Most Canadian actors earn less than $20K per year from screen work, survey finds

TORONTO — Most Canadian actors can’t pay the bills through onscreen work alone, according to a survey from the Canada Media Fund that found seven in 10 respondents earned less than $20,000 a year from their work on film and TV. The poll of nearly a thousand screen performers also found only six per cent of respondents earned more than $75,000 per year, and just 13 per cent earned all their income from performing. Two-thirds of respondents made less than half their money through acting, the Canada Media Fund said.

The survey was conducted at the end of 2025 by Abacus Data, and asked performers to reflect on their earnings the year prior. “People have to find other jobs, and really make ends meet in different ways … to make their careers sustainable,” said Diego Briceño, senior manager of data equity at the Canada Media Fund, who presented the report on Tuesday at the Reelworld Summit in downtown Toronto. Asked to reflect on their 2024 earnings, 47 per cent of said they worked on international or U.S.

productions filmed north of the border, while 40 per cent worked on Canadian scripted TV and 35 per cent worked in Canadian film. One possible solution the report presents is building up a more robust “star system” in Canada — one that promotes the visibility of homegrown actors. The survey found only three per cent of English performers said there’s a “strong and consistent” star system in Canada, compared to 21 per cent of French-speaking performers.

That topic was also up for discussion at Reelworld on Tuesday, which included a panel on English Canada’s lack of infrastructure that boosts actors’ name recognition. Collins, who stars as deputy Crown attorney Theo Forrester on “Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent.” He said that show does a great job getting its stars out there — which, in his estimation, helps explain why it’s such a success. But he said his experience hasn’t always been so positive.

“I was crafted in Canada, but I was not promoted by Canada,” he said. Collins said that whenever he finishes a project in Canada, it’s like he’s starting his career from zero.