Minister Guilbeault Announces British Columbia’s Final Recipients of Creative Export Canada Funding

From: Canadian Heritage

News release

GATINEAU, July 30, 2021

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 three recipients from the province of British Columbia for the fourth cohort of the Creative Export Canada program. DreamRider Productions, Palco Music and Wizard Games shared $671,000 in funding, to support their export strategies.

DreamRider Productions is a multimedia production company using the power of interactive media, music, theatre and film to inspire kids to become environmental change makers. They have adapted their live show experience into an immersive digital-led program: The Planet Protector Academy. This drama video program engages youth (or the players) to become protectors of the planet, and offers a curriculum for teachers. The funding aims to accelerate their expansion into the Indian education market.

Palco Music (Blue Frog Studios) is one of the largest commercial recording and live performance studios in Western Canada, producing over 160 concerts per year. They produce live shows in order to generate new revenue through their international streaming platform, Blue Frog TV. They wish to fulfill the fascination of foreign audiences to experience Canadian live music by promoting the export of the Blue Frog TV streaming app. With this project, Blue Frog Studios wants to increase their streaming audience and brand presence in the United States market, therefore increasing their revenues and the revenues of performing artists, as well as multiplying their international distribution channels.

Wizard Games is a game-developing studio with dozens of titles successfully launched and over 50 million worldwide downloads. Wizard Games seeks to be at the forefront of creating engaging experiences for mobile gaming, virtual reality, and across other platforms. Their project is to launch their new game Turbo Shot, scale their digital marketing to a global level, and deliver top tier live services to their customers, such as fixing bugs, answering questions and hosting online, in-game events.

The total of $8,478,000 in the fourth round of funding from the Creative Export Canada program also includes recipients from Alberta, Ontario 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

“Canadian creators think big and are driven to succeed by growing their industries. The Government of Canada is proud to help them achieve their goals and continue Canada’s role as as a cultural leader on the global stage.”

—The Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Canadian Heritage 

Quick facts

  • 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

  • In 2018, Canada exported close to $17 billion in creative products, which amounts to 2.4 percent of Canada’s total exports.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • Since the creation of Creative Export Canada in 2018, 63 creative industry organizations have received a total of $31,102,704.

  • 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.

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Contacts

For more information (media only), please contact:

Camille Gagné-Raynauld
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Canadian Heritage
camille.gagne@canada.ca

Media Relations
Canadian Heritage
819-994-9101
1-866-569-6155
pch.media-media.pch@canada.ca

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