Abstract

This is a study on the Canadian federal government's role as financier of feature length films. I argue this policy constitutes a rupture with the spirit of the Report of the 1949-1951 Royal Commission on the National Development of the Letters, Arts and Sciences. Traditionally the federal government abstained from participating in the production of feature length films, because these were deemed unworthy pillars of contemporary Canadian national culture; hence the critical juncture with the 1968 creation of the Canadian Film Development Corporation. The main objective of this study is to understand why the federal government helped develop a Canadian feature film industry. I am interested in the reason why the government felt that the creation of an institution was the best possible course of action through which to develop a feature film production industry in Canada. This study also seeks to understand whether or not Ottawa's support towards the features production industry in Canada is worthwhile. A historical analysis of the evolution of federal film policy will demonstrate this. Specifically, analytical tools from the historical variant of neo-institutionalism have been selected and will be applied in order to answer these questions. Hopefully this study will provide understanding of how Canadian cinema is made and in which direction this unique practice is headed.