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It all looked so lovely on the surface.

A sound stage full of craftspeople in the cinema and television industry greeted Michael Coteau, Ontario’s minister of culture, with warm applause Wednesday morning as he announced that film and TV pumped $1.5 billion into the Ontario economy in 2015, making it the best year on record.

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“We are so proud of the work that is taking place and I look forward to another great year of success,” Coteau told the crowd at Cinespace Film Studios, as people quaffed mimosas and ate bite-sized quiches. “Thank you so much for telling our great stories here in Ontario.”

Coteau said that the film and TV industry employed “almost 32,5000 full-time direct and associated jobs” last year, up almost 4,500 jobs from 2014.

Even Guillermo del Toro, the Mexican film-maker known for making Pacific Rim and Hellboy joined into the merry-making.

“I’m here to pimp for the province,” del Toro joked. Behind him sprawled the set of The Strain, his big-budget horror vampire TV show for FX.