IMAX, Cirque du Soleil share China expertise
Having an ear to ground will boost Canada’s competitive position: Joly
Ottawa has convened an advisory group with representatives from media companies that have a significant presence in China as it seeks to develop a creative export strategy it will unveil some time in the coming year.
Heritage minister Melanie Joly says companies such as IMAX Corporation, Cirque du Soleil Inc., Minority Media Inc. and Toronto’s Sheridan College will meet with her department regularly to discuss how to support cultural businesses that want a piece of the growing market in China.
“It’s indicative of our vision about the sector, which is linked to innovation and growth,” Joly said from Shanghai, where she is on a foreign visit. She said the federal government has invested $1.4 billion in arts and culture, but expects to see a return on that investment as Canadian companies produce content for foreign markets.
Consultancy McKinsey & Co. last year forecasted that Chinese consumers will increase spending by an average of 10 per cent per year to 2020. While trade and currency numbers have fluctuated, consumer spending in China has remained mostly stable, with the think-tank Demand Institute forecasting that consumer spending could reach as high as US$6.4 trillion by 2025.
In August, IMAX completed its biggest deal ever, through its Chinese subsidiary, in which it has a 68 per cent stake, to open 150 new theatres with Wanda Cinema Line, the country’s largest cinema operator.
However, while China’s box office market grew 48.7 per cent to 44 billion yuan in 2015, 2016 saw a significant cooling in the market, which grew just 3.7 per cent to 45.7 billion yuan, or about US$6.6 billion.
Joly said having an ear to the ground in China will improve Can- ada’s competitive position.
The minister did not say whether the advisory group approach will be used in other key markets, but is set to meet with global economic stakeholders next week when she becomes the first heritage minister to attend the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
“We’ll be talking about the fact that we’re open for business,” Joly said. “I’m the first Minister of Canadian Heritage whose thinking is export first, and that’s because I think our creative ecosystem is mature and providing a lot of quality content.”
Joly said Canada is the thirdbiggest exporter of musical talent, the third biggest producer of video games and Toronto is the third biggest television and film production centre in North America.
“The reason we care about this is because tapping export markets will lead to really good, really wellpaying jobs,” she said.
A Privy Council report from November revealed the federal government last year conducted surveys testing the appetite of Canadians for a potential tax on foreign content providers, and that there was some support for making domestic telecoms and foreign companies contribute to support Canadian content production.
“We’ve already said we’re against a Netflix tax,” Joly said. “At the same time we are studying all the potential economic scenarios that were submitted by stakeholders in the public consultations we held last year.”