Economic developers develop and execute marketing and attraction strategies and campaigns to market their community to existing and potential businesses. The right marketing strategy can promote a community’s unique qualities, programs, and resources, and target a particular industry sector or audience, strengthening a community’s economic well-being.
Having seen the economic benefits the film and television industry can bring to the community, TeamSTC started shining the spotlight on its film-friendliness and launched its FilmSTC campaign to lure more productions to St. Catharines.
Economic Development Week is May 8-12, 2023 and TeamSTC is joining with the International Economic Development Council and municipalities across North America to shine a light on the contributions and impacts our profession has on our communities.
We launched our filmSTC campaign to support the creative economy and promote the St. Catharines as a destination for film, TV, and streaming industries with a dedicated website, filmSTC.ca, as our community continues to gain interest as a choice filming location. According to Ontario Creates, the film and TV industry contributed a record-breaking $2.88 billion to the province’s economy in 2021, creating 48,135 high-value full-time equivalent direct and spin-off jobs.
Nestled in the heart of the Niagara Region, St. Catharines is known for its picturesque landscapes and urban charm, featuring beautiful vineyards, historic architecture, and a vibrant downtown core. This kind of landscape offers a versatile canvas for storytelling through film and has caught the attention of productions. filmSTC.ca showcases the diverse amenities that make St. Catharines the picture-perfect setting for any film production. Residents and property owners can also use the website to find out how to register to promote their homes, buildings and properties as an ideal backdrop for upcoming film opportunities.
Going back to the 1980s’ holiday classic, A Christmas Story, St. Catharines has long been used as a location for filming and has built a strong reputation as an ideal setting for many productions. We received more than 40 inquiries for filming in 2021. St. Catharines more recently served another holiday feature, the Christmas on Mistletoe Lake production, featuring scenes filmed Port Dalhousie. The Port Dalhousie Marina was also the backdrop for scenes featured in The Hardy Boys TV show. Other recent shoots in St. Catharines include Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale, the Netflix limited series Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker and the CBC’s Anne with an E.
But it's not just our natural beauty and urban charm that makes St. Catharines the perfect setting for film production. We have experience working with the film industry and have developed a good reputation as a film-friendly location by connecting productions with local resources including locations, film services, cast, crew, catering, transportation, accommodations and more. FilmSTC is an opportunity to highlight our community’s natural and built assets and to support the growth of an industry that is expanding its economic impact with every new production.
As film productions increasingly choose this city as their backdrop, we'll continue to uncover the transformative power of this dynamic industry for out community. To learn more about filming opportunities and support available in St. Catharines, how you can register your property, or how you can support the industry visit filmstc.ca.