How holiday rom-coms are providing a big boost for some Ontario communities [Video]

Watching Christmas movies is a time-honoured tradition, including those holiday romance films typically set in small-town USA.

But many of them are actually made in Ontario each year, giving a big boost to local businesses, and the provincial economy as a whole. 

That include the new Netflix film Hot Frosty, where the winter wonderland set in Hope Springs, New York is actually Brockville, Ont.

In Brockville, the city is attempting to capitalize on the movie’s popularity, even developing a Hot Frosty bingo card people can use to track sightings of local landmarks while watching the film at home, said Lyndsay Bigley, a marketing officer with the City of Brockville. 

Local businesses are also getting in on the fun. A knitting store now sells a pattern similar to the magical scarf that brings a snowman to life in the …