What to stream for free over the holidays in Canada
CBC
If this was the year you decided to cut back on cable or one of your many streaming platforms, you may be looking for content to watch this holiday season for free. The CBC News Entertainment team has put together a short watchlist of free shows and films streaming in Canada — including our favourite holiday-themed picks. While the content listed below is free, some services such as Kanopy require you to sign-in through a library card or university ID, while others are ad-supported with premium options.
Rare Exports (Tubi, Kanopy)
The blackest comedy from Finland, Rare Exports has been my go-to Christmas recommendation since it was first unleashed on the world in 2010. You know you're in for a good time when the father contacts the authorities and says, "We have Santa Claus, and we're holding him ransom." Young Pietari has been waiting to see Santa, counting down the days before Christmas. But when an American mining company excavates a long-frozen Yuletide monster, Pietari and his father are too busy fighting to survive to worry about milk and cookies Scary and sweet all at the same time, Rare Exports could be your new favourite Christmas cult classic. — Eli Glasner
Christmas Cartoon Extravaganza (Tubi)
With so many Canadians cutting cable, you might miss your favourite Christmas cartoon classic as you lay on the couch in an eggnog-induced stupor. But a quick search on Tubi finds a wealth of animated archives, including a compilation titled Christmas Cartoon Extravaganza that features versions of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman and others from decades past. They might not be the versions you remember, but there's a certain beauty to the hand-drawn animation and playful characters. — Eli Glasner
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (Kanopy)
What says Christmas more than Robert Downey Jr. and Val Kilmer joining forces as a thief and a private eye trying to solve a murder mystery? It may seem like typical cinematic shlock, but in the hands of writer-director Shane Black (the writer behind The Nice Guys and Lethal Weapon), Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is a pitch-perfect buddy-cop comedy. Besides killer punchlines and whip-smart dialogue, Black has a recurring motif in his work where he sets the story during Christmas, making Kiss Kiss Bang Bang the perfect holiday romp. — Eli Glasner
Holiday odds and ends (Pluto.tv, Kanopy, CBC Gem, CTV)
Pluto.tv has two full-time Christmas channels (plus two fireplace channels and a holiday lights channel), if you cut cable and are looking to fill a Hallmark-style Christmas movie gap.
Meanwhile, Kanopy — which also offers a fireplace channel — has the Canadian Christmas horror classic Black Christmas from the '70s. It also has hundreds of much less dark holiday fare, including the Jamie Lee Curtis-led Christmas with the Kranks and the Kate Beckinsale vehicle Serendipity (which is more of a romance than a Christmas movie, but it still counts!).
This one on the CTV website is probably the highest on my list of free-to-stream holiday movies: the Nancy Meyers classic The Holiday with Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz. CBC Gem also has one I watch every single year: Merry Christmas, Mr. Bean. For something newer, Gem has the Kristen Stewart and Aubrey Plaza holiday comedy Happiest Season.
And if Christmas episodes are your thing: Schitt's Creek streams on Gem, while Friends and Community stream on CTV. — Teghan Beaudette
Sort Of (CBC Gem)
Our country produced stellar originals this year, and Sort Of continues to be one of the best. In its three seasons, all available for free on CBC Gem, we see our protagonist Sabi Mehboob navigate their South Asian queer identity, all while dealing with the very real struggles of a young person adapting to city life, multiple gigs and finding meaning in community. When co-creator and lead Bilal Baig announced the end of the series this fall, they told CBC News they are looking forward to the next slate of Canadian content that follows. "Part of what I'm curious about is: what happens after?" Baig said. "What are the shows that get made? Who gets to be heard?" — Arti Patel
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