Happy Canada Day!
To celebrate all things Canada, we’ve rounded up some of the Canadian movies and shows that are currently streaming on major services. Given that the government itself doesn’t really have a proper definition of “Canadian content,” we’ll include a handful of titles that either: A) star Canadians B) feature prominent Canadians behind the camera and/or C) were filmed in Canada.
From superheroes and comedies to dramas and horror, Canada’s got you covered. Read on for a highlight of some of the Canadian titles on Amazon Prime Video, Crave, Disney+ and Netflix.
Amazon’s Prime Video
- The Boys — filmed in Toronto, co-starring Mississauga’s Nathan Mitchell (Black Noir), co-produced by Vancouver’s Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg
- The Expanse — the acclaimed sci-fi series was filmed in Toronto
- The Lake — Amazon’s first scripted original Canadian series, created by Ottawa’s Julian Doucet (Hudson & Rex) and starring Caledon, Ontario’s Jordan Gavaris (Orphan Black); also shot in Northern Ontario
- The Unsolved Murder of Beverly Lynn Smith — Welland, Ontario’s Nathalie Bibeau (The Walrus and the Whistleblower) directs this docuseries about the unsolved 1974 murder of a 22-year-old woman in Oshawa, Ontario
- LOL: Last One Laughing Canada — hosted by Montreal’s Jay Baruchel (This Is The End), featuring a bunch of competing Canadian comics, including Toronto’s Dave Foley (Kids in the Hall), Calgary’s Andrew Phung (Kim’s Convenience) and Westmount, Quebec’s Caroline Rhea (Sabrina the Teenage With)
- Reacher — action series film in and around Toronto
Crave
To coincide with Canada Day, Crave has launched a dedicated “Oh Canada” landing page, featuring the likes of:
- Canada’s Drag Race — a spin on the popular RuPaul series featuring Canadian contestants and judges
- The David Cronenberg Collection — featuring a slew of the renowned Toronto director’s films, like Dead Ringers, Videodrome and The Fly (his new film, Crimes of the Future, will also come to Crave this fall)
- The Denis Villeneuve Collection — includes a variety of films from the acclaimed Bécancour, Quebec director, such as Dune (2021), Prisoners, Arrival and Enemy
Letterkenny and spin-off Shoresy — the two Canadian sitcoms from Listowel, Ontario’s Jared Keeso (creator, writer and star) - Night Raiders — written and directed by La Ronge, Saskatchewan’s Danis Goulet (Wakening), starring Cardston, Alberta’s Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers (The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open) and Surrey, B.C.’s Brooklyn Letexier-Hart (Burden of Truth); was also shot in and around Toronto
- Ryan Reynolds Collection — some of the Vancouver actor’s films, like Free Guy, Just Friends and Van Wilder
Disney+
The streaming service regularly has an “O Canada” section, but here are some highlights:
- Free Guy — starring Vancouver’s Ryan Reynolds, directed by Montreal’s Shawn Levy
- Juno — starring Halifax’s Elliot Page (The Umbrella Academy) and Brampton, Ontario’s Michael Cera, directed by Montreal’s Jason Reitman, shot in Vancouver
- Ms. Marvel — starring Markham, Ontario’s own Iman Vellani, directed by Pakistani-Canadian Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy (Episodes 4 and 5)
- Obi-Wan Kenobi — co-starring Vancouver’s Hayden Christensen, all episodes directed by Toronto’s Deborah Chow
- Reservation Dogs — the Indigenous comedy series stars three Canadians: Three of the four leads are Canadian: Kahnawake, Quebec’s Devery Jacobs (American Gods) as Elora, Toronto’s D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai (Murdoch Mysteries) as Bear and Edmonton’s Paulina Alexis (Ghostbusters: Afterlife) as Willie; Jacobs is also a writer on the upcoming second season
- Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings — starring Mississauga, Ontario’s Simu Liu
- Speed — starring Toronto’s Keanu Reeves and written by Toronto’s Graham Yost
- Turning Red — co-written and directed by Toronto’s Domee Shi, featuring the voices of Ottawa’s Sandra Oh and Mississauga’s Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, set in Toronto
We also recently put together a round-up of upcoming Canadian Disney+ projects — you can read that here.
Netflix
- The Adam Project — starring Vancouver’s Ryan Reynolds, directed by Montreal’s Shawn Levy, filmed in Vancouver
- Anne with an E — created by Vancouver’s Moira Walley-Beckett, starring Irish-Canadian Amybeth McNulty and other Canadians, filmed in various parts of Ontario and P.E.I.
- Kim’s Convenience — Ins Choi’s popular Canadian sitcom starring Canada-raised Paul Sun-Hyung Lee, Toronto-raised Jean Yoon, Burnaby, B.C.’s Andrea Bang and the aforementioned Simu Liu
- Locke & Key — co-starring Toronto’s Connor Jessup, filmed in Toronto
- Midnight Mass — filmed in Vancouver
- Schitt’s Creek — Hamilton, Ontario’s Eugene Levy and Toronto’s Dan Levy created this Canadian sitcom starring them both, as well as Toronto’s Catherina O’Hara and Ottawa’s Annie Murphy
- The Umbrella Academy — starring Halifax’s Elliot Page, filmed in various parts of Ontario
It’s worth noting that Netflix also recently launched a new site that breaks down where in Canada its productions have been filmed.
Of course, those are just some of the many Canadian productions on streaming services. What are your favourites? Let us know in the comments.
Image credit: Shutterstock
