Champion of Manitoba film, mentor to many, mother above all By: Jen Zoratti Posted: 4:28 PM CST Wednesday, Mar. 5, 2025

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This article was published 05/03/2025 (217 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

For nearly 30 years, Carole Vivier was the CEO and film commissioner at Manitoba Film and Music, where she built a long and lasting legacy.

Under her leadership, film production in Manitoba grew from $12 million in the early 1990s, when she began in that role, to over $269 million upon her retirement in 2019.

The province became a destination for filmmaking, attracting high-profile productions including Channel Zero, Heaven Is for Real, A Dog’s Purpose, Shall We Dance, Aloft and the Oscar-winning Capote.

But Vivier was more than her professional achievements.

She was a leader, pioneer, mentor, advocate, arts champion, glass-ceiling smasher, volunteer and style icon who always had her nails done, right until the end. She was a loving wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and friend.

“Carole is the reason we have a film industry in Manitoba.”–Guy Maddin

Vivier died Tuesday after a battle with lung cancer, a few days shy of her birthday, which is, rather fittingly, International Women’s Day. She was 73.

“Carole is the reason we have a film industry in Manitoba, and it’s a strong sector cherished by the provincial government no matter who is in power,” says My Winnipeg filmmaker Guy Maddin.

“She had a vision. She pursued it doggedly and graciously. She represented our province abroad with so much strength and persuasive diplomacy that foreign producers flocked to our province in unprecedented numbers to shoot their projects here. She learned on the job, practically creating her job description on the fly as she plowed into uncharted waters.”

Vivier was part of MFM — formerly Manitoba Film and Sound — since its beginning in 1987, taking the helm in 1990. In those early days, she would fly to California (a whole day’s travel) to sell Hollywood execs on the idea of bringing their productions to Winnipeg and Manitoba.

In 1997, she successfully lobbied the provincial government and established the first film tax credit in Western Canada, securing Manitoba’s place as a major player in the film industry.

“When politicians said no, she said yes, and showed them the way, that there was economic gain and benefit,” says Kenny Boyce, manager of film and special events for the City of Winnipeg.

Boyce worked alongside Vivier for almost 25 years. He remembers her as “a brilliant negotiator” and says he’ll miss her tenacity and her resilience.

“It’s a big loss to myself and her family and to the industry. She really had a skill set to be able to give people what they needed, and to make it easy for them to come back to Winnipeg again and again,” he says.

Vivier was a community builder who led with her heart, Manitoba Film and Music said in a statement posted to social media.

“She moved mountains because people trusted and respected her. She was a force of nature whose passion for elevating Manitoba’s artists and creators was undeniable,” the statement reads.

Beyond her work at MFM, Vivier served on many boards of directors, including the National Screen Institute, the RBC Convention Centre, the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television, Canadian Film Centre Feature Film Advisory Committee, Burton Cummings Theatre Performing Arts Group, Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce, Film Training Manitoba, and more.

She also had a big hand in bringing the Juno Awards to Winnipeg in 2005 and was co-chair of the 2014 Winnipeg Juno host committee.

There’s no shortage of accomplishments and accolades to Vivier’s name, including a Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal, which is awarded to Canadians who have made significant contributions to their community and country at large.

In 2014, she was a recipient of the Order of Manitoba and, last year, received the Order of Canada.

But Vivier would tell you herself that the most important thing in her life was her family.

“Very often in day-to-day conversations we had all the time, she would talk about her family, the love of her family, her children, the first time she became a grandmother. She was a very family-first woman,” Boyce says.

That’s what her daughter, Brandice Vivier, wants people to understand about her mother, too.

That she was a wife of almost 55 years this month, setting an example of love, commitment and care for her family.

That she had three children, four granddaughters and four great-grandchildren.

That she took each of her granddaughters on a solo trip to New York City because she cared about making memories.

“She wasn’t a CEO to us,” Brandice says. “She was our mom.”

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After decades of fighting on behalf of our province and the creators who call it home, Vivier entered a different kind of ring.

Shortly after she retired, she was diagnosed with lung cancer.

“I feel like the cliché, you know, the person that worked for a million years, retires, and within that year gets The Diagnosis,” she told the Free Press in 2022. “It was a shock.”

But of course, as with all things in her life, Vivier took action.

She became a vocal advocate for lung-cancer funding and awareness, as well as a tireless volunteer for CancerCare Manitoba Foundation, co-chairing the Guardian Angel committee, which is responsible for the popular annual benefit.

And ever the pioneer, Vivier became the first Manitoban patient in a clinical trial targeting the MET exon 14 skipping mutation.

“Carole was an unwavering advocate for Manitobans with cancer and she channelled this intentionally in so many ways,” says Patti Smith, president and CEO of CancerCare Manitoba Foundation.

“She created awareness, educated us, lovingly supported others on their journeys with cancer, she volunteered endlessly and always exuded hope, joy and gratitude.

“Her vision for the impact of our Guardian Angel Benefit was bold and she inspired all of us around her with her passion, tenacity and determination. The lives of so many have been — and will be — changed for the better because of her. We at CancerCare Manitoba Foundation will continue to honour her astounding legacy.”

Vivier was passionate about supporting the next generation of creatives as well. In 2024, she helped establish the Schroeder Institute of Entertainment & Media Arts, a training facility for the creative industries at RRC Polytech.

The Carole Vivier Scholarship for Women in Film, founded in 2019, is presented to a graduating female or non-binary student of Sisler High School’s CREATE Program.

Vivier lived a big life, and she made it possible for artists to live a big life here, too.

“If someone is leaving the province for work, it’s important that it’s by choice, not necessity,” she told the Free Press in 2018.

“Ten years ago, if someone wanted to work in film, they probably had to leave in order to have enough work to support themselves.

“That’s not the case anymore. I’m really proud of that, that people can make that choice now.”

“We should all be grateful to her,” Maddin says. “And she was a dear friend. There will never be another Carole Vivier.”

jen.zoratti@winnipegfreepress.com