Often used as a stand-in for famous American cities like New York and Seattle, directors will often use Canadian filming locations to save money. Although Canada has sprawling nature-scapes from every biosphere, it’s rarely used as a backdrop for actual cities in the Great White North. These great movies were made thanks to Canada’s topographical diversity.
1. Chicago (2002): Toronto
The American black comedy crime film based on the Broadway musical Chicago, this story is one of corruption, celebrity, and scandal. Although you would hope a movie called “Chicago” would be filmed in that city, the entire film used Toronto for its stunning filmography. Renne Zellweger, Richard Gere, and Catherine Zeta-Jones spent years strutting around Union Station, Elgin Theatre, Queen’s Park, Danforth Music Hall, and Osgood Hall.
2. Capote (2005): Winnipeg and Selkirk, Manitoba
A biographical film set in Kansas, Capote follows novelist Truman Capote (Philip Seymour), who was researching a murderer for his book, In Cold Blood. Most of Capote’s locations and establishing shots were in Winnipeg, but the funeral home was shot in Selkirk, also located in Manitoba. The Manitoba Legislative Building stood in for the Finney County Courthouse.
3. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010): Toronto
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is based on a comic book of the same name. It follows slacker Scot Pilgrim who has to beat seven deadly exes in a video game-style match-up to win the girl of his dreams. Scott wins coins for defeating them, which is kind of like winning the jackpot at a Canadian online casino. Taking place in Toronto and being filmed in Toronto, it’s filled to the brim with locations like Pizza Pizza, Casa Loma, Second Cup, and Honest Eds.
4. Catch Me If You Can (2002): New York/Toronto/Montreal
Tom Hanks, Leonardo DiCaprio, Nathalie Baye, and Martin Sheen star in the 2002 crime film Catch Me If You Can, where a con artist tries to stay ahead of the law. Although most of the film is shot in New York, a few locations will look familiar to some Canadians. Instead of using France or Miami for their airports, Toronto and Montreal stood in as replacements.
5. Brokeback Mountain (2005): Alberta’s Rocky Mountains
Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger star as two cowboys who experience complex emotional feelings for each other in the American West. This film received universal acclaim for its portrayal of homosexual relationships and was a turning point for queer cinema. Brokeback Mountain takes place in Wyoming, but due to financial reasons, director Annie Proulx decided to choose the Alberta Rocky Mountains in exchange for the Wyoming Rocky Mountains.
6. Titanic (1997): Halifax Coastline, Nova Scotia
On April 10, 1992, the RMS Titanic left England on her maiden voyage and sank near the Halifax coastline in Nova Scotia. The movie Titanic, one of the highest-grossing films of all time, is a combination of epic romance and disaster film starring Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio. The movie used the legitimate location of the real-life crash for filming.
7. Twilight (2008-2012): Vancouver and Surrounding Area, BC
Twilight takes place in the small town of Forks, located in Washington State’s Olympic Peninsula. Vancouver is an obvious choice as a replacement for Washington and Seattle, as both states/provinces look similar to each other. The first Twilight was filmed in Oregon, but the rest of the series used downtown Vancouver. It’s not apparent why the switch was made, as every movie after the first Twilight film grossed more than 2-times the amount at the box office.
8. Mean Girls (2004): Etobicoke, Toronto
The hilarious movie Mean Girls doesn’t take place in an American city, but any Torontonian will recognize most of the famous locations in the movie. Instead of Chicago, Mean Girls uses Sherway Gardens in Etobicoke for the mall scenes, Etobicoke Collegiate Institute for the school, and University of Toronto’s Convention Hall for the Mathletes Math-Off.
