Canada Media Fund Continues Restructuring with New Directors

The Canada Media Fund (CMF) has added five new directors to its management team to help implement its new content-centric, platform-agnostic funding model to better invest in authentic stories from across Canada.

The five new directors will also help realize CMF’s equity and inclusion strategy and strengthen its communications with the public, industry and government.

Among the new hires is Jessica Lea Fleming (Métis/Scottish-Settler), who joins as director of growth and inclusion. Working closely with Tamara Dawit, VP of growth and inclusion, Fleming will evaluate, develop and help execute the CMF’s inclusion initiatives. She has collaborated with some of Canada’s leading media, arts, culture and advocacy organizations, including the Independent Media Arts Alliance, the City of Toronto, the Indigenous Performing Arts Alliance, Luminato, New Harlem Productions, Regent Park Film Festival, Indigenous Fashion Arts, Native Earth Performing Arts and most recently, imagineNATIVE, where she was associate director until February 2022.

Marcia Douglas has been appointed director of English content, international and export. Reporting to Rod Butler, VP of content and regulatory, Douglas will help develop policy and analyze regulatory issues that impact the CMF and the industry. Prior to joining the CMF, she held roles at the Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA), Bell Fund, Cogeco Fund and the Independent Production Fund, where she worked to establish policies and opportunities to foster and promote the Canadian media production sector.

Joining as director of French content, Mireille Darveau will help develop policy, streamline and improve internal processes and better position the CMF to adapt to further legislative and industrial changes. She will also report to Butler. She has more than 25 years of experience in the screen industry, including nearly 15 years at Telefilm Canada as deputy director for the CMF’s program administrator.

Kyle O’Byrne has been tapped as director of public affairs, reporting to Mathieu Chantelois, executive VP of marketing and public affairs. O’Byrne will develop national public affairs strategy and work closely with federal and provincial governments and other key layers in the sector. Prior to joining the CMF, O’Byrne worked at the CMPA as director of policy, in which he was responsible for monitoring and reporting on emerging policies related to the Canadian independent production sector.

Lastly, Jared Morrow has been appointed director of communications. Also reporting to Chantelois, Morrow will oversee internal and external communications strategy. Previously, he worked at BGC Canada (formerly Boys & Girls Clubs of Canada), where he last held the role of director of editorial and content.

“I’m delighted to welcome this group of dedicated professionals to our team,” said Valerie Creighton, president and CEO of the CMF. “Thanks to their combined skill set and experience, the CMF is better equipped to support the industry and all of Canada’s content creators through this time of great change—change that is long overdue. Restructuring the CMF’s leadership is one of the fundamental ways we can ensure we are future ready, as an organization and a sector.”

“After long searches and many conversations with talented people who want to make a lasting contribution to our industry, we found these five experts in their fields who I know will bring renewed energy to our organization,” Creighton continued. “New ideas, new visions. This is what we need to position the CMF for the future and better embrace Canada’s stories—stories that audiences are craving at home and across the globe. We are living in a time of unprecedented content creation, and with this team on board, I am excited to build an even stronger Canada Media Fund that will continue to champion Canadian talent.”