Canada’s Justin Trudeau launches production venture, sets development slate

Ex-Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is launching a production and entertainment company, Hope & Hard Work, alongside his former chief of staff Katie Telford.

Justin Trudeau

The new venture is focused on scripted and unscripted projects across TV, film, audio and live experience, with development work already underway with several North American companies and creatives. The company has also hired a team to lead its non-fiction arm.

The slate spans cozy mystery, coming-of-age comedy, romantic comedy and political drama. Projects currently in development include Closer By Sea, based on a book of the same name by writer and producer Perry Chafe (Republic of Doyle, Son of a Critch). The coming-of-age story explores the mysterious disappearance of a young girl and the fragility of childhood bonds, set against the backdrop of a small island community adapting to an ever-changing landscape.

Detective Aunty, based on Uzma Jalaluddin’s novel, tells the story of a widowed South Asian mother who returns to Toronto after her daughter is accused of murder and sets out to prove her innocence. The cozy mystery drama is being produced by Neshama Entertainment and Todd Berger, with Trudeau and Telford attached as executive producers.

Katie Telford

The slate also includes Le Collège, from North of North and Workin’ Moms writers Jessie Gabe and Shebli Zarghami, set at a prestigious Montreal private school; Power Moves, a political media rivals-to-lovers comedy from Leesa Ronald; and Backchannels, a scripted adaptation of Phoebe Saintilan-Stocks’ book The Right Hand, developed with her twin sister Chloe Saintilan and following a new chief of staff navigating the corridors of political power.

The company has also struck a strategic partnership with Earth Tones, media company founded by Canadian producer and broadcaster Aliya Jasmine and documentarian Aliza Sovani. The pair will lead Hope & Hard Work’s unscripted division to build out a slate of premium documentaries and docuseries. It is currently developing a pair of titles: Take a Hike! and North Country.

“At a time when the world can feel increasingly divided, we believe in the power of great storytelling to bring people closer,” said Trudeau and Telford in a joint statement.

“In building Hope & Hard Work we are finding stories that evoke empathy and understanding that can reach audiences in transformative ways; stories that transcend our own beliefs, and help us see the world through someone else’s eyes, and remind us of what we share. The projects we are working on reflect this ambition and we are excited to bring these stories to the screen.

“As a Canadian company, we have an opportunity to bring values including kindness, optimism, openness and a belief in one another to everything we make, wherever the story comes from and wherever it ultimately finds its audience.”