Ahead of Frontier’s Season 3 premiere, the Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA) has released a study indicating the TV drama has generated an impressive $106 million in economic activity and contributed $82.1 million to the national GDP.
The series centres around outlaw trapper Declan Harp, played by Jason Momoa, a part-Irish, part-Native American outlaw campaigning to breach the Hudson’s Bay Company monopoly on the Canadian fur trade. Production primarily takes place in Newfoundland and Labrador where the positive economic spinoffs have been felt the most.
An analysis of Frontier’s first season alone, revealed that of the 621 Canadian vendors that benefitted from the production, 368 were based in the province. For that same season, every dollar of provincial tax credit invested by Newfoundland and Labrador triggered $6.74 in economic activity and $5.77 in GDP. At the national scale, each dollar of federal government incentives generated $14.36 in economic activity and $11.12 to the GDP.
Over all three seasons of the series, the production has created 888 full-time equivalent Canadian jobs, 539 of those based in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Corner Brook, NL, in particular, has benefitted from the production. Local outdoor sport, all-terrain vehicle and snowmobile tour shop Rugged Edge, which was engaged to assist in scouting shooting locations, estimates film tourism related to Frontier has increased its tour business by 25 per cent.
An interprovincial coproduction, Frontier also had a significant economic impact in Ontario and other regions, with $22.2 million in production expenditures outside Newfoundland.
Co-created by Rob Blackie and Peter Blackie of Take the Shot Productions, Frontier debuted in 2016. The third season premieres tonight (Dec. 7) on Discovery Canada. The show is also available on Netflix in over 190 countries.
“We are extremely gratified with the success of Frontier, and in particular the positive impact it has had locally,” said Take the Shot Productions’ Peter Blackie, co-creator and executive producer. “I think it’s fair to say that the production industry in Newfoundland and Labrador punches well above its weight, and we’re excited about continuing to grow that potential for the province.”
“Over three seasons, Frontier has entertained fans across the world, yet nowhere is its impact more tangible than in Newfoundland and Labrador,” said CMPA President and CEO Reynolds Mastin. “Frontier’s economic contribution to the province shows the tremendous economic potential of bold and unapologetically Canadian storytelling.”
Economic analysis for the CMPA study was carried out by MNP LLP. Find the full study here.
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