B.C.’s beleaguered film industry had already lost 3,500 direct and spinoff film jobs in the year ending last March 31, 2012, compared with the previous year, according to a new report.
Ontario’s film jobs surged to 51,300 from 43,400 in the same period.
Those are key figures in a new Canadian Media Production Association report, Profile 2012: An Economic Report on the Screen-based Production Industry in Canada.
The report also found that, as of March 2012, production spending in B.C. was down annually by $134 million to approximately $1.6 billion, while spending in Ontario had spiked by $450 million to approximately $2.6 billion.
Recently, B.C.’s film service industry has been calling for higher film tax credits as the jurisdiction tries to compete with Ontario and Quebec’s generous film incentives.
Nationally, the report found that total film jobs were up to 132,500 from 130,000 as of last March, with the major gains in Ontario.
Similarly, it found that national production spending had climbed to approximately $5.9 billion from $5.6 billion, driven by the production surge in Ontario.
