Letterkenny producer returns to northern Ontario to work on hit TV show

It's always been Kara Haflidson's dream to work in the film and TV industry, but she never thought she'd be able to do it close to home.

Now, Haflidson — who is originally from Timmins — is working as a producer on the hit show Letterkenny, which is shot in Sudbury.

"There was no industry that I knew of in northern Ontario," she said about her decision to leave the north at age 19.

"There wasn't an option for me to stay. I just always assumed that I would move to Toronto and work in film and TV."

But after 13 years working in southern Ontario, Haflidson saw an opportunity to move closer to home. She managed to start working on Letterkenny and was able to relocate to Sudbury.

"I would say a producer is kind of like a glorified mother on set," she said with a laugh.

"You make sure you don't go over budget. You make sure everybody's happy. You just oversee the entire production."

She says on her crew, there are multiple people who have relocated back to northern Ontario, where they are from, to work in the film and TV business. She says one director originally from the region relocated back to Sudbury from Vancouver.

Level of content 'fantastic'

"He was able to come back and work on Letterkenny," she said. "Because there's such a boom, he actually recently bought a house here because it feels like a stable industry where he can set down roots."

Recently, the show was nominated for nine Canadian Screen Awards, including Best Comedy Series and Best Writing in a Comedy Series.

"It … really shows we can make content in northern Ontario that not only is well received by fans but is also getting shoulder to shoulder with the best content in this country," she said.

"The level of content coming out of the north is fantastic."

Other northern Ontario productions — including Bad Blood, Cardinal and Indian Horse — also picked up nominations at the screen awards.