B.C.’s Creative Sector
#BCCreates our stories and our creative economy.
Sector
Knowledge Hub
Discover industry contacts, program recipients, productions shooting and more.
News
Music Industry Event for Sync Focused Songwriters, Composers and Artists: The Sync or Swim Music Event | January 26 – 29, 2023
Organized and hosted by Robbie Hancock, offered by Sync or Swim Music, and supported by Amplify BC's Industry Initiatives program, the Sync or Swim Music Event Weekend offers a unique opportunity for members of the music industry - composers, songwriters, artists, and...
Updated B.C. Film Location Policy and FAQs
Thank you to government and industry partners who helped ensure that the B.C. Film Location policy is updated, relevant and current for 2023, complete with a new FAQ. This important high-level framework positively supports the relationship between the Province of B.C....
Reel Green ™ Vendor Spotlight: Keep It Green Recycling
The Reel Green™ Vendor Spotlight is a new initiative, where each month we interview one Reel Green™ Vendor. We will dive into the sustainability practices, highlights, accomplishments and community work, as well as touching base on the challenges our vendors face....
British Columbia is a global leader in content creation and production. The province’s creators and creative companies bring a perspective that is distinctively west coast Canadian to the world of storytelling across all forms of media – from television and theatre screen, to smart phone, game console, e-reader, streaming platform, and printed page.
B.C.’s creative industries and their respective membership associations are supported and united through Creative BC services. They showcase their combined capacity, talent, and strength under the #BCCreates banner, and are well-positioned to seize growing opportunity in an expanding international marketplace that is hungrier than ever for new stories.
Meet British Columbia's Creators#BCCreates tells the story of B.C.’s storytellers.
Image: Unicorn Code
Demand for creative products across an evolving suite of delivery platforms is a significant driver of B.C.’s creative economy. Use of mobile, increased streaming, and advancing digital technologies have transformed the industries, challenged business models, and offered new possibilities for content producers. Each of the industries has unique drivers and needs, but all of them must continue to be entrepreneurial as they create, innovate, adapt, and discover new ways to monetize their products. Learn about the 9 Enabling Factors of a thriving creative economy.
Recent Impacts
CIERA™ 2021
Total GDP in B.C. (Billions)
People when est. freelancers are counted
Direct Output in B.C. (Billions)
Total Jobs Traditional FT + Equivalent
Economic impacts of B.C.’s creative sector are tracked each year by bringing public datasets from Statistics Canada into our story. The bespoke measurement tool that delivers these insights was designed through Creative BC research. Named the Creative Industries Economic Results Assessment (CIERA™), the tool launched 2019 numbers to deliver consistent, comparable and reliable measurements annually for each industry and for the sector overall. Three indicators – Total GDP, Direct Output and Total Jobs – are reported each year using a methodology based entirely on Statistics Canada public datasets.
Complimenting CIERA™ insights are real-time research and reports generated by the industries themselves. Together, these lenses form a more informed picture of the industries’ current state.
Research + Reports
Access all Creative BC reports and industry insights along with impact summaries for the sector.
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9 Enabling Factors
This framework shows how 9 distinctive factors foster a context in which the creative industries can thrive.
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The Industries We Serve
Upstart + Crow
Book Publishing
British Columbia is the second-largest English language book publishing region in Canada.
Shocap Entertainment
Interactive + Digital Media
Canada’s second-largest video game production hub, British Columbia is also North America’s second-largest AR/VR centre.
Folklife Magazine
Magazine Publishing
B.C. has close to 300 publications reflecting the perspective, lifestyle, spirit and aesthetic of our province.
Bardel Entertainment, Photo by Darren Hull
Motion Picture
British Columbia is Canada’s largest and North America’s third-largest film and TV hub, creating the world’s top live action and animated productions.
Public Disco, Image of Yu Su
Music + Sound Recording
B.C. is Canada’s third-largest music production centre with a signature west coast community vibe.
DreamCraft Attractions
Multi-Creative Industry
B.C.’s talented creators and creative companies are multi-skilled, and many professionals and businesses service a number of industries within this convergent sector.