International film and television production increasingly depends on partnerships that cross national borders. For Canadian producers, audiovisual co-production treaties provide a formal framework for combining financing, creative talent, and production resources with partners in other countries while securing official national status for eligible projects.
Canada’s latest step came in September 2026, when it signed modernized co-production treaties with the United Kingdom and Spain at TIFF: The Market in Toronto. The agreements target two longstanding partnerships built on frameworks dating back to 1975 and 1985. Their modernization reflects Canada’s broader effort to adapt its international production network to a changing screen industry.
But how do these treaties work, and what do they actually offer producers?
What Is an Audiovisual Co-Production Treaty?
An audiovisual co-production treaty is a formal agreement between countries that establishes the conditions under which a film or television project can be recognised as a national production in each participating country. It allows producers to pool financial, creative, and technical resources within a framework recognised by both governments.
This recognition distinguishes an official treaty co-production from a project that simply involves international financing or production services. A film shot in Canada with a foreign production company, for example, does not automatically qualify as a Canadian treaty co-production. The project must be structured under an applicable agreement, meet its requirements, and receive approval from the relevant authorities.
The distinction matters because official status can open access to domestic production incentives and public funding in each participating country. It can also help producers meet local content requirements, depending on the rules of the relevant jurisdiction. However, treaty recognition does not guarantee funding or tax credits. Each programme has its own eligibility criteria, application process and available budget.
Treaty co-productions should also be distinguished from international co-ventures and foreign service productions. An international co-venture involves partners from different countries but does not necessarily operate under a bilateral treaty.
A service production, meanwhile, involves a local company providing crews, locations, equipment, or other services for a foreign project. These arrangements can generate economic activity, but they do not automatically confer treaty co-production status.
How Do the Treaties Work?
Although the details differ between agreements, Canada’s co-production treaties generally require each participating producer to make a meaningful financial, creative, and technical contribution. The minimum financial participation is treaty-specific, with thresholds commonly ranging from 15% to 30%. Some agreements also permit multipartite productions involving three or more countries, often with lower minimum contributions for additional partners.
Financial participation is only one part of the assessment. The creative and technical contributions, production expenditure and distribution of responsibilities must generally reflect the producers’ respective financial shares.
If a Canadian company provides 40% of a project’s financing, for example, its contribution to production activity would normally be expected to be reasonably proportionate. The precise requirements depend on the applicable treaty and the nature of the production.
The agreements also establish rules for personnel, production locations, technical services and the distribution of rights and revenues. Some permit limited participation by individuals or companies from countries outside the partnership, or allow filming and post-production services in third countries, provided the authorities approve the arrangements. These provisions give producers some flexibility, but they should not assume that an exception available under one treaty also applies to another.
Canada’s certification process
For a Canadian producer, the process generally involves Telefilm Canada and the Canadian Audio-Visual Certification Office (CAVCO).
Telefilm administers Canada’s co-production treaties and reviews applications to determine whether projects meet the relevant agreement’s requirements. Producers normally begin with a preliminary recommendation application before principal photography.
Telefilm assesses the proposed financing, co-production agreement, creative and technical participation, and other project details. After production, it reviews the final information before issuing its final recommendation.
The preliminary application should generally be submitted at least 30 days before filming begins. The period is 60 days for projects involving Hungary, Poland, Switzerland, or Hong Kong. Producers should confirm the current requirements for their specific treaty and project rather than rely on a general deadline.
CAVCO separately assesses eligibility for the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit (CPTC). It issues the relevant production certificate and certificate of completion, while the Minister of Canadian Heritage makes the final decision on treaty co-production recognition. The Canada Revenue Agency administers the tax-credit claim. A Telefilm recommendation is therefore an important part of the process, but it is not itself a tax-credit payment.
Treaty co-productions benefit from exemptions from several CPTC requirements that apply to conventional Canadian productions. These include the standard Canadian key creative personnel points test, certain Canadian producer-position requirements, minimum Canadian production and post-production expenditure requirements, and some restrictions concerning copyright ownership and control of exploitation rights. Other CPTC requirements still apply.
The CPTC is calculated at 25% of qualified labour expenditure, subject to the programme’s calculation rules and limits. For treaty co-productions, only production costs and labour expenses incurred by the Canadian production company are considered in calculating the Canadian claim. The foreign partner’s expenditure is not simply added to the Canadian tax-credit base.
Canada’s European Co-Production Network
Canada has one of the world’s largest networks of audiovisual co-production agreements. Canadian Heritage reports that the country has agreements with 59 partners and that co-production activity exceeds CAD $500 million annually. Between 2015 and 2025, Canada participated in 508 treaty co-productions, representing approximately CAD $3.5 billion in combined production budgets. These figures illustrate the scale of the network, although the number and value of projects vary considerably between partner countries.
The United Kingdom is among Canada’s most established partners. The original agreement dates to September 1975. In the ten years preceding the September 2026 announcement, the countries collaborated on 98 co-productions—26 films and 72 television series—with combined budgets of approximately CAD $629 million. The UK is Canada’s leading partner for television co-productions and its second-largest partner for film co-productions.
