Southern Alberta is heating up again for film and television production, as Calgary Economic Development (CED) reports a record-breaking wave of location scouting requests in Q1 2025—its busiest start to a year in over a decade.

After a cooling period tied to the 2023 Hollywood strikes, global studios are returning to Canada’s Rocky Mountain capital. Major players including Netflix, Paramount, and Apple are actively circling new projects, according to CED CEO Brad Parry. “There’s a lot of pent-up production right now,” he said. “And Alberta is firmly back on the map.”

That momentum is already showing up on set. Alberta currently has three ‘Tier A’ productions underway—projects typically tied to higher budgets and union rates. These include MGM+’s third season of Billy the Kid and a film adaptation of Reminders of Him, the bestselling romance novel by Colleen Hoover.

What’s driving the activity? A mix of smart policy shifts, competitive landscapes, and strategic repositioning. Consultant Michelle Wong credits the weakened Canadian dollar, the rollout of Bill C-11 (which boosts Indigenous production), and international diversification as key factors behind Alberta’s strong start to 2025. “We expected a downturn,” said Wong, “but we’re actually seeing a slight uptick.”

Alberta’s appeal is also broadening beyond Hollywood. Productions from Korea and Europe are actively scouting the region, seeking dramatic landscapes, cost efficiencies, and a less congested pipeline than traditional U.S. hubs.

Still, the resurgence hasn’t fully reached everyone. Damien Petti, president of IATSE Local 212, noted that only 65% of the province’s 1,500+ union crew members are currently working. He’s pushing for a base tax credit increase—from 22% to 25%—to keep Alberta competitive as more countries step up with aggressive incentives.

“There have always been peaks and valleys,” said Petti, “but the global playing field is changing fast. We need to adjust if we want to keep projects here.”

In response, Alberta’s Ministry of Finance pointed to recent amendments that expanded the Film and Television Tax Credit (FTTC) to include more genres and offer higher rebates for productions in rural and remote areas. While no immediate increase to the base credit is planned, the province said it is “monitoring developments in other jurisdictions.”

Meanwhile, long-running Canadian series like Heartland (renewed for a 19th season) continue to provide a stable base of local employment, while industry insiders hint at several unannounced big-budget shoots on the horizon.

For an industry long defined by its peaks and valleys, Alberta seems poised for another climb—one shaped by both its natural scenery and its growing role in the global production economy.