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By
Larry Mutenda
| Quick answer: The best explainer video companies in Canada include Creamy Animation (Vancouver), Giant Ant (Vancouver), UpperStory Films (Vancouver), The Film Lab (Toronto), Marant Media (Vancouver, national), Waterbridge Media (Ottawa), Ajax Creative (multi-city), and Cat Around Films (Montreal). Each specializes differently, by budget, animation style, bilingual capability, or government procurement status, so the “best” one depends on the project. |
So you’ve decided an explainer video is the right move. The next question is who makes it.
This guide looks at nine Canadian studios across Vancouver, Toronto, Ottawa, Calgary and Montreal. For each one, it covers what they are known for and who they tend to work best for.
| # | Studio | City | Founded | Known for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Creamy Animation | Vancouver, BC | 2009 | Story-driven explainer & corporate video for SaaS, enterprise, nonprofits |
| 2 | Waterbridge Media | Ottawa, ON | 2010 | Pre-qualified federal government video & animation supplier |
| 3 | Cat Around Films | Montreal, QC | 2014 | Bilingual EN/FR motion graphics and corporate animation |
| 4 | Broken Pencil Studios | Calgary, AB | 2019 | 2D/3D animation, motion graphics and explainer videos for energy, tech and education clients |
| 5 | Giant Ant | Vancouver, BC | 2007 | Brand-forward animation with a strong creative point of view |
| 6 | The Film Lab | Toronto, ON | 2016 | Full-service video production with animation as one service line |
| 7 | Marant Media | Vancouver, BC (national) | Not listed | Multilingual production (EN/FR/ES/Mandarin) for government & nonprofit |
| 8 | Ajax Creative | Multi-city (ON/AB/BC) | 2016 | Commercial and campaign video with animation add-on |
| 9 | UpperStory Films | Vancouver, BC | Not listed | 2D & classical hand-drawn animation, storytelling-led |
An explainer video is a short video, usually 60 to 120 seconds, that breaks down what a product, service, or idea does and why it matters. Most are animated, whether that’s 2D, 3D, motion graphics, or whiteboard, though some studios shoot them live action or mix both. The point is clarity over spectacle. A simple script that states the problem and the solution in plain language, with visuals you can follow even with the sound off.
It’s a narrower format than a corporate video or a product demo. A corporate video usually tells your brand story over a few minutes. A product demo walks through the interface feature by feature. An explainer video answers one thing: what is this, and why should I care? That’s why it usually lives on a homepage, a landing page, or the first slide of a sales deck. Browsing explainer video examples is the fastest way to see how the format reads in practice.
Creamy Animation has been making explainer, corporate, and training videos since 2009. It has worked with more than 350 businesses, including Fujitsu, Logitech, Canonical, RBC, Warner Bros., and the NFL.
Its strength is taking something complex or technical, like SaaS products, financial services, or healthcare, and turning it into a short, story-driven video. The full process is handled in-house: script, storyboard, voiceover, and animation. For a business that wants a Vancouver studio focused specifically on explainer video production, rather than video production in general, Creamy Animation is a strong fit.
Waterbridge Media has been producing video and animation out of Ottawa since 2010. They hold pre-qualified supplier status with Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC), which means they are set up to work directly with federal departments as well as private clients.
If your organization has to work through government procurement, that’s a rare and specific credential to have.
By the numbers: PSPC pre-qualified federal supplier; 2,200+ videos for 400+ clients.
Cat Around Films is a Montreal studio doing motion graphics, corporate video, explainer videos, and animated branding, with native English and French production. For a Quebec business that wants a local team fluent in both official languages, it is one of the more accessible options, rather than translating an English-first video after the fact.
By the numbers: Bilingual English and French studio with a 6-person team and 10+ years in business.
Broken Pencil Studios is a Calgary animation studio working in 2D and 3D animation, motion graphics, and explainer video, for clients in energy, technology, research, education, and healthcare. It is the only studio on this list actually based in Alberta. That makes it a natural first call for Calgary or Prairie businesses that want a local team instead of working with a Vancouver or Toronto studio remotely.
By the numbers: 50+ brands including the University of Calgary and Calgary Co-op; BBB-accredited.
Giant Ant is a Vancouver animation and motion studio whose client list includes Mailchimp, Google, Airbnb, Shopify, Slack, and the United Nations. They are known less for volume and more for a strong creative point of view. The work reads as considered and design-forward rather than templated.
If brand storytelling matters to you as much as the explanation itself, and you are comfortable with a more bespoke and usually higher-budget process, they are worth a look.
By the numbers: Roughly 22-artist studio and a co-founder of the Residence creative network.
