Calgary film industry optimistic for recovery after North America-wide slowdown
Union cites unemployment concerns, others optimistic for growth
Southern Alberta residents can expect to see plenty of cameras and production crews over the coming months and years, according to some Calgary film industry insiders.
After the 2023 Hollywood strikes cooled off local production, Calgary Economic Development (CED) received more scouting package requests in the first quarter of 2025 than any other Q1 in the last decade.
It's a good indication that Alberta's Rocky Mountain views are in high demand, said CED president and CEO Brad Parry, with some of the biggest companies in the industry ramping up production again.
"Netflix has a number of projects they're shopping around," Parry said. "We know Paramount, we know Apple, there's a lot of people that have a lot of pent-up projects now, that are going to start to, I think, hit the ground soon."
The Directors Guild of Canada tracks ongoing productions by pay rates. Three projects currently in production in Alberta fall in their 'Tier A' category — which generally means they're higher budget productions, said Michelle Wong, a film industry consultant based in Calgary.
One is a film adaptation of Reminders of Him, a romance novel by New York Times bestselling author Colleen Hoover.
The third season of Billy the Kid, a western series produced by MGM+, is also filming around Calgary.
"At first we thought maybe there would be a bit of a downer year," said Wong. "We're seeing actually something of maintaining what was last year, and maybe a slight tick up actually."
Wong credits a shaky Canadian dollar and more resources available for Indigenous productions for the strong start to 2025.
Bill C-11, which passed in April 2023, specifies Canadian broadcasters must provide opportunities to Indigenous people to produce programming, and has helped increase the amount of content produced by Indigenous filmmakers, said Wong.
Uncertainty created by U.S. trade policy is also having an impact, Parry said, but Calgary's film industry is also becoming less reliant on American productions by welcoming projects from other markets.
"Especially at the end of last year, we had a lot of projects coming from Korea," he said.
"Now you're starting to see a few more of the European countries also start to look for ways to get some different vistas to shoot."
Hundreds of union members out of work
The head of the film industry union's Calgary branch says the provincial government could take steps to help stabilize the local industry.
Damien Petti, president of IATSE Local 212, notes that of the more than 1,500 members available to work in film and television production, only about 65 per cent are currently employed.
LISTEN: Update on the Alberta film industry
"Many people have a plan B and a supportive spouse," he said on The Calgary Eyeopener on Monday.
"There's always been peaks and valleys, but there are a number of other factors that have changed rapidly," he added, referring to an increase in the number of tax incentives offered in other countries, meaning Canada now faces greater competition to attract big projects.
He wants to see the province increase its base 22 per cent tax credit on production costs to 25 per cent.
In a statement, Ministry of Finance press secretary Justin Brattinga said that Alberta's Film and Television Tax Credit Act was amended last year to widen its application window, expand the number of eligible production genres and offer additional access to the higher tax credit level for productions filming in rural and remote parts of the province.
"Going forward, Alberta's government is monitoring developments in other jurisdictions and will continue to take steps to ensure the FTTC program remains competitive," Brattinga said in a statement.
Brattinga did not say whether the province is considering raising the base tax credit on production costs.
The long-running western drama Heartland has been renewed for a 19th season, Petti said, also teasing that other big projects are on the way that he can't yet reveal.
Wong said Liberal Leader Mark Carney's election win this week is another reason for optimism for the local film industry, because it could mean more federal funds are directed to CBC-produced projects.
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