B.C. hopes to hang onto 'Hollywood North' title by boosting film and TV tax incentives

The British Columbia government is increasing tax incentives for both local and international film and TV projects in an effort to attract more major productions to the province. 

Premier David Eby said the tax credit for international projects made in B.C. will jump from 28 to 36 per cent, and an incentive for Canadian-content productions will increase from 35 to 36 per cent.

There's also a special bonus to attract blockbuster productions with budgets of $200 million or more.

Speaking on Thursday at the Martini Town studio, a New York-themed backlot in Langley, B.C., Eby said tax incentives are the province's "competitive advantage" and increasing them will help an industry that has been battered by the COVID-19 pandemic, labour disruptions and changes to internal practices.

"This is a sector that's taken some hits," Eby said, the Manhattan street scene behind him decorated for Christmas.

"We need to make sure that we continue to be competitive."

Government numbers show the film industry generated $2.7 billion in GDP for B.C. in 2022 — roughly one per cent of provincial GDP — and $2 billion in 2023, a year affected by strike action and a decrease in global production.

Amy Lang, president of two Metro Vancouver area studios — North Shore and Mammoth — said the labour issues in 2023 suppressed production in the province. 

"Budgets are just smaller, and [film] became a very competitive industry across the globe. It's a great business to have in your community," she told CBC News. "So we saw B.C. losing its competitive edge."

As business slowed, Lang said some crew members at the two studios were forced to move out of B.C. for other jobs, and others had to dip into their savings. 

For Lang, the new tax credit was a welcome announcement.

"It's fantastic," she said, adding she's optimistic it will spur more projects to film in the province. "We are so thrilled."

Meanwhile, Okanagan Film Commissioner Jon Summerland said the tax credit will give bigger film studios more incentive to shoot projects in B.C.'s Interior. 

"It's going to expand the industry to the Okanagan, which is what we're hoping for," he said on Radio West Thursday. 

A government statement says the incentives begin with productions that have principal photography starting Jan. 1, 2025. Projects with costs of greater than $200 million in B.C. will receive a two per cent bonus.

Gemma Martini, chair of industry organization Screen BC and CEO of Martini Film Studios, told the news conference it has been a "tumultuous" year for film and television, which supports tens of thousands of jobs.

"It is clear that British Columbia is a well-respected and preferred global production partner, but we must be able to compete at the bottom line," she said.

"We expect, we know, our government's announcement will put B.C. back in the game to earn our true 'Hollywood North' reputation."

Foreign film and TV work makes up an average of 80 per cent of total production spending in B.C., and the government says maintaining strong international relationships is critical for the industry to continue to thrive.

The government says it also intends to restore regional and distant-location tax credits that were cut last year for companies with a brick-and-mortar presence outside of Metro Vancouver, the Fraser Valley, and Whistler and Squamish. 

Eby's election promises

Eby first promised to increase the tax credits as part of his election campaign earlier this year.

Just days after the new B.C. cabinet was announced in November, a delegation that included Finance Minister Brenda Bailey and Arts and Culture Minister Spencer Chandra Herbert travelled to California to pitch B.C.'s film and TV industry. 

Chandra Herbert told the news conference that during the trip they met industry representatives who are now looking at B.C. "in a bigger way" because of the new incentives.

He said the additional two per cent bonus for productions over $200 million is a way to encourage larger productions to come and stay in B.C.

"This is a way of making sure that the workers in this industry, and the companies, know that we're here for them for the long term. You can make these investments long term. You can grow the industry today, tomorrow and into the years ahead," he said.