Film and television have always shaped how people imagine places. Long before a buyer books a flight or a renter scrolls listings, cities are first encountered through scenes, settings, and stories. Streets become familiar. Landscapes start to feel lived in. In the age of global streaming, that process has accelerated dramatically, turning cultural exposure into a quiet but powerful economic force. Canada has increasingly found itself at the center of this shift.Recent productions filmed across southern Ontario and Quebec illustrate how screen visibility can translate into real economic activity and, in select cases, real estate momentum. Scenes shot in Hamilton, Guelph, Dundas, Muskoka, and Montreal have reached audiences far beyond Canada, introducing viewers to places they may never have noticed otherwise.During filming, the impact is immediate but mostly local. In Hamilton alone, major scenes were shot at the FirstOntario Centre, McMaster University’s Burridge Gymnasium, Dundurn Castle, and a range of everyday commercial venues including restaurants, cafés, pubs, and nightclubs. Guelph’s Sleeman Centre doubled as a professional arena. Cottage scenes filmed in Muskoka reinforced the region’s long-standing association with recreation and escape.For property owners and municipalities, this phase creates short-term demand. Crews need accommodation, storage, staging areas, and flexible commercial space. Hotels fill. Short-term rentals tighten. Institutional and heritage buildings are temporarily repurposed. Economically, filming matters.&nbsp;One recent example illustrates both the opportunity and the limitation of screen exposure. Heated Rivalry, a Canadian-produced streaming series that reached international audiences, was filmed across a wide range of southern Ontario locations. Key scenes were shot at Hamilton’s FirstOntario Centre, McMaster University’s Burridge Gymnasium, historic properties such as Dundurn Castle, local restaurants and nightlife venues, Guelph’s Sleeman Centre, and cottage settings in Muskoka.During production, these locations experienced the familiar effects of filming activity: increased short-term accommodation demand, temporary commercial leasing, and heightened use of institutional and heritage properties. Economically, the footprint was real and measurable.What Heated Rivalry also demonstrates, however, is the difference between exposure and recognition. While the series reached a global audience, many of its Canadian locations were staged to represent other places or blended seamlessly into the narrative without drawing attention to the cities themselves. Viewers engaged with the story, but were not always left with a clear, veritable destination in mind.This distinction helps explain why some productions generate sustained tourism and lifestyle interest, while others remain largely invisible once filming wraps. Cultural momentum does not come from filming alone. It comes from places becoming identifiable, repeatable, and emotionally legible to audiences.Not every production generates public interest. Many shoots come and go quietly, especially when Canadian cities are dressed to stand in for somewhere else. Toronto becomes New York. Hamilton becomes Brooklyn. Vancouver becomes Seattle. When locations are deliberately disguised, audiences have nothing to recognize or seek out once the credits roll.Set-jetting, the phenomenon of travelling to places seen on screen, only takes hold when locations are identifiable and emotionally legible. Viewers need to feel that they could visit the place and recreate part of the experience, even imperfectly.Canada has seen this effect before.&nbsp;After Schitt’s Creek gained global popularity, the small Ontario community of Goodwood, where many exterior scenes were filmed, experienced a noticeable rise in visitors seeking out recognizable locations from the show. Similarly, Toronto neighborhoods used repeatedly in The Handmaid’s Tale became informal tourist stops, with walking tours and location maps circulating online. In both cases, the places were not just backdrops. They became part of the story.This distinction matters for real estate. When a location becomes familiar through repeated exposure, curiosity follows. Curiosity leads to visits. Visits sometimes turn into longer stays, rentals, or relocation, particularly when the lifestyle portrayed aligns with reality. Secondary cities benefit most from this effect. Compared to major metros, they often offer more attainable housing, walkable cores, access to nature, and a pace of life that feels achievable rather than aspirational.Markets such as Hamilton, Guelph, Dundas, and Muskoka sit at the intersection of visibility and accessibility. They are close enough to major urban centers to remain connected, yet distinct enough to offer something different. When these places appear on screen as themselves, not as substitutes, cultural exposure can accelerate trends already underway.Research supports this behavioral chain. Travel industry studies consistently show that film and television influence destination choice, with a growing share of travelers citing screen exposure as a motivating factor. While this effect is most visible first in tourism and short-term accommodation demand, it can spill into housing markets where supply is already constrained and lifestyle migration is viable.None of this suggests that a television series alone drives home prices. Real estate fundamentals still rule. Employment, infrastructure, pricing, and supply remain decisive. But cultural visibility has become a meaningful accelerant. It shapes perception, and perception shapes movement.For real estate professionals, the takeaway is a subtle one. Filming activity by itself rarely moves markets. Recognition does. Cities that are constantly cast as somewhere else generate economic activity but little lasting attention. The places that benefit are those viewers can name, recognize, and imagine themselves living in.In today’s market, culture often arrives before capital. When the camera moves in and the audience lingers, real estate demand is rarely far behind.

Heated Rivalry: When the Camera Moves In, Real Estate Follows

Learn with RIFO how film and streaming exposure can drive tourism, rentals, and real estate demand in Canada’s secondary cities, from Hamilton to Muskoka.

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