The Reason Most Hallmark Movies Are Filmed In Canada Makes So Much Sense

Be honest: Where did you think most Hallmark movies were filmed? Did you think there was a picturesque town in the snowy Midwest where Hallmark made each of its movies, one after the other? Or did you think they were all made in a quaint, inexplicably snowy studio? Well, if you somehow just said, "They're all filmed in Canada," then you're right. But the reason why they're typically made in Canada makes a lot of sense.

Granted, Canada is full of snowy cities like Toronto and Vancouver, where Hallmark often films. But it's also a studio-friendly country during tax time: Hallmark saves a lot of money on tax breaks when it films there. Ultimately, Hallmark has to be tight with its budget in order to meet its lofty goals of producing scores of original films every year. In winter of 2022, there were 40 new Christmas movies alone. Of course, filming in Canada is only one way that the Hallmark Channel saves money.

Normally, Hallmark is inclined towards shooting schedules that only last a few weeks. Coupled with those aforementioned tax breaks, this strategy can lead to filming budgets of only $2 million — a fraction of blockbuster Hollywood productions. But sometimes Hallmark even skimps on snow. When a Hallmark film needs a snowy landscape, and there's nary a snowflake to be found, the production crew alternates between using shaved ice, crushed limestone, and fire-retardant film. Sometimes the crew even lays out "snow blankets" that perfectly simulate real snow.

Despite these budget-friendly tricks — which often go hand-in-hand with formulaic screenplays — there's not much holding back major actors from appearing in Hallmark movies. Folks like Dolly Parton, Blake Shelton, and Jonathan Bennett of "Mean Girls" fame have given Hallmark a spin in the past. Perhaps it's the actor-friendly shooting schedules, perhaps it's the knowledge that the fire-retardant snow will never result in studio fires, or perhaps they just want to be appear on one of cable TV's highest-rated networks while taking a trip to Canada.