Anna Lambe in Netflix's North of North. Jasper Savage/Netflix Share on Facebook Share on X Share to Flipboard Send an Email Show additional share options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share on Tumblr Share on Whats App Print the Article Post a Comment Amid unprecedented disruption, Canada's most influential corporate and creative leaders stepped up to reshape the business this year. Whether confronting Donald Trump's tariff threats and "51st state" taunts, safeguarding IP and content libraries from the rise of AI or launching the next Canadian TV hit globally, these decision-makers led with strategy, resilience and vision. "The biggest challenge in 2025 has been navigating the significant uncertainty and 'noise' facing both consumers and advertisers," says Sean Cohan, president of Bell Media, the media and entertainment division of telecom giant BCE. Related Stories Lifestyle Toronto's Most Stylish Sleepovers Movies Tokyo: Junji Sakamoto's 'Climbing for Life' to Open Festival But there's no slowing down. U.S. digital giants continue to tighten their grip on Canada's media landscape even as cord-cutting and cord-nevers erode the audience share of private Canadian broadcasters. Netflix and Prime Video are aggressively chasing Canadian TV ad dollars, drawing revenue from traditional and emerging local platforms. Against that backdrop of disruption and competition, meet the Canadian power players driving the industry forward - and gain insight into the hows and whys of their biggest wins and challenges. From left: Karen Thorne-Stone, CEO of Ontario Creates; TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey; and Kerry Swanson, CEO of the Indigenous Screen Office. Shawn Goldberg/Getty Images (2); Isaiah Trickey/FilmMagic Cameron Bailey CEO, Toronto International Film Festival Bailey oversees the overall strategy management of the marquee event - now in its 50th year - which represents a key Canadian cultural brand as a major open-to-the-public film festival each September in Toronto. Bailey, who is also a member of the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, served as a film programmer at TIFF from 1990-97. He became TIFF artistic director in 2012 and before that was festival co-director along with Piers Handling from 2008-12. When Handling left Toronto after the 2018 edition, Bailey and newly appointed managing director Joana Vicente were named co-heads. In 2021, he finally took the reins at TIFF as chief executive. His next challenge: launching an official media content market at the Toronto festival next year. Marie-Philippe Bouchard President and CEO, CBC/Radio Canada Bouchard took the reins at CBC/Radio Canada in January as the organization continues to grapple with rising talent and programming costs. That makes partnering with international players - as with Netflix on the comedy North of North - increasingly critical. Bouchard also is tasked with maintaining the relevance of the public broadcaster as a sea of foreign streaming services like Netflix and Prime Video vie for the attention of Canadian TV viewers. "In order to keep pace with high-budget foreign content, budgets for Canadian content have risen dramatically in the last three to five years," she says. "That's why partnerships with other broadcasters, streamers and distributors remain key." Sean Cohan President, Bell Media After executive stints at A+E Networks and Nielsen, Cohan left the U.S. to take command of the media and entertainment arm of the Canadian phone giant in 2023. As the president of Bell's top-rated linear TV network, CTV, Cohan goes head-to-head with increased competition from Netflix, Prime Video and other American streamers as they lay down deep roots in Canada. "The biggest challenge in 2025 has been navigating the significant uncertainty and noise facing both consumers and advertisers," Cohan says. He has other assets to manage, including the TSN and RDS sport channels, the Crave streaming platform, radio stations and outdoor advertising assets - all also coming under pressure as U.S.-based companies increasingly dominate the domestic media space. Valerie Creighton President and CEO, Canada Media Fund With Canadian shows like Schitt's Creek and Letterkenny connecting with viewers worldwide, Creighton's mandate is to keep the hits coming as the head of the Canada Media Fund, a public-private investment vehicle for Canadian TV. She oversees the financing and positioning of Canadian media content for export to world markets, which means keeping the varied players in the industry on the same page: "The key is encouraging all players - broadcasters, streamers, producers, funders, creators, talents, crewmembers - to move beyond silos and work together for the future of Canadian storytelling." J. Miles Dale Oscar-winning producer The durability of a successful film producer-director partnership is often driven by chemistry and personality, which has worked out well for Dale, a prolific Canadian producer and director best