Just 90 minutes northeast of Toronto, Kawartha Lakes offers a wide range of film-ready settings within one municipality. From historic downtowns and theatres to lakes, cottages, farms, forests, rural roads and small communities, Kawartha Lakes offers countless possibilities for your next production.

Our Film Office provides one point of contact for location scouting, municipal permits and production support. Whether you’re exploring locations or preparing to shoot, we can help you navigate the process.

Film Kawartha Lakes is your main contact for filming in the municipality.

We can help with:

• Location scouting and local contacts
• Municipal permits and approvals
• Road, parking and facility requirements
• Coordination with City departments
• Information about local production services and resources

Contact us early in your planning process so we can identify any permits, approvals or timelines that may affect your production. The City's guidelines currently recommend contacting the Film Office as early as possible.

A City film permit is required when filming takes place on municipal property, including:

• roads
• parking areas
• rights-of-way
• parks
• municipal buildings and property

You may also need municipal approval when filming on private property if your production involves activities such as road impacts, noise exemptions, pyrotechnics or emergency services. 

There is no fee for the City film permit itself. Other permits, rentals or services required for your production may have fees.

Contact us as early as possible. Straightforward film permit applications are reviewed quickly, but productions requiring additional approvals need more time.

Examples currently identified in the City's guidelines include:

• Basic Film Office review: 3 business days
• Road occupancy or parking requirements: 5 business days
• Municipal facility booking: 5 business days
• Residential filming requiring enhanced notification: 10 business days
• Special effects or gunfire: 10 business days
• Temporary road closure: 15 business days
• Noise exemption: 20 business days
• Complex productions with multiple approvals: Up to 30 business days

If your production will affect a municipal road, parking area or right-of-way, additional approval may be required.

Road-related permits are submitted through Permit Central. Provincial highway closures require approval from the Ontario Ministry of Transportation.

Tell the Film Office about any special production requirements when you apply, including:

• Pyrotechnics or fireworks
• Firearms or simulated gunfire
• Stunts
• Drones
• Road closures or traffic control
• Noise outside permitted hours
• Use of municipal buildings or facilities
• Police, Fire or Paramedic vehicles, equipment or personnel

Additional permits, plans or approvals may be required.

Drone operations are regulated federally by Transport Canada. Detailed municipal requirements for special effects and other production activities are available in the Film Production Guidelines.

Productions must provide proof of insurance before filming begins.

Additional documentation may be required depending on the scope and location of your production, including parking plans, traffic plans, special effects plans, neighbourhood notifications and proof of other permits.

View the Film Production Guidelines for current insurance and documentation requirements.

Kawartha Lakes supports Ontario Green Screen and encourages environmentally responsible production practices.

Resources are available through Ontario Creates to help productions reduce waste and environmental impacts on set.

Productions filming in Kawartha Lakes may be eligible for provincial and federal film and television tax credits.

Kawartha Lakes is outside the Greater Toronto Area for the purposes of Ontario's regional film tax credit rules. Eligible productions under the Ontario Film and Television Tax Credit may qualify for a 10% regional bonus when the applicable filming requirements are met.

Ontario also offers the Ontario Film and Television Tax Credit, Ontario Production Services Tax Credit and Ontario Computer Animation and Special Effects Tax Credit. Eligibility varies by production.

Whether you're looking for a specific location, planning a scout or preparing a permit application, contact Film Kawartha Lakes.

Donna Goodwin
Economic Development Officer – Culture
705-324-9411 extension 1498
film@kawarthalakes.ca / dgoodwin@kawarthalakes.ca