Paul Fogolin wants Canadians to take more pride in the country’s outsized contributions to the global videogame industry.
According to a study commissioned by the Entertainment Software Association of Canada (ESAC) the industry employs more than 34,000 Canadians across 821 studios, 86 per cent of who are full time, and earn an average of six-figures. Together, they contribute $5.1 billion to the country’s GDP.
“As Canadians, we tend to be pretty humble people, but there are some industries that we’re proud of, like we’re great at making cars, or on the resources side — even our entertainment talent, with Canadian actors and the musicians,” says Fogolin, who took over as CEO of the ESAC in November. “This industry is just like that; we are amazing at making games, so let’s be proud of it.”
With a global market size of more than $221 billion (U.S.) in 2024, the gaming industry is bigger than the global film industry ($105 billion U.S.) and music industries ($48.6 billion U.S.) combined, with Canada one of its top contributors.
A lifelong gamer himself, Fogolin began his career at Queen’s Park, followed by a series of roles with industry associations, before joining the gaming association in 2018.
“I stumbled on a posting for a job at ESAC and I thought it was too good to be true,” he says from his home office in Oakville. “I said, ‘wait a minute, I can apply my knowledge of policy and government relations to the video game industry?’”
After landing a job as the industry association’s vice president of policy and government affairs Fogolin left last year to lead the Canadian Association of Recycling Industries before returning as CEO of ESAC months later.
After a pandemic boom, the digital gaming sector was forced to consolidate in the wake of recent global economic challenges. With that recovery in the rear-view mirror, the threat of tariffs on the horizon could have significant effects on a domestic industry that is 88 per cent reliant on global export revenue, with the U.S. as its biggest customer.
At the same time, 2025 promises to be an exciting year for gamers, with the release of new consoles like the Switch 2, flagship games like Grand Theft Auto (GTA) 6, the growth of esports and emerging gaming platforms featuring augmented and virtual reality.
The Star recently caught up with Fogolin to discuss the growth of gaming, the many misconceptions about its makers and players, and how Canada continues to be a global leader in what has become a highly competitive industry.
Have you always been a gamer?
From my earliest days. I vividly remember Christmas when I was five, and I got the original Nintendo Entertainment System, with Duck Hunt and Mario Brothers, and I fell in love with games right away.
Why study politics?
We had newspapers on the breakfast table every morning, so current events, news, politics were always being discussed in the house from a young age, and I just became fascinated with it.
Did you plan to spend your life in politics?
After I graduated, I volunteered for a local MP in Vaughan, and I think I made a good impression on some of the campaign folks, because they passed my resume to some friends at Queen’s Park, and that’s how I ended up working there. I thought it would just be short-term — I ended up there for eight years, working for premier Dalton McGuinty and a few ministers. It was an incredible experience, but to be honest, I didn’t see myself as a civil servant.
After McGuinty was voted out of office I left Queen’s Park and worked for a few trade associations, but I remained loving games. It’s kind of funny that I didn’t even know there was a trade association for the video game industry at the time.
What does the ESAC do?
We protect and promote the industry. The protect side is all about advocacy, ensuring a strong regulatory environment. The promote side is all about telling the story of the industry, putting out reports like the one we just commissioned about the industry’s role in the economy.
What are Canada’s contributions to this sector?
This industry remains a cornerstone of our digital economy. Canada is a powerhouse in making games.
The sector is maturing, because it’s been in Canada for decades, so we have more senior talent, more stability, more leadership, more unique experience and it’s coast-to-coast. Quebec is the heart of the industry, with over 15,000 jobs, but we’ve got around 11,000 in B.C., 6,000-plus in Ontario, and with advances in technology you can work for a game studio from just about anywhere.
Canada is home to both the largest game studio in the world by square footage — EA based in Burnaby, B.C. — and the largest studio by head count, Ubisoft in Montreal, Quebec. Over 80 per cent of the employment comes from the major companies, but there’s also a thriving small business community; over 80 per cent of our studios have less than 25 employees.
How did Canada become such a gaming powerhouse?
The province of Quebec was first to introduce a tax credit for digital media in the ‘90s mimicking the film and television credit, which was instrumental in creating Hollywood North. They wanted to do the same for videogames. Now, pretty much every province has some form of the digital media tax credit that supports the industry.
We’ve developed a very skilled workforce, combined with lots of great academic institutions. We have great immigration programs for highly skilled talent, which is critical, and unlike the film industry — where you come for a few months to shoot and then go home — games take years to make, so many put down roots.
Beyond that the proximity to the U.S. makes a difference, and frankly our dollar makes it an attractive place to build a studio. And despite the weather, Canada is a great place to live, and all of that comes together to create an amazing ecosystem.
Has global competition gotten fiercer?
Canada used to be unique in offering tax incentives but now we have competition all over the world. Australia, Italy, Ireland, Singapore all have programs, because everybody wants what we have.
At the same time, we’re seeing the market explode around the world, because games are no longer physical or just on consoles; you can play on your phone, your iPad, your PC, and most of the distribution is now digital, so you don’t have to ship boxes across the planet. According to our study, 88 per cent of games are exported.
Does that mean there could be challenges if President Trump imposes Tariffs on Canadian goods?
Article 13 of the USMCA says you cannot place tariffs on digital goods, and that includes games, so that offers protection for our industry. That said, the USMCA is up for renegotiation in 2026, and the President has mused about doing it sooner, so we must stay vigilant.
We have great government relationships across all parties, we have a very strong partnership with the ESA in the United States and should anything happen we’ll be at the table doing our part.
What are some of the biggest misconceptions about gamers?
One of the stats I love to share is that there’s a 50/50 male to female split in gaming. Another one is the largest demographic of players is women over 50; there are more women over 50 playing games than boys under 18.
When they think about gaming a lot of people picture the teenager with the hoodie and the Mountain Dew and Doritos playing Halo in the basement, and we love that player, but gaming is also puzzles on your phone on the subway. Its families playing together, and we’re starting to see a lot more of that. As the first generations of players are aging up, they’re starting to play with their families.
Why do Canadians love gaming?
I think it’s the best form of entertainment, but our research has shown that people are playing games to make new friends and build on existing friendships, as stress relief — they’re reporting it helps with anxiety — and to build new skills, like problem solving. There was a recent study by neuroscientists at Western University that found people who play games perform as well on cognitive tests as those 13.7 years younger.
What can gamers expect from the industry in the future?
With games like GTA 6 on the way, such a monolith has a spillover effect because it brings a bigger audience into gaming, so I’m super excited about that. The Switch 2 was just announced, and with the last generation of Xbox and PlayStation consoles, when they came out at the start of the pandemic, a lot of games were already in development. We’re only starting to see the results of a development cycle that utilizes all the technology that’s available, and I think you’ll see a lot of exciting things coming out this year.
In the future I think virtual reality will expand, but I don’t think it will become a dominant mode; it’s just not for everybody. What I’m more excited about is the potential for augmented reality. The biggest hit there was Pokémon Go, and I think there’s a lot of potential in that space.
What I’m most excited about are the surprises. When the original Wii came out, suddenly you had these controllers you could wave around, and now your aunt was bowling at Thanksgiving, and it changed things. Who knows what the next iteration of that is?
