This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content Thanks in no small part to Stargate, B.C. has become one of the world’s premier destinations for sci-fi productions. A policy of tax credits, supported by successive provincial governments of all partisan stripes, has drawn countless series and films north, seeding an explosion of local talent in front of and behind the camera while building an ecosystem of soundstages, effects houses, and other facilities. Article content Inside a Stargate set called Hell at Burnaby’s The Bridge Studios in 1999. Photo by ARLEN REDEKOP /PROVINCE Article content Today, B.C. is home to more than 100 VFX and animation studios, nearly 40 post-production houses, and dozens of studios and stages. In 2023, the motion picture industry contributed roughly $2 billion to the provincial GDP and supported around 26,000 full-time jobs. A significant contribution to B.C., but unfortunately a sharp drop from 2022, when production volume topped $4.4 billion and the sector supported close to 50,000 full-time jobs. Article content Article content We can no longer assume that U.S. productions will simply keep showing up, and we can’t know which new productions may have been considering Vancouver but opted to shoot elsewhere over the past few years. Article content Given Stargate’s deep roots in B.C.’s creative community, if the new series were to announce production in the U.S. it would send a devastating message to local creatives, workers, and investors. It would suggest that even the projects most closely associated with “Hollywood North” are no longer safe. Article content That is why the return of Stargate should be treated as a litmus test, measuring B.C.’s resolve to defend a sector that not only entertains millions around the world, but also pays mortgages, supports artists and small businesses, and sustains tens of thousands of families right here. Article content The provincial government can’t control U.S. trade policy, but it does control how aggressively we court productions, how competitive our incentives are, and how quickly we can give studios certainty when they are deciding where to shoot. Article content Article content Let’s hope that Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport Minister Anne Kang, along with Creative B.C. and the Motion Picture Production Industry Association of B.C. are already working the phones and making the case that Stargate belongs where it has always been: British Columbia. Not just for the millions of science-fiction fans around the world who know that alien planets should all have an uncanny resemblance to the forests of B.C., but for the benefit of all who call this province home. Article content Andrew Reeve is a former B.C. Liberal press secretary and served as the deputy director of communications for the Official Opposition at the B.C. Legislature. Article content Share this article in your social network Share this Story : Opinion: Stargate’s return will test B.C.’s grip on ‘Hollywood North’ Source: https://vancouversun.com/opinion/op-ed/opinion-stargates-return-will-test-b-c-s-grip-on-hollywood-north