keep ahead. entrepreneurs, the policy international investors. makers, and the financiers. Our creative industries represent an enormous economic opportunity for all Our target market is But – if we are going to of us. changing too. The success of retain and enhance Ontario’s Ontario’s companies competitive position, we depends on being able to must continue to innovate, break into the international we must be nimble and market. flexible, we must protect our Now is the time to invest, now is the time to lead, and place as an international now is the time to be part of leader, and most of all, we it! Thank-you for being here, must continue to invest. thank-you for listening and Ensuring that our content is please enjoy your lunch! “discoverable” in the incredibly noisy global digital marketplace is critical. It’s no secret – economic times are difficult and, in this context, it may be tempting to lose sight of the economic contribution of our creative And then of course, there is industries. the ever increasing challenge