Quarterly Financial Report - 2025-2026 - 3rd quarter

© National Film Board of Canada, 2025
Quarterly Financial Report for the quarter ended December 31, 2025
Cat no. NF2-2E-PDF
ISSN 2818-0062

1. Introduction

The National Film Board (NFB) was created by an act of Parliament in 1939. A federal cultural agency within the Canadian Heritage portfolio, the NFB exists to produce and distribute original, innovative audiovisual works that raise awareness of Canadian values and viewpoints and the issues of interest to Canadians – across the country and around the world. The NFB serves Canadians by producing and making accessible, in all regions of the country and on all available platforms, rich and diverse cultural content that would not be produced otherwise and that reflects Canada’s rapidly shifting demographic profile. A brief description of the agency’s activities for the current year can be found in Part II of the Main Estimates.

This quarterly report has been prepared by management as required by Section 65.1 of the Financial Administration Act and in the form and manner prescribed by the Treasury Board. This quarterly report should be read together with the Main Estimates.

This quarterly report has not been subject to an external audit or review.

2. Basis of Presentation

This quarterly report has been prepared by management using expenditure accounting. The accompanying Statement of Authorities includes the agency’s spending authorities granted by Parliament and those used by the agency consistent with the Main Estimates and Supplementary Estimates for the 2025-2026 fiscal year. The report has been prepared using a special-purpose financial reporting framework designed to meet financial information needs with respect to the use of spending authorities.

The authority of Parliament is required before money can be spent by the Government of Canada. Approvals are given in the form of annually approved limits through the Appropriation Act or through legislation in the form of statutory spending authority for specific purposes.

When Parliament is dissolved for the purpose of a general election, Section 30 of the Financial Administration Act authorizes the Governor General, under certain conditions, to issue a special warrant authorizing the government to withdraw funds from the Consolidated Revenue Fund. A special warrant is deemed to be an appropriation for the fiscal year in which it is issued.

The NFB uses the full accrual method of accounting to prepare and present its annual departmental financial statements, which are part of the departmental performance reporting process. However, the spending authorities voted by Parliament remain on an expenditure basis.

3. Highlights of Fiscal Quarter and Fiscal Year-to-Date (YTD) Results

This section highlights the principal factors that contributed to the variances between projected and actual expenditures and expected and earned revenues for the period ended December 31, 2025.

The graphic above shows the total budgetary authorities granted to the NFB for fiscal year 2025-2026 with projected gross expenditures totalling $ 88.0 million.

Table 2, (below), shows expenditures and revenues for the third quarter of 2025-2026. Here is an overview of the key items to be noted:

Variance in Revenues

The revenues recorded during this 3^rd quarter of 2025-2026 total $0.9 million comparable to the previous year.

Variation in Expenditures

Gross expenditures of the 3^rd quarter of 2025-2026 decreased by $1.8 million compared to the same quarter of fiscal year 2024-2025 and stand at $18.6 million.

The main variation of the quarter stems from last year's payment of signing bonuses for new collective agreements, in addition to the cost of severance payments related to the restructuring.

Transportation and communications costs continue to rise, driven primarily by an increased travel expenses related to production projects and by a delay in 2024-25 in billing of the wide-area network service by Shared Services Canada.

The decrease in rental expenses is the result of reducing space in our Montreal offices.

4. Risks and Uncertainties

The need to innovate, create and collaborate remotely

The NFB must put in place innovative technologies to facilitate collaboration and open up new possibilities for remote creation and collaboration from coast to coast and internationally. At a time when opportunities and technological innovations are multiplying exponentially, the National Film Board of Canada must be vigilant and maintain coherent technological development, in terms of creation and engagement with its audiences, in order to meet the challenges of a constantly evolving environment to respond to the realities generated by external turbulence factors.

The Technology Branch will focus on the key priorities aligned with the NFB’s 2025–2028 Strategic Plan. It will conduct an annual update of the five-year investment plan, taking into account the organization’s needs. Major investments will ensure the interconnection of production units across the country and the deployment of the next generation of the online streaming platform onf.ca/nfb.ca, ensuring it meets accessibility standards. The division will also continue digitizing the NFB’s collection, prioritizing works entering the public domain and visual archives made available to the creative community.

Through its Innovation Lab, the General Management will leverage technological innovations to support the institution's creation, distribution, and infrastructure. It will assist teams and provide them with the tools to optimize their efficiency and accelerate the implementation of the Strategic Plan. The Lab's expertise and research findings will then be shared with industry through participation in conferences.

The organization benefits from increased flexibility in its infrastructure allowing it to democratize and standardize secure access to its services. The centralized management of audiovisual works via our Media Asset Management (MAM) facilitates publishing on digital platforms, thereby enhancing public discoverability.  Funding for ongoing investments in these technologies is crucial.

Financial and operational pressures

Over the past few years, the NFB has seen a continual erosion of its financial resources and purchasing power. Considerable investment to support the digital transformation strategy, additional expenditures related to office relocations, and the costs of adjustment to new business models have led to significant financial and operational pressures and continue to impact the organization’s financial capacity. For the sixth consecutive year (2025-2026), the NFB received additional funding, allowing it to balance its budget.

Inadequate organizational capacity to handle the volume of work has remained a constant risk in certain sectors at the NFB for some time. It stems from the number of large-scale projects undertaken as well as reductions in human resources over the last number of years.

5. Significant Changes Related to Operations, Personnel and Programs

Over the past year, the NFB has implemented its 2025-2026 action plan, which builds on its 2025-2028 three-year strategic plan, entitled "Transmitting our Past, Shaping our Future." This plan is a flagship document that reaffirms the NFB's mission: to promote, preserve and reflect Canadian identity while representing a mobilizing force for the country's creative community. This action plan is also aligned with the evolution of its structure, with the aim of redefining its working and collaboration methods around its core mandate as a public producer and distributor.

In December, Stéphanie L’Écuyer was appointed to the position of Director General, Programming and Production, and Anne-Claire Lefaivre to the position of Director General, Programming and Audience Engagement.

* Includes only Authorities available for use and granted by Parliament at quarter-end.

* Includes only Authorities available for use and granted by Parliament at quarter-end.