Measuring Success: The Impact of Interactive Digital Media in Ontario

This study by Interactive Ontario (IO) was aimed at better understanding the companies that make up Ontario’s interactive digital media (IDM) industry and the impact those companies have in Ontario. It also focused on grasping what those companies consider as challenges and obstacles faced by the IDM industry as well as on gathering information regarding the non-economic impacts of the IDM industry, namely with respect to charitable giving, academic partnerships, and workforce skills development.

The data presented in this report is drawn from two main sources: an online survey conducted with Ontario-based IDM companies and a series of interviews with industry stakeholders located in communities where the IDM industry may have significant social and/or economic impacts. Data from the survey was then used to estimate the economic impact of Ontario’s IDM industry.

Survey results were analyzed using a proprietary economic impact model developed by Nordicity, the firm retained to conduct the study, to estimate GDP, employment and fiscal impacts. Among the results, the study reveals that:

• 877 companies make up Ontario’s IDM industry;
• The IDM industry directly employs 10,900 full-time equivalents (FTEs) and its economic activity supports a grand total of 16,900 FTEs in the wider economy;
• The IDM industry generated $1.4 billion of GDP in 2015. This GDP contribution corresponds to $420 million in taxes across all levels of government.