Film in Kawartha Lakes

The City of Kawartha Lakes provides one point of contact for location scout inquiries and production requests. Please refer to Bylaw 2022-116 and our Film Guidelines for detailed information on fees, timelines, approvals and other information you might need to plan your next shoot with us. Initial inquiry or reach out can be done directly through the Film Permit Application form here. Depending on the request, additional applications/forms found in the CKL Guidelines may need to be submitted to Film Kawartha Lakes.

The City of Kawartha Lakes is a municipal member of Ontario Green Screen (OGS). Access to local Film friendly environmental resources is highlighted in our Film Guidelines. Ideas can also be accessed through the OGS strategic plan.

We encourage you to familiarize yourself with other provincial resources such as: Ontario Production Guidelines and Ontario's safety-guidelines-film-and-television-industry

Industry Incentives and Tax Credits

• Ontario Film and Television Tax Credit: The Ontario Film & Television Tax Credit (OFTTC) is a refundable tax credit available to eligible Ontario-based Canadian corporations of 35% of qualified Ontario labour expenditures for eligible film and television production.

• OFTTC Regional Bonus: Qualifying OFTTC productions that are shot in Ontario entirely outside of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), or that have at least five location days in Ontario (or in the case of a television series, the number of location days is at least equal to the number of episodes), and at least 85% of the location days in Ontario are outside the GTA, receive a 10% bonus on all Ontario labour expenditures incurred for the production. Wholly animated productions which create at least 85% of key animation in Ontario outside of the GTA qualify for the regional bonus.
• Ontario Production Services Tax Credit:  The Ontario Production Services Tax Credit (OPSTC) is a refundable tax credit to eligible Ontario-based Canadian and foreign-controlled corporations of 21.5% of qualified Ontario production expenditures for eligible film and television productions.
• Ontario Computer Animation and Special Effects Tax Credit: The Ontario Computer Animation & Special Effects (OCASE) Tax Credit is a refundable tax credit to Ontario-based Canadian and foreign-controlled corporations of 18% of qualifying Ontario labour expenditures for digital animation and digital visual effects created in Ontario for film and television productions.
• Federal Tax Credits: Federal incentives can add up to a 16% labour tax credit, depending on the level of assistance the project received from provincial and other sources. This commonly works out to 2-4% when added with other incentives.

Production companies proposing the use of pyrotechnics and or discharged fireworks are required to indicate the use of pyrotechnics under the Additional Elements section of the Film Permit Application. The production company shall observe and comply with all applicable Federal, Provincial and local laws pertaining in any way to the use of pyrotechnics and/or discharged fireworks and is responsible for obtaining all required approvals and permits related to the use of pyrotechnics and/or discharged fireworks.

Specific reporting and submission requirements can be found in section 3.3.2 of the CKL Film Guidelines.

For a list of specific filming locations in Kawartha Lakes, you can visit our page on Ontario Creates.

Communities found within the City of Kawartha Lakes include:

Argyle

Bethany

Bobcaygeon

Coboconk

Fenelon Falls

Kinmount

Kirkfield

Lindsay

Norland

Oakwood

Omemee

Pontypool

Woodville