Paul Bronfman not only helped foster the Canadian film industry by promoting the country as a one-stop-shop for U.S. companies seeking to film here, he was also an influential Jewish philanthropist who fiercely supported Israel.
Friends and colleagues of the entertainment trailblazer also described him as a larger-than-life, charismatic optimist who was always direct, often unfiltered and unapologetic about living life on his own terms.
Bronfman died in Toronto on Feb. 26 of complications from multiple sclerosis. He was 67.
“He really cared about Canada’s Jewish community and contributed so much to it and the country at large. He was the quintessential mensch, in every sense of the word,” Michael Levitt, president and CEO of Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Canada told The CJN.
“For the past 20 years, Paul was one of FSWC’s most engaged and passionate board members. Despite his significant health challenges, Paul was always helpful with excellent advice and steadfast support for our work in advocacy and education.”
Earlier today, we were deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Paul Bronfman, an active and passionate board member of FSWC for the past 20 years. A generous philanthropist to many charities, he was a leader in Canada’s Jewish community, for which he was a tireless advocate.… pic.twitter.com/3YxB52N4ou
— Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center (@CanadianFSWC) February 27, 2025
Born in Montreal, he was the son of Edward Bronfman—the founder of Brookfield Asset Management. The family provenance paralleled the history of Canada: Yechiel Bronfman, Paul’s great-grandfather, escaped pogroms in Russia and emigrated to Canada in 1889 and became a tobacco farmer. His son Samuel, Paul’s great-uncle, founded the Seagram Company, and made his liquor fortune during Prohibition in the United States.
Canadian film producer Barry Avrich knew Bronfman for more than 30 years. “There was no pretense with Paul. He didn’t carry his name with any sense of entitlement,” said Avrich. “There was a time I was thinking of doing a Bronfman documentary miniseries and I sat down with him to talk about it. All he said was, ‘great idea, please be nice.’”
After he graduated from the University of Toronto, Paul first worked as a roadie for Canadian rock group April Wine, then as an assistant production manager for bands including the Stampeders and Supertramp. He soon gravitated to the fledgling Canadian film industry and in 1988 created North Shore Studios, a one-stop-shop for the growing number of U.S. film companies doing work in this country.
North Shore’s holding company, Comweb, soon purchased William F. White International, a production equipment supplier which grew to six studios in Vancouver and Toronto. He also launched an operation in Budapest, catering to productions being filmed there. He was a founding partner of Filmport Studios—later rebranded Pinewood Toronto Studios—which was the flagship studio complex that launched the Port Lands neighbourhood as a film production hub in 2007.
A decade prior, he saw a business opportunity in providing advice to local and foreign productions on how to take advantage of federal and provincial tax credits, and created Comweb Film Capital.
Barry Avrich met Paul Bronfman in 1990: “I knew the name Bronfman growing up in Montreal. When you finally meet him, he’s everything a cliché mogul or a very powerful family is not. He was hilarious, direct and demanding and we instantly hit it off. For the next 35 years he was nothing but supportive of my career. In the early days if I needed a deal on equipment or if I was doing any production, he was always there to help. He understood the business. He had the whole equation of the industry in his head.
“Bronfman, along with TIFF founder Dusty Cohl, made the Toronto film scene exciting, explosive, and unpredictable.”
In 1995, he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Over the ensuing 30 years he continued his philanthropy and business endeavours with enthusiasm.
“He was up there with Terry Fox and Rick Hansen. If there’s a Mount Rushmore of determination and perseverance he is up there… aside from being a business genius,” Avrich said.
“For Paul, it truly was about finding a different way to do things, breaking the rules. There was no conform with him. If he didn’t agree with something he didn’t just say it, he had a solution. He let me know if he hated a film. If it had subtitles. If it was boring. He would let film critic Roger Ebert know. He would just say, ‘That was a shit film.’ He never missed anything.
“We knew that there were directors and non-profit executives on some of the boards he sat on who didn’t appreciate his candour but it was always done with the purpose of making the organization or the event better. I adored him. He was a great friend.”
Avrich said that Bronfman was equally outspoken about Israel. “Hollywood has been mostly mute with some exceptions about Oct. 7 and antisemitism. Paul was not.”
Palestinian Roots mural stays after Paul Bronfman pulled his support from the university: https://t.co/6CNcKz31pY pic.twitter.com/C8j0Rad5hl
— Excalibur (@ExcaliburYU) January 29, 2016
In 2016, he pulled his financial support from York University over a controversial mural that glorified Palestinian rock-throwing. “As a Canadian, never mind as a Jew, the fact the administration would allow this piece of garbage to be displayed in a student lounge… This is something concrete I could point to and say, ‘Take that thing down or you’ll lose our support,’” Bronfman told The Canadian Jewish News at the time.
In addition to Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center, he was an active board member of UJA Federation of Greater Toronto, Birthright Israel, Canadian Associates of Ben-Gurion University, the Yorkville Jewish Centre, B’nai Brith Canada, Tel Aviv University and Canadian Society for Yad Vashem.
In a statement, Ben-Gurion University Canada president Mitchell Oelbaum said “His unwavering commitment to countless charitable causes has left an indelible impact.” Bronfman visited BGU’s Be’er Sheva location in May 2022.
Bronfman remained an avid rock and roll fan after leaving his roadie days behind. Supertramp frontman Roger Hodgson played a private concert at his 50th birthday.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford and former Toronto mayor John Tory attended his funeral at Beth Tzedec Congregation, where his son Jonathan concluded his eulogy with a nod to his father’s favourite band AC/DC, playing “Highway to Hell” to the full room.
“Canadians are not great about celebrating Canadians. And this is a man who should be celebrated forever,” said Avrich.
Bronfman is survived by his children, Alexandra, Jonathan and Andrew, six grandchildren and his brothers David and Brian.
