Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA)
The Canadian trade association representing independent film, television, and digital media producers, negotiating collective agreements and advocating for the independent production sector nationally.
Overview
The Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA) is the national trade association representing independent producers working in film, television, and digital media across Canada. Founded in 1949, the CMPA advocates for the independent production sector with Canadian broadcasters, streaming platforms, government funding bodies, and in negotiations with creative guilds including the DGC, ACTRA, and WGC. The CMPA is the management counterpart to Canada's creative guilds -- it sits across the table from unions and associations to negotiate the collective agreements that govern rates and working conditions for cast and crew on independent Canadian productions.
CMPA membership spans independent production companies across the country, from small documentary producers to large drama production companies, operating in English Canada. Quebec's independent production sector is separately represented by the Association des producteurs de films et de télévision du Québec (APFTQ/AQPM), which negotiates with UDA and the Quebec-based IATSE locals for French-language production. The CMPA and APFTQ/AQPM coordinate on national issues but negotiate separately for their respective linguistic communities.
Broadcasting and Streaming Policy
The CMPA's most sustained advocacy work involves Canadian broadcasting and streaming policy -- the regulatory framework that determines what Canadian broadcasters and streaming platforms must invest in Canadian content. The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) administers broadcasting regulation in Canada, and the CMPA participates actively in CRTC consultations on Canadian content requirements, broadcaster expenditure commitments, and the growing question of whether foreign streaming platforms operating in Canada should be required to invest proportionally in Canadian content production.
The Broadcasting Act amendments of 2023 (Bill C-11, the Online Streaming Act) extended CRTC jurisdiction to online streaming services, a development the CMPA has long advocated for. Implementation of this legislation -- determining what precisely foreign streaming platforms must invest in Canadian content -- will significantly affect the volume of production work available to CMPA member companies.
Canada Media Fund
The Canada Media Fund (CMF) is the primary funding body for English-language Canadian television and streaming content, jointly administered by the Government of Canada and Canadian cable and satellite distribution undertakings. The CMPA maintains an active relationship with the CMF, participating in consultations on funding criteria, eligibility requirements, and program structure. CMF-funded productions must comply with CMPA collective agreements -- making CMPA membership a practical requirement for producers seeking CMF financing.
Collective Agreements
The CMPA negotiates the Independent Production Agreement (IPA) with ACTRA, the CMPA/DGC Agreement with the Directors Guild of Canada, and agreements with the WGC covering the minimum terms for writers on independent Canadian productions. These agreements -- updated periodically through collective bargaining -- establish the minimum rates and working conditions that govern independent Canadian production.
What Filmmakers Should Know
For international co-productions with Canada, the CMPA provides professional context for understanding the Canadian independent production landscape. Canadian co-production treaty access, Telefilm Canada and CMF financing eligibility, and compliance with CMPA collective agreements are all relevant considerations for international producers seeking Canadian co-production partners.
For Canadian producers, CMPA membership provides collective agreement access, advocacy representation, industry resources, and the professional community that supports running a successful production company in Canada's competitive independent sector.
See Also
For the Canadian guilds the CMPA negotiates with, see ACTRA, Directors Guild of Canada (DGC), and Writers Guild of Canada (WGC) in this directory.
