Originally from
Winnipeg,
Manitoba, he was associated with the
Winnipeg Film Group as a teenager, and later studied history at
McGill University, at
Université Laval and at the
Institut national de l'image et du son. His father, Laird Rankin, was longtime executive director of
Canada's National History Society and publisher of the history magazine
The Beaver. He has also had occasional small acting roles in other directors' films, most recently the 2022 films
This House (Cette maison) and
Before I Change My Mind. ==Filmography==