B.C. continues to push back against ongoing financial pressure from the United States; however, cancelling American film industry contracts won’t be part of its retaliatory efforts.
Last week, B.C. Premier David Eby announced a directive to the government to cancel American contracts whenever viable.
It appears as though cancelling the lucrative filming contracts wasn’t viable, according to the B.C. Ministry of Tourism.
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The British Columbia province, particularly the City of Vancouver and the surrounding Metro region, has been a filming hotspot for American studios for decades. Recent productions filmed in Vancouver that are particularly notable include The Last of Us season two, the first bit of which was released recently, and Tron: Ares, a massive Hollywood production that will be released later this fall.
Another production that many people seem to be excited about is the upcoming continuation of the hit 2000s show Malcolm in the Middle, which is set to be filmed in Vancouver.
B.C. has also been a popular destination for Hallmark film productions.
To say that those productions are just the tip of the iceberg of how involved this region is in Hollywood is a major understatement.
One thing that makes it difficult to gauge how prominent this region is in American productions at first glance is that many productions, including The Last of Us, which turns Vancouver into Seattle, typically disguise Vancouver as an American locale.
“Now is the time to continue to support B.C. and Canadian businesses, as well as find new markets and develop deeper bonds with countries other than the U.S.,” Premier Eby said of the move to cancel U.S. contracts.
“Just like when you’re at the grocery store, there isn’t always a non-American alternative, or sometimes that alternative comes at too high a price.”
Eby added, “Today, we’re expanding that directive to include looking for every opportunity to move existing contracts away from U.S. suppliers and cancelling non-essential government travel to the United States.”
According to the B.C. Ministry of Tourism, in 2023, the province’s motion picture industry created thousands of jobs for residents in the province and generated more than $2.6 billion in GDP.
“The direction from the premier pertains specifically to ministries, health authorities and core Crown corporations’ procurement contracts with U.S.-based companies. This action is in response to recent trade actions from the United States that unfairly target Canadian industries and workers,” the ministry told Daily Hive.
The ministry added, “We remain proud of our world-class crews, post-production talent, and vibrant creative sector, and we continue to welcome international productions to film in our beautiful province.”
“We will continue working closely with industry partners to ensure B.C. remains a top destination for film and television production.”
