Foreign film production nearly tripled in Alberta last year despite declines across Canada

This image released by HBO shows Pedro Pascal, left, and Bella Ramsey in a scene from "The Last of Us." (HBO via AP)

Foreign film production nearly tripled in Alberta last year, despite overall declines across Canada, according to a new report.

Alberta experienced a 291 per cent increase in foreign location and service (FLS) production during the 2023/24 fiscal year, the Canadian Media Producers Association’s (CMPA) said in its Profile 2024 report.

The province’s FLS volume grew from $49 million to $192 million.

“The filming of several American television series in Alberta, including   The Last of Us  ,  The Abandons  and Billy the Kid Season 2 helped lift A lberta’s volume of FLS production in 2023/24,”  the CMPA said in the report.

CMPA said FLS production includes films and television programs filmed in Canada by foreign producers, with the involvement of Canadian-based service providers. It also includes visual effects work done by Canadian studios for foreign films and television programs.

Across the country, however, the total volume of FLS production decreased by 26.1 per cent, down to $4.73 billion from $6.65 billion.

The report notes that two major Hollywood strikes in 2023 – the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) – led to a significant decrease in FLS production in the U.S., Canada and globally during the fiscal year.

British Columbia continued to lead the country, with $1.6 billion in FLS productions, followed by Quebec ($1.4 billion) and Ontario ($1.2 billion).

Alberta’s $192 million ranked fourth among the provinces and territories.

Among those top four provinces, however, Alberta was the only one that experienced FLS growth in 2023/24, with investment in B.C., Quebec and Ontario all declining.

Manitoba also experienced a slight increase, up 10 per cent to $66 million.

The CMPA projects that the full impact of the Hollywood strikes was understated in the 2023/24 fiscal year, and the impact will carry forward over the next few years.

Overall, production activity hasn’t recovered to pre-strike levels across the country.

The City of Calgary is optimistic that the region will see continued film and television production growth, after meeting with several major studios and streamers in Los Angeles earlier this year.

Several major film and television productions have come to the Calgary area in 2024, including Die My Love, starring Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson, and a limited series about JonBenét Ramsey starring Melissa McCarthy and Clive Owen.

You can read the full report on the CMPA’s website.