The U.S. writers strike began 1 month ago. Here's how it's affecting the Canadian industry

The Ontario film and television industry had a record-breaking year in 2022, with substantial growth partly thanks to U.S.-produced shows like The Handmaid's Tale and The Boys, which shoot in Canada.

But only 15 projects set up shop in Toronto this year amid talk of the now-ongoing U.S. writers strike, compared to 25 last year, according to Marguerite Pigott, the city's film commissioner and director of the entertainment industry.

"Scouting slowed down January to March, so we absolutely knew what to expect. The whole industry knew what to expect," Pigott told CBC News.

The strike began one month ago — and the Canadian industry has steeled itself for the ripple effects of a labour action that has shut down scores of Hollywood film and television productions.

A similar effect to what Pigott described has taken hold in western Canada. British Columbia hit a low of 28 active productions just before the beginning of the strike — around half of what it would typically be at that time of the year, according to Gemma Martini, the CEO of Martini Film Studios in Langley.

While Toronto's domestic industry is still going strong, Canadian film and TV staff who work across borders have suffered losses, said Pigott.

"There's no question that people in the industry are feeling the pain, especially people on crews."

Feature films rarely begin shooting without a finished script; Canadian independent productions that work with Writers Guild of Canada members are untouched by the strike south of the border. 

But a large number of U.S. series, like Abbott Elementary, have reportedly been delayed. Ditto for Canadian co-productions like Hulu's The Handmaid's Tale, which is shot in Toronto, and HBO's The Last of Us, which will film its second season in Vancouver.

Pigott emphasized that it's a matter of if, not when, the U.S. industry returns to Toronto. Outside of Ontario, Canadian cities like Montreal, Halifax and Calgary are favoured shooting locations for our American neighbours. 

"We know the writers strike is going to end at some point," said Pigott. "When it ends, there will absolutely be that boom."

Many Canadian writers who've developed projects in the U.S. have put down their pens to support Writers Guild of America members.

Abdul Malik, a screenwriter and former labour organizer based in Edmonton, put all of his U.S. projects on hold