Video production in Toronto: video creation for brands expanding into North America
When international brands plan their North American expansion, they almost always think New York first. Or Los Angeles. Sometimes Chicago. Toronto rarely enters the conversation as a video creation hub, which is a strategic blind spot.
Canada's largest city is home to 6.5 million people in the greater metro area. It is the fourth-largest city in North America, the continent's third-largest tech hub (after San Francisco and New York), and arguably the most multicultural city on the planet, with over 200 ethnic groups and more than 140 languages spoken. Toronto's financial district is home to the headquarters of Canada's five largest banks, and the city generates roughly 20% of Canada's GDP.
With 170+ monthly searches for "video production Toronto," brands are looking for local capability. But the real story is not just about serving the Canadian market. Toronto offers something unique: a cost-effective, culturally diverse, and highly skilled production base that can serve both Canadian and US audiences, all in the same time zones and with seamless creative and logistical compatibility.
Why Toronto makes strategic sense for North American content
Most global brands treat Canada and the US as separate content markets. They hire a New York agency for US content and scramble for Canadian capability as an afterthought. This approach misses Toronto's structural advantages.
Cost efficiency. Toronto production costs run 20% to 30% below New York and Los Angeles equivalents (CMPA profile data, industry benchmarks). The Canadian dollar has traded at a persistent discount to the US dollar, making Toronto even more attractive for US-headquartered brands. Federal and provincial tax credits for screen production add further savings.
Cultural and visual versatility. Toronto is one of the world's most popular stand-in filming locations for a reason. Its architecture and streetscapes can double for New York, Chicago, or generic "American city" with minimal art direction. For brand video, this means Toronto-shot content can serve North American audiences without geographic tells that limit its usefulness.
Diversity on camera. For brands committed to representative marketing, Toronto's demographic reality is a genuine asset. The city's population reflects virtually every global market, making it straightforward to cast authentically diverse talent for customer stories, employer brand content, and lifestyle video.
Time zone alignment. Toronto operates in Eastern Time, the same zone as New York and most major US business centres. For brands managing video production across North America, this eliminates the coordination friction that comes with West Coast or international time differences.
How 90 Seconds powers Toronto video creation
The 90 Seconds platform connects brands to a network of Toronto-based Creator Partners who bring broadcast, commercial, and digital production experience. A dedicated Concierge manages each project, from brief through delivery, with the same 14-day average turnaround that the platform delivers globally.
For international brands entering North America, this model is particularly valuable. Instead of establishing relationships with separate agencies in Toronto, New York, and Chicago, a brand can use one platform to manage content creation across the continent. One set of brand guidelines. One quality standard. One consolidated relationship.
A European technology company expanding into North America, for instance, can produce customer testimonial videos in Toronto for the Canadian market, simultaneously create case study content in New York for US enterprise accounts, and manage both programmes through a single dashboard. The Concierge ensures consistency while local Creator Partners deliver market-appropriate content.
The platform also simplifies the bilingual challenge. Canada's federal bilingual requirements mean many brands need English and French versions of video content. Creator Partners in the Toronto network include French-speaking professionals and editors experienced in producing bilingual deliverables.
What brands are creating in Toronto
Toronto's diverse economy drives demand across multiple video categories.
Financial services content. Toronto's Bay Street is Canada's Wall Street. RBC, TD Bank, Scotiabank, BMO, and CIBC all maintain headquarters operations in the city. These institutions produce vast quantities of video: investor communications, product explainers, employee onboarding, customer education, and compliance training. The content requirements are ongoing and volume-heavy.
Technology and SaaS. Toronto's tech corridor, stretching from the downtown core through the MaRS Discovery District to the Waterloo-Toronto innovation corridor, houses Shopify's Toronto office, Wealthsimple, Clearco, and hundreds of startups and scale-ups. These companies produce product demos, customer stories, thought leadership content, and recruitment videos at a pace that traditional agency models cannot sustain.
Multicultural marketing. Brands targeting specific diaspora communities, South Asian, Chinese, Filipino, Caribbean, and others, find Toronto invaluable. The city's authentic multicultural fabric means brands can produce culturally resonant content with genuine representation, not staged diversity.
Higher education. The University of Toronto, York University, Ryerson (Toronto Metropolitan University), and OCAD drive demand for student recruitment videos, campus showcases, and research communication content targeting both domestic and international audiences.
Real estate and development. Toronto's construction and development sector is among the most active in North America, generating ongoing demand for project showcases, virtual tours, neighbourhood profiles, and investor content.
How to start using Toronto as your North American video base
Whether you are a Canadian brand scaling content or an international company entering the continent, Toronto offers a practical starting point.
Map your North American content needs. Where are your customers, employees, and prospects located? Toronto can serve as the anchor for a content programme that spans Canada and the northeastern US.
Brief your first project. Visit the 90 Seconds Toronto page to get started. A customer testimonial, employer brand video, or product explainer are all strong first projects that demonstrate the model.
Leverage the cost advantage. Benchmark your Toronto project costs against equivalent New York or Los Angeles projects. The savings are significant enough to fund additional content volume.
Expand across North America. Once Toronto is delivering, extend the programme to New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles through the same platform. One workflow, consistent quality, continental coverage.
Toronto does not need to compete with New York's brand cachet or LA's creative mystique. It competes on practicality: skilled talent, competitive costs, cultural diversity, and a location that serves the entire North American market. For brand marketers building continental content programmes, that is a compelling proposition.
Build your North American video programme from Toronto. Visit the 90 Seconds Toronto page to start.
Explore more cities: See how 90 Seconds powers video creation in New York, Chicago, and San Francisco.
90 Seconds
Content Team
