Until 1984 Telefilm Canada was known as the Canadian Film Development Corporation (CFDC). The CFDC began operations in 1968 with a budget of $10 million and a mandate to foster and promote the development of a feature-film industry in Canada through the provision of loans, grants, and awards to Canadian producers and filmmakers. Unlike the National Film Board of Canada (NFB), or the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), the CFDC was expected to become a self-financing agency, interested as much (if not more) in the profitability of the films it supported as in their contribution to Canada's cultural life.

     By 1971 the CFDC had exhausted its original budget and recouped barely $600,000, or roughly 9 per­ cent, of its investments in 64 projects. In keeping with its commercial orientation, the CFDC contributed to a number of films, such as Love is a 4 Letter World (1970), that came to be referred to as "maple-syrup porn." At the same time, the CFDC invested in a number of films such as Goin' Down the Road (1970) that have come to be regarded as Canadian classics.

     The federal government approved a second allotment of $10 million in 1971, and for the next six years the CFDC and industry representatives struggled to establish a clear set of corporate objectives. One option, which would have transformed the CFDC into something of an arts council for feature films and brought it closer in line with the mandate of the NFB, was to rechannel CFDC money into a system of grants that would provide for the production of a small number of Canadian films a year. The other option was to rechannel the CFDC's priorities toward the production of feature films with strong box-office potential, in particular films that would be attractive to the Hollywood majors. This second option became viable after changes in tax regulations were accompanied by a change in the CFDC's financial practices. In 1974 the capital cost allowance for Canadian feature films was extended from 30 percent to 100 percent. In 1978 the CFDC shifted its focus from the provision of equity financing for low- and medium-budget Canadian films to the provision of bridge financing for projects that were designed to take advantage of the tax shelter. Both the number of productions and average budgets soared. Measured in terms of employment and total dollars spent, the tax-shelter boom was a success. However, many of the films produced during this period were never distributed, and many of the ones that did receive distribution were second-rate attempts at films that mimicked Hollywood's standard fare (notable examples include Meatballs and Running). By 1980 there was growing criticism of the direction taken by the CFDC, particularly from French-Canadian producers and filmmakers who benefited far less than their English-Canadian counterparts from the CFDC's shift in investment priorities. The tax-shelter boom came to a crashing halt in 1980.

     The establishment of the Canadian Broadcast Program Development Fund in July 1983 dramatically shifted the CFDC's priorities from feature films to television programming. To reflect this shift in investment priorities, the CFDC was renamed Telefilm Canada in February 1984. The Broadcast Fund has four overall objectives: to stimulate production of high-quality, culturally relevant Canadian television programs in targeted categories (drama, children's, documentary, and variety programming); to reach the broadest possible audience with those programs through scheduling during prime-time viewing hours; to stimulate the development of the independent production industry; and to maintain an appropriate regional, linguistic. and private/public broadcaster balance in the distribution of public funds. The fund had an initial budget of $254 million spread over five years. Since 1988 Telefilm has invested more than $60 million annually in television programming. On average its participation represents 33 percent of the total production budget.

     The Broadcast Fund has been enormously successful in achieving its original objectives. Between 1986 and 1990, for example, the fund helped finance close to $800 million in total production volume in 2,275 hours of original television programming, of which more than 1,000 hours consisted of dramatic programming exhibited during peak viewing hours. Among these programs were Anne of Green Gables, the various Degrassi series, E.N.G., Danger Bay, Love and War, Due South, and The Boys of St. Vincent. In terms of audience reach, viewing of Canadian programs in peak time has increased substantially. The Broadcast Fund has also played a crucial role in providing independent Canadian producers with the leverage to expand into export markets.

     In April 2001 Telefilm undertook the administration of a new Canadian Feature Film Fund (CFFF). With an annual budget of $100 million, the CFFF has four objectives: to develop and retain talented creators in Canada; to encourage equality and diversity of Canadian feature films; to build larger audiences through improved marketing and distribution; and to preserve and disseminate a collection of Canadian films.

     As a lender, Telefilm Canada is still a failure in the sense that it recoups only a small percentage of its annual investments. As a cultural agency and a support structure for Canada's independent producers, Telefilm has been remarkably successful, especially in terms of television programming. It is still the case that Canadians view far more foreign than domestic programming, but without Telefilm's presence there would be virtually no production of Canadian dramatic programming.