"Maple syrup porno" was coined by Variety magazine to describe a wave of soft-core pornographic films produced in Quebec between 1969 and 1971. The term aptly characterizes the films and contrasts them to the more acerbic and violent German pictures called "sauerkraut porno," or "chop sockey" from Hong Kong. Though laced with nudity and sex, the films are sweet and sentimental, and in the end, sexual transgressors return to the traditional values of romance and family. The films' appeal in Quebec at the time undoubtedly stemmed partly from their liberated sexuality and traditional morality but also because the films consistently used recognizable Québécois actors as protagonists.

Films classified as maple syrup porno include Valérie (1969), the first Deux femmes en or (1970), L'initiation (1970), Love in a 4 Letter World (1970), L'amour humain (1970), Après ski (1971), Loving and Laughing (1971), 7 fois... (par jour) (1971) and Les chats bottés (1971). All of these films enjoyed considerable box office success, but films made after this period fared less well and production ceased. However, the success of maple syrup porno established the commercial viability of the Quebec film industry, especially for Valérie's producer-distributor, Cinepix.