Spain has a smaller but longstanding relationship with Canada. Its original agreement was signed in January 1985. Since then, the two countries have collaborated on 16 co-productions, including 11 films and five television productions, with combined budgets approaching CAD $123 million.
In September 2026, Canada signed modernized treaties with both countries. The new agreements are intended to replace the older frameworks and make collaboration more accessible in a changing audiovisual market.
However, signing does not mean that the treaties are already in force. The Canadian government states that they will take effect following ratification by both countries. Producers should therefore continue to consult the agreement applicable to their project until the updated treaties enter into force.
Other European partnerships offer different opportunities. Canada’s agreement with France, signed in 2021 and in force since May 2022, explicitly covers film, television and on-demand audiovisual media services.
It generally requires a minimum contribution of 20% for television and on-demand works. For cinematographic works, the minimum may be reduced to 15%, or to 10% for French-language films with the authorities’ mutual consent.
The agreements with Ireland and Switzerland also permit multipartite co-productions, with minimum financial contributions of 10% in those arrangements. Canada’s current Swiss treaty entered into force in August 2024, while the Ireland agreement dates to 2016. Their provisions address participation, production locations, and the use of services from third countries, although the conditions differ.
The differences are important. Producers should not select a partner country solely because it has a treaty with Canada. The relevant agreement must fit the project’s financing structure, creative requirements, production schedule, and intended distribution.
Beyond National Tax Credits: Financing and Creative Opportunities
The most immediate benefit of treaty co-production is the possibility of combining resources from more than one national production system. A Canadian producer may work with a European partner to assemble financing, access eligible public support, and distribute production responsibilities across the participating countries. This can make projects possible that might be difficult to finance through a single national market.
Co-production can also create routes to new audiences. A partnership with a European producer may provide local industry knowledge, relationships with broadcasters or distributors, and a better understanding of the target market.
For Canadian producers, these relationships can support the international circulation of Canadian stories and talent. For European partners, collaboration can provide access to Canadian production expertise, locations, crews and financing opportunities.
Canada’s membership in Eurimages adds another dimension to this relationship. The Council of Europe’s film support fund promotes international co-productions through financial support for feature films, animation and documentaries.
Canada became an associate member in March 2017 and a full member in June 2022. Membership provides Canadian producers with an additional potential source of support for eligible European co-productions, but it does not guarantee funding. Projects must meet Eurimages’ own eligibility and selection criteria.
The value of these partnerships is also visible in completed productions. Telefilm Canada’s co-production directory, for example, lists The Braid (2022–2023) as a Canada–France co-production and Creeped Out (2018–2019) as a Canada–UK co-production. These examples show how treaty partnerships can support projects across different formats and audiences, from feature films to television series.
What Producers Should Consider Before Starting a Co-Production
A treaty can create opportunities, but it also introduces legal, financial, and administrative responsibilities. Producers considering an international partnership should address several issues early in development.
First, they need to confirm that an applicable treaty is in force and identify the minimum financial contribution required from each partner. They should then assess whether the proposed creative and technical participation, production expenditure, and rights distribution can meet the treaty’s proportionality requirements.
Second, the co-production agreement should clearly define each producer’s responsibilities, financing commitments, ownership interests, decision-making authority, rights and revenue shares. These arrangements need to be consistent with the treaty and acceptable to the relevant authorities. Changes to the financing, personnel or production structure may affect eligibility, so producers should consult Telefilm before making material changes.
Third, the partners should consider the practical implications of working across jurisdictions. Currency exchange, tax treatment, employment rules, immigration, insurance, production schedules and location requirements can all affect the budget and delivery of a project. The availability of a treaty does not remove these operational challenges.
Finally, producers should plan the certification process before principal photography. Applying too late or structuring the project incorrectly can put its treaty status and access to incentives at risk. Early advice from Telefilm, CAVCO, legal counsel and the relevant authorities in the partner country can help identify problems before production commitments become difficult to change.
Wrapping Up
Canada’s modernized agreements with the UK and Spain are part of a broader effort to maintain and expand its international production relationships. With nearly 60 partner countries and hundreds of treaty co-productions completed over the past decade, the network is already an important part of the country’s audiovisual industry.
The challenge is to ensure that these agreements remain relevant as production models and distribution platforms change. On-demand services, international financing structures and increasingly distributed production teams are reshaping how audiovisual projects are developed and financed. Modern treaties can provide a framework for responding to those changes, but their practical value will depend on the provisions they contain, how consistently they are implemented, and whether producers can navigate the certification process.
For Canadian filmmakers and production companies, Europe offers more than a collection of potential financing partners. It provides access to established creative industries, public support systems, and international distribution networks. Co-production treaties do not remove the complexity of international production, nor do they guarantee a project’s commercial success. They do, however, create a formal route for producers to share resources, responsibilities, and opportunities across borders.