Discover interactive digital media in Ontario

Digital media thrives in Ontario, blending creativity and technology to develop globally recognized content, products and services. Successful companies choose Ontario because we offer the right mix of cost advantages, skilled talent and exceptional quality of life.

 

Ontario's digital media cost advantage

In an industry as fast-paced and competitive as digital media, any advantage can make a big difference. Reducing business costs can make a real difference to your profitability. Fortunately, Ontario is one of the world's most cost-competitive places for interactive digital media and gaming.

Ontario's cost-competitive edge

Independent studies show that Canada is the most cost-competitive country for digital services of all the G7 countries, as well as Australia and the Netherlands.

Toronto, Ontario has the lowest business cost for video game production among the major cities of G7 countries.

International Results (US = 100.0)
Industry: Software Design
Operation: Software Development
Country Cost Index
Canada 77.9
Netherlands 83.7
Australia 85.0
Italy 85.0
United Kingdom 87.9
Germany 88.9
Japan 90.1
France 90.8
United States 100.0
Source: KPMG Competitive Alternatives 2016

Competitive wages

Ontario's wages in digital media are approximately 30% lower than other competitive jurisdictions.

Sample Comparison of IT salaries by jurisdiction, 2015
Rank Jurisdiction Population
2015		 % of population (25+ years of age) with Bachelor's degree or higher Number
of IT companies
2014		 Number of
IT workers
2015		 Software Engineer
(5-year average)
2015		 Computer Software Developer
(5-year average)
2015
            $ Index $ Index
1 California 39,144,818 32.3% 36,187 773,195 142,617 156 152,747 166
2 Ontario 13,685,200 32.2% 20,168 222,805 91,367 100 92,158 100
3 Texas 27,469,114 28.4% 15,221 476,631 116,282 127 124,807 135
4 New York 19,795,791 35.0% 15,387 272,383 130,595 143 140,053 152

 

Comparison of IT salaries by city, 2015
Jurisdiction Software Engineer
1-year average total compensation (C$)		 Index Software Engineer
5-year average total compensation (C$)		 Index Computer Software Developer
1-year average total compensation (C$)		 Index Computer Software Developer
5-year average total compensation (C$)		 Index
CA San Jose 97,998 139 122,940 140 108,812 140 131,077 141
MA Boston 89,230 126 110,842 127 98,521 127 117,912 127
TX Dallas 80,281 114 100,968 115 89,192 115 107,868 116
NY New York City 90,032 127 112,588 129 99,702 128 120,124 130
Ontario Toronto 70,699 100 87,531 100 77,685 100 92,683 100
Ottawa 70,594 99 87,340 99 77,532 100 92,479 99
Kitchener-Waterloo 67,446 95 83,383 95 74,019 95 88,323 95
Source: Economic Research Institute, October 1, 2016
Notes: All values are in Canadian dollars, rounded to the nearest dollar
All data denotes the total compensation package, which include both salary and benefits.

 

Exceptional digital media tax incentives

Ontario offers companies a range of world-leading tax credits and programs to make staffing and operating even more affordable.

Ontario Interactive Digital Media Tax Credit

  • Enjoy up to a 40% tax refund on the costs of labour, and some of the marketing and distribution for games created in Ontario.

Co-operative Education Tax Credit

  • Save 25% on the salaries of students you recruit from Ontario's 44 colleges and universities, up to $3,000 per student.

Research and Development Incentives

  • With applicable credits, every $100 you spend on R&D can be reduced to between $61 and $37.

 

Select the best description of your operation to see possible after-tax savings you could achieve in on your R&D expenditures in Ontario.

Public, private or foreign-owned
  R&D expenditures R&D expenditures at eligible institutitions1
Gross expenditure $100.00 $100.00
Ontario – 20% OBRI2 Tax Credit   -$20.00
Ontario – 4.5% ORDTC3 -$4.50 -$3.60
Federal investment tax credit – 20% -$14.33 -$11.46
Tax deduction4:
(Combined federal of 15% and
provincial of 10% = 25%)		 -$20.29 -$16.24
After-tax cost of $100 expenditure $60.88 $48.71

NOTES:
  1. Eligible Ontario research institutes include universities, colleges of applied arts and technology, research hospitals and other entities in Ontario.
  2. The 20% refundable Ontario Business-Research Institute Tax Credit.
  3. The 4.5% Ontario Research and Development Tax Credit.
  4. Tax rates for large manufacturers: Federal 15.0% plus Ontario 10.0% = 25.0%