The Film Lab is a Toronto production company that covers corporate video, broadcast, and animation as part of a broader full-service offering. Their client work includes Air Miles, CTV, Microsoft, Tim Hortons, and Canadian Tire.
It suits a business that wants one vendor for both live-action and animated work, rather than an animation-only specialist.
By the numbers: Clients include Microsoft, Ford, Tim Hortons, CBC and CTV.
Marant Media is a Vancouver studio with production reach across Canada, including teams set up for Ottawa, Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton, and Montreal projects.
What stands out is multilingual production, in English, French, Spanish, and Mandarin, and a client base weighted toward government, education, and nonprofit work like SFU, the City of Calgary, and the Government of Yukon. A practical option if you need French delivery or you are a public-sector body.
By the numbers: 70+ videos; clients include SFU, UBC, the City of Calgary and the Yukon Government.
Ajax Creative runs production offices across Ontario, Alberta, and BC, making commercials, brand films, and campaign content, with animation offered alongside their live-action work. Because they operate in more than one city, they are a sensible option if you need production support in several Canadian markets on the same project.
By the numbers: Clients include Air Canada, Microsoft, TikTok, Riot Games and WWF; offices in Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver.
UpperStory Films is led by founder Jennifer Shanse, a UBC film graduate with a background in independent documentary. They work in 2D and classical hand-drawn animation alongside motion graphics.
The studio leans on narrative craft over flashy visuals, with a typical project running about six weeks. Worth a look if your video depends more on character and story than on data-heavy motion graphics.
By the numbers: No public performance data published.
A few things matter for Canadian buyers that a global “best of” list won’t cover. Quotes in CAD save you from currency swings and cross-border payment friction. If your audience includes Quebec, or you operate federally, ask directly about native English and French production, not subtitling after the fact, because not every studio scripts and records in French.
Government and crown organizations may also need a supplier that already holds procurement pre-qualifications, like Waterbridge Media does with PSPC, instead of running an open RFP from scratch.
And if an in-person kickoff, shoot day, or storyboard review matters to your team, a studio in the same country, ideally the same time zone, cuts down the scheduling friction you get with an overseas or US-only vendor. If you are open to studios south of the border, we review explainer video companies in the USA separately.
Start by matching a studio’s specialty to your project, not the other way around. A 3D-animation shop is overkill for a scrappy startup demo, and a lean single-studio team isn’t the right fit for a multi-city national campaign. From there, a few direct questions tend to separate a good fit from a bad one:
There is no single best. It comes down to your budget, the animation style you want, and whether you need native French delivery or government pre-qualification. For a story-driven SaaS, enterprise, or nonprofit explainer, that is Creamy Animation’s focus. Waterbridge Media in Ottawa is one of the few pre-qualified federal suppliers.
Some do it natively, others only translate or subtitle an English script after the fact. Marant Media and Cat Around Films both produce natively in English and French. If bilingual delivery is a requirement rather than a nice-to-have, confirm it directly with any studio.
Yes, though not every studio holds formal procurement pre-qualifications. Waterbridge Media is a pre-qualified supplier to Public Services and Procurement Canada, and Marant Media works largely with government, education, and nonprofit clients.
Most Canadian studios deliver a custom explainer in about 4 to 8 weeks from an approved script, depending on the animation style and how many revision rounds you need. AI-assisted or template work can be faster. Premium 3D or bilingual French versions take longer.
This guide compares nine Canadian explainer video and animation studios across Vancouver, Toronto, Ottawa, Calgary, and Montreal. The comparison table lets you shortlist by city, founding year, and specialty.
They cover the major Canadian production markets. Vancouver has Creamy Animation, Giant Ant, Marant Media, and UpperStory Films. Toronto has The Film Lab. Ottawa has Waterbridge Media and Ajax Creative. Calgary has Broken Pencil Studios, and Montreal has Cat Around Films.
There’s no single best explainer video company in Canada. There’s a best fit for your budget, your timeline, and how complex the thing you’re explaining is. Whether that’s Creamy Animation, another Vancouver studio, or a team in Toronto, Ottawa, Calgary, or Montreal, the studios above are a good place to start a shortlist instead of a cold search.
Larry is the founder and Chief Storyteller at Creamy Animation, founded in 2009. He leads a team that creates story-driven videos for businesses and nonprofits. 15+ years in video strategy and production, specializing in SaaS, B2B, and nonprofit storytelling. A marketer, designer, and animator, Larry has overseen the production of more than 1,500 videos for Fujitsu, Logitech, Warner Brothers, NFL, Blockdaemon, Astronomer, Canonical, and 370+ others.
For Larry, God is first, and everything else is a blessing that comes from serving Him. When he’s not working, he’s hanging out with his wife and three kids, playing the piano, or pursuing his filmmaking side hustle.
