North Bay mayor Al McDonald expects the provincial funding to continue to come for the area's film industry despite all the setbacks and postponed projects that occurred due to the pandemic.
"I will say in all my conversations with our local MPP, Minister Fedeli, he has been incredibly supportive of the film and television industry," said McDonald during a Thursday media conference at City Hall.
"He is always reaching out to see what he can do to assist. He has been a real champion, not just on film and television industry but throughout our whole Grow Our City, but you can see the province is 100 per cent behind the film industry and you can see what is happening within our province because of their commitments and I want to give Minister Fedeli a shoutout for his ongoing support."
See related: Local film industry ready to return
McDonald held a press conference to officially welcome the film industry back to the city for the first time since mid-March.
Fedeli, was not at the press event but earlier in the week he took the Minister of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries to visit the western set built last summer in Powassan.
Fedeli sees the value in the film industry for his riding and the rest of northern Ontario.
“Our government is committed to strengthening the growing film and television industry in North Bay," Fedeli said in an email to BayToday.
"Last year, we invested over $16 million in the sector and continue to work closely with them, aiming to invest in the same percentage of productions again this year. These investments drive economic development and job growth in the region and it sends a signal to the world that Northern Ontario is open for business.”
McDonald says the city is coming off a record year for production in 2019 with a total of 15 productions in 2019 resulting in more than $46 million in local spending.