Public, private or foreign-owned
  R&D expenditures R&D expenditures at eligible institutions2
Gross expenditure $100.00 $100.00
Ontario – 20% OBRI3 Tax Credit   -$20.00
Ontario – 10% OITC4 -$10.00 -$10.00
Ontario – 4.5% ORDTC5 -$4.05 -$3.15
Federal investment tax credit – 15% -$12.89 -$10.03
Tax deduction6:
(Combined federal of 15% and
provincial of 10% = 25%)		 -$18.26 -$14.21
After-tax cost of $100 expenditure $54.79 $42.62

NOTES:
  1. Medium-sized companies have taxable income of less than $500,000 and taxable capital of less than $50 million.
  2. Eligible Ontario research institutes include universities, colleges of applied arts and technology, research hospitals and other entities in Ontario.
  3. The 20% refundable Ontario Business-Research Institute Tax Credit.
  4. The 10% refundable Ontario Innovation Tax Credit.
  5. The 4.5% Ontario Research and Development Tax Credit.
  6. Tax rates for manufacturers: Federal 15.0% plus Ontario 10.0% = 25.0%

Public, private or foreign-owned
  R&D expenditures R&D expenditures at eligible institutions1
Gross expenditure $100.00 $100.00
Ontario – 20% OBRI2 Tax Credit   -$20.00
Ontario – 4.5% ORDTC3 -$4.50 -$3.60
Federal investment tax credit – 15% -$14.33 -$11.46
Tax deduction4:
(Combined federal of 15% and
provincial of 11.5% = 26.5%)		 -$21.51 -$17.21
After-tax cost of $100 expenditure $59.66 $47.73

NOTES:
  1. Eligible Ontario research institutes include universities, colleges of applied arts and technology, research hospitals and other entities in Ontario.
  2. The 20% refundable Ontario Business-Research Institute Tax Credit.
  3. The 4.5% Ontario Research and Development Tax Credit
  4. Tax rates for large non-manufacturers: Federal 15.0% plus Ontario 11.5% = Total 26.5%

Public, private or foreign-owned
  R&D expenditures R&D expenditures at eligible institutions2
Gross expenditure $100.00 $100.00
Ontario – 20% OBRI3 Tax Credit   -$20.00
Ontario – 10% OITC4 -$10.00 -$10.00
Ontario – 4.5% ORDTC5 -$4.05 -$3.15
Federal investment tax credit – 15% -$12.89 -$10.03
Tax deduction6:
(Combined federal of 15% and
provincial of 11.5% = 26.5%)		 -$19.36 -$15.06
After-tax cost of $100 expenditure $53.70 $41.76

NOTES:
  1. Medium-sized companies have taxable income of less than $500,000 and taxable capital of less than $50 million.
  2. Eligible Ontario research institutes include universities, colleges of applied arts and technology, research hospitals and other entities in Ontario.
  3. The 20% refundable Ontario Business-Research Institute Tax Credit.
  4. The 10% refundable Ontario Innovation Tax Credit.
  5. The 4.5% Ontario Research and Development Tax Credit.
  6. Tax rates for non-manufacturers: Federal 15.0% plus Ontario 11.5% = Total 26.5%
  R&D expenditures R&D expenditures at eligible institutions2
Gross expenditure $100.00 $100.00
Ontario – 20% OBRI3 Tax Credit   -$10.00
Ontario – 10% OITC4 -$10.00 -$10.00
Ontario – 4.5% ORDTC5 -$4.05 -$3.15
Federal investment tax credit – 35% -$30.08 -$23.40
Tax deduction6:
(Combined federal of 11% and
provincial of 4.5% = 15.5%)		 -$8.06 -$6.73
After-tax cost of $100 expenditure $47.21 $36.72

NOTES:
  1. Small CCPCs have taxable income of less than $500,000 and taxable capital of less than $15 million.
  2. Eligible Ontario research institutes include universities, colleges of applied arts and technology, research hospitals and other entities in Ontario.
  3. The 20% refundable Ontario Business-Research Institute Tax Credit.
  4. The 10% refundable Ontario Innovation Tax Credit.
  5. The 4.5% Ontario Research and Development Tax Credit.
  6. Tax rates for small CCPCs on the first $500,000 of taxable income: Federal 11% plus Ontario 4.5% = 15.5%

Table Data Source: Ontario Ministry of Finance, January 2014

* The information provided here presents a potential after-tax cost based on assumptions regarding R&D expenditures, tax incentives and tax rates that may not apply to your business. This information does not constitute tax advice. Please consult your tax advisor to determine the after-tax cost of R&D expenditures for your business.

