Canada’s Film & Tv Industry Still Isn’t Delivering On Racial Equity: Remc’s New Report Shows Why

Five years ago, the Racial Equity Media Collective (REMC) asked a question that should have been simple to answer: Who gets funded, and who does not?

Their new national survey, conducted by Nordicity, finally gives us part of the picture. The findings are clear and often difficult to read. They show an industry that continues to fall short of supporting Black, Indigenous, and other racialized creators in any meaningful way.

What the Data Shows

REMC gathered race-based funding data from more than 30 national funders, provincial agencies, and broadcasters. The focus was independent production funding and how that money actually reaches BIPOC creators.

A few highlights from the report:

  • Out of more than 30 organizations, only 7 collected or shared data about BIPOC-owned or BIPOC-involved productions

  • Less than 15 percent of funding from the Canada Media Fund’s largest funding envelope went to BIPOC-owned companies or productions with BIPOC involvement

  • In Telefilm’s major French-language productions with budgets above 3.5 million dollars, zero percent of key creatives were BIPOC or Indigenous

These statistics reflect something deeper than numbers. They show who gets to tell stories and who continues to wait for a chance to be seen.

Involvement Is Not Representation

A major issue raised in the report is how organizations measure BIPOC participation. Many projects are counted as “BIPOC-involved,” but the actual funding and decision-making power often stay in non-BIPOC hands.

It can look like progress on paper. In practice, it leaves the same systemic gaps in place.

Without clear targets and transparent reporting, involvement gets mistaken for true representation. True representation requires resources and leadership, not one token role on a long list of credits.

Progress Happens Where Targets Exist

Amid the challenges, the report also highlights examples of what is possible. The National Film Board of Canada and Canadian Heritage’s Creative Export Canada program showed measurable progress because they set specific and public equity targets.

When equity becomes a requirement that is tracked and reported, change follows.

Why This Matters

For Black, Indigenous, and racialized creatives, the report confirms a lived reality that has been felt for decades. The system is not set up to support their work. When data is not collected and not shared, these inequities become even easier to overlook or deny.

REMC’s findings point toward a path forward that includes:

  • consistent and ethical collection of race-based data

  • public equity targets that reflect the makeup of this country

  • accountability built directly into funding programs

  • full transparency from broadcasters and all major funders

Without these pieces in place, racial equity will remain rare instead of standard practice.

The Road Ahead

REMC has spent years pushing for ethical, standardized race-based data collection. This new report shows how far the sector still has to go, while also proving that real progress is possible with intention and strong policy.

Canada’s screen sector should tell the full story of this country. It cannot do that without racial equity at its core.

Read the full report here.

Story via Racial Equity Media Collective and GAT PR.
Photos via CineDirektorFILMS on Pexels.com / IG / website.

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