Canadian cultural industries are unique and admired around the globe. The Government of Canada is committed to helping them expand into global markets and meet their full potential. The Creative Export Canada program was designed to support our creative industries by meeting this international demand and helping share Canadian talent and creativity with the world, and therefore positioning Canada as a distinct and innovative leader.
Today, the Honorable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Canadian Heritage, announced the five recipients from the province of Ontario for the fourth cohort of the Creative Export Canada program. Heliconia, Blue Ant Media, DC Canada Education Publishing, HitGrab and Lighthouse Immersive shared $2,280,000 in funding to support their export strategies.
Heliconia is an award-winning TV/Video production company specializing in outdoor adventure programming. Heliconia intends to expand broadcasting and digital distribution in five international markets. While increasing the discoverability of their video content, Helicona will establish brand presence within the international and tourism industries.
Blue Ant Media is a television broadcasting company and operates in several fields including the production of intellectual property (IP), the distribution of international IP, and the operation of Canadian and international channels. The company has launched distribution brands in Canada and more than 120 countries, with hundreds of hours of Canadian television content programming. Blue Ant Media will adapt a marketing strategy to increase the awareness of the Blue Ant Media brand and to increase the export of its video content in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Scandinavia, Italy, India and China.
DC Canada Education Publishing is an innovative small publisher of children's books, games and music that has sold millions of books in the global market. Their mandate is to create and publish uplifting and innovative educational materials for children and educators around the world. DC Canada will promote their newly developed reading platform with new titles in the French as a Second Language curriculum.
HitGrab is an award-winning independent video game development studio that specializes in developing games for the casual mobile, passive adventure, puzzle-platformer and educational gaming markets. Their focus is on making uniquely creative and fun titles for PC, consoles and mobile devices. Hitgrab will promote their two new export-ready products: Clan O'Conall and Language Quest, which is their first educational gaming product.
Lighthouse Immersive creates, produces and distributes innovative digital immersive art experiences through their multiplex digital art galleries. Their mission is to create a steady stream of innovative immersive content. Lighthouse Immersive plans to export and operate its COVID-19 safe and popular multiplex digital immersive art venue concept, entitled Immersive Van Gogh. Lighthouse Immersive will open Lighthouse Art Spaces in multiple American cities.
The total of $8,478,000 in the fourth round of funding from the Creative Export Canada program also includes recipients from British Columbia, Alberta and Quebec. The funding includes 18 separate projects from across Canada that represent a variety of different creative industries, including the audiovisual, interactive digital media, music, performing arts, publishing, visual art and design industries.
Exporting is vitally important to Canada's creative industries. Canadian Heritage's Creative Export Canada program helps Canadian industries attain their international goals and promote Canadian works abroad. By helping Canadian creators shine internationally, Canadians see the benefits at home as they bring with them significant economic benefits, creating jobs and fostering social prosperity.
The Creative Export Canada program offers funding to Canadian organizations for projects that generate export revenues and features Canadian creative content. Its mission is to increase the visibility of Canadian creative works on the international market and help increase the profitability of exports from Canada's creative industries.
Quotes
"As we work towards economic recovery, the Government of Canada is committed to ensuring our Canadian creative businesses receive the help they need to emerge successfully from these trying times. Part of this success is sharing their work on the global stage, and thanks to programs like Creative Export Canada, now more than ever they have the tools available to help them reach their full potential, including on the global stage."
-The Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Canadian Heritage
Quick facts
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Alberta Recipient
· Weigl Educational Publishers - Interactive digital media and publishing
British Columbia Recipients
· DreamRider Productions - Audiovisual, music and interactive digital media
· Palco Music (Blue Frog Studios) - Performing arts, interactive digital media and music
· Wizard Games - Interactive digital media and audiovisual
Quebec Recipients
· Antimodular Research / Recherche Antimodular - Audiovisual, visual art and music
· Daily tous les jours (Andraos & Mongiat) - Design, visual art and music
· Infinity experiences / Expériences infinity - Audiovisual, visual art and interactive digital media
· Lambert et Fils Luminaires - Design
· Les productions Éloize (Cirque Éloize) - Performing arts, interactive digital media and music
· Les 7 doigts de la main - Performing arts and interactive digital media
· Machine de cirque - Performing arts
· Minority Media - Interactive digital media and audiovisual
· MRUA International - Performing arts, music and interactive digital media
Ontario Recipients
· Blue Ant Media - Audiovisual
· DC Canada Education Publishing - Publishing and interactive digital media
· HitGrab - Interactive digital media and audiovisual
· Lighthouse Immersive - Visual art, interactive digital media and music
The Heliconia Press - Audiovisual
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In 2018, Canada exported close to $17 billion in creative products, which amounts to 2.4 percent of Canada's total exports.
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The arts and culture sector created nearly 673,000 direct jobs and countless spin-off jobs. It also accounts for 2.6 percent of Canada's overall gross domestic product at a value of $57.1 billion.
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Canada's Creative Export Strategy, including the new Creative Export Canada funding program, gives businesses and organizations in the creative sector the tools and mechanisms they need to successfully export their creative content. In this way, the government is helping Canada's creative sector shine on the world stage.
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Since the creation of Creative Export Canada in 2018, 63 creative industry organizations have received a total of $31,102,704.
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Canadian Heritage will be accepting new applications under the fifth cohort of the Creative Export Canada program this fall for projects with expenses incurring between April 1, 2022, and March 31, 2023.