Government support programs

In addition to tax credits, Ontario government organizations offer a number of programs to support the media industry, including financial aid, as well as recruitment and relocation assistance.

The Ontario Media Development Corporation is a major partner in all levels of the media and entertainment industry in this province, offering financial, strategic, and logistical support. It administers 12 tax credit programs, a number of funding programs, as well as other activities to support the growth of the industry in Ontario.

 

Build your team with world-class talent

To create great digital media you need top creative talent. You'll find extraordinarily skilled and creative people here.

What sets our digital media workforce apart?

Only a few of the factors that make our workforce unique:

  • Our workforce is highly educated, talented and multilingual.
  • 85% of our IT workforce has a post-secondary degree and many are bilingual.
  • Each year, 40,000+ students enroll in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) programs, giving businesses what they need most: innovative and skilled problem solvers.
  • Close to 35,000 students are enrolled in digital gaming related programs.
  • Whether they graduate from the University of Waterloo's engineering program (the second largest source of engineering talent after MIT in North America), Sheridan College (which has been called the Harvard of animation) or one of our other 42 colleges and universities, our workforce is industry-ready.

Offering a range of skills

You'll find concept artists, 2-D/3-D artists, animators, modellers, texture artists, technical and computer graphic artists, gameplay programmers, designers, and producers, along with programmers specializing in graphics, physics, sound and online applications. In addition, you'll find musicians and sound engineers.

And when you want to communicate with your customers around the world, you'll find highly-educated and talented bilingual people who communicate in over 200 languages.

Our colleges and universities

Ontario colleges and universities meet your needs by consulting with industry leaders to provide business-critical courses in game development and advanced programming, computer animation, digital design, engineering, computer sciences, fine arts, digital graphics, music and sound engineering.

Select Ontario IT research centres and institutes

 

Look who has already discovered Ontario's advantage

You'll find companies involved in all areas of digital media in Ontario.

 

 

Video game companies
BattleGoat Studios, Big Blue Bubble, Big Viking Games, Capcom Interactive, Capybara Games, Digital Extremes, Drink Box Studios, Electronic Arts, Gameloft, Glu Mobile, Magmic, Metanet Software, Queasy Games, RocketOwl, Rockstar Games, Sago Sago, Spongelab Interactive, TransGaming, Ubisoft, Uken Games, XMG Studio and more.

Animation and special effects companies
AXS Studio (medical illustration/animation), Guru Studio, Invivo (medical illustration/animation), XYZ RGB and more.

Mobile app developers
Enflick, Fuel Industries, Nulayer, Red Square Labs and more.

Post production studios
Keyframe Digital Productions Inc., Morro Images Inc. (part of nGen – Niagara Interactive Media Generator), Mr. X, Optix Digital Pictures Inc., Stargate Studios and more.

Special effects tool makers
Autodesk, Side Effects Software – G Creative Studios

 

Which games have they created in Ontario?

Actual Sunlight, Arena.Xlsm, Bingo Pop, Blitz Block Robo, Blokus, Burn the Rope, Cel Damage HD, Chat Fu, DLC Quest: Live Freemium or Die, Dyad, EGGNOG, Gangstar Vegas, Guacamelee!, Infinite, Kingdoms CCG, Mega Run, Mega Jump 1, Mega Jump 2, Mighty Monsters, My Singing Monsters, N++, Phase 10, Rogue Legacy, Rollers of the Realm, Rubik's Cube, Shadow Wars, Sound Shapes, Super Brothers - Sword & Sworcery, Super Splatform, Super Time Force, Time Tremors Infinity, The Yawhg, Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Blacklist, UNO & Friends, Warframe.

Why are they here?

We offer three key benefits:

  1. highly skilled and creative workers
  2. lower business costs than competitive jurisdictions
  3. a quality of life that attracts and retains world-class talent

The greatest advantage we offer is that you get all three of these benefits together. You won't have to sacrifice one to get the other.

 

Related Content

Feedback: Was this page useful?

Interested in doing business in Ontario?

Talk to a business consultant
Request a conversation

Sign up for our newsletter

Receive the latest news and updates from Invest in Ontario.


Sign up now
Back to top