Calgary film industry optimistic for recovery after North America-wide slowdown
CBC
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."
The head of the film industry union's Calgary branch says the provincial government could take steps to help stabilize the local industry.
CBC is once again looking to make the holiday season kind in Windsor-Essex.
Acute Care Alberta has extended its contract for another year with a private surgical facility at the centre of probes into health procurement and contracting.
As food bank use continues to climb across the province, front-line workers in Thunder Bay, Ont., are working to improve both food security and education.
More ads could soon be coming to Toronto’s subway system.
The driver wanted in connection with a fatal hit and run on Highway 401 earlier this week has been identified, police say.
There are mixed feelings about the proposed Grays Bay road and port project, among people who live in nearby communities.
WARNING: This story details allegations of child abuse and includes graphic content.
Provincial police in Lambton County have charged a 23-year-old man with second degree murder following a death investigation that began this past Saturday.
The Newfoundland and Labrador government is forming a working group to tackle what it calls systemic issues in the justice system, but answers or solutions could still be months away.
A woman has pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing death in a 2024 fatal hit and run in Truro, N.S., where the victim was dragged down the street, a case that went unsolved for more than six months.
A stream of people showing up to a brightly lit front porch, each holding up a bottle of wine, spirits, or beer.
Sona Lakhoyan Olivier has been excluded from Quebec’s Liberal caucus for the duration of an investigation led by the National Assembly’s ethics commissioner, the party announced Thursday.
The head of the William Whyte Neighbourhood Association hopes a city plan to crack down on vacant properties leads to a transformation in his community.