Opinion: Why creative immigration is the missing piece for Hollywood North's evolution and growth in Vancouver
Vancouver has long worn the nickname Hollywood North like a badge of honour. From blockbuster films to Emmy-winning series and Oscar-winning VFX, this city has proven it can hold its own against the world’s top creative capitals.
But for too long, our creative economy has operated under outdated policies that don’t reflect how the industry actually works.
Canada’s immigration system, for example, still doesn’t have a dedicated stream for creative professionals. Artists, freelancers, and entrepreneurs are left navigating skilled-worker programs designed for traditional careers — programs that don’t recognize contract work, intellectual property (IP), or unconventional career paths.
Without long-term retention programs or reliable pathways to permanent residency, many global talents see Vancouver as a stopover, not a place to put down roots.
On top of that, public policy has tended to be reactive. Instead of setting a vision and building a foundation for sectoral growth, governments have waited until problems boiled over before responding. This has left Vancouver struggling to keep pace with global hubs, even as demand for content, talent, and innovation continues to surge.
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This importance was recently recognized locally; earlier this summer, Vancouver City Council approved a member motion by city councillor Brian Montague that urges the provincial and federal governments to take meaningful action to address this gap in economic policy.
The City is urging senior governments to create a Creative Talent Immigration Stream — a pilot program to bring world-class creators, storytellers, and cultural entrepreneurs here with the long-term stability they need to thrive.
It’s a bold, future-focused step. Established creators are already looking to make Vancouver home, but our policies haven’t given them the tools to build lasting businesses here. This motion begins to change that.
Vancouver’s creative economy is bigger than you think
The creative industries in B.C. in 2022 contributed more than $6.7 billion annually to provincial GDP and employed over 89,000 people — easily making it one of B.C.’s largest economic sectors.
In Metro Vancouver, where this sector is of course focused, it includes Canada’s largest visual effects and animation cluster, hundreds of film, animation, and television productions each year, indie gaming studios, musicians, and live event operators, and a growing pipeline of creators pioneering immersive digital media.
According to the City of Vancouver’s 2020-2029 Culture Plan, which cited cultural economic impact research from Hill Strategies, the economic impact of the creative industries and cultural sector recently accounted for 2.7 per cent of B.C.’s GDP and four per cent of total employment. The culture sector in B.C. rivals agriculture/fishing/forestry, utilities, accommodation/food, and mining/oil/gas.
Despite this, Canada still lacks a tailored immigration pathway for creative talent. Cities like Los Angeles and London offer flexible visas that can bring world-class creators in overnight. Vancouver, meanwhile, is left playing catch-up. Western Canada powers much of Canada’s global cultural output — film, music, and digital storytelling — but Ottawa continues to treat the city as an afterthought.
The proposed Creative Talent Stream would run through the BC Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) in partnership with the Province and industry organizations such as Creative BC, DigiBC, and Music BC. It would establish a pilot immigration stream specifically for globally recognized creators (many already here, eager to stay), cultural entrepreneurs, and freelance artists and industry disruptors with non-traditional career paths.
The goal is simple: create a clear, stable pathway to permanent residency so talent can build businesses, cultural value, and lasting careers in B.C.
This matters now
Creativity is fast becoming a defining currency of the global economy. Cities are competing not just for head offices and real estate but for IP ownership, original storytelling, and cultural infrastructure. Toronto is expanding its studio footprint. Los Angeles is investing heavily in virtual production. Calgary has attracted major HBO productions.
Vancouver can’t afford to sit back. Our complacency over the past two decades is part of why we’re facing today’s fiscal and cultural challenges. The warning signs were clear when Lionsgate Studios — a company born in Vancouver — moved its headquarters to Santa Monica instead of scaling up in B.C.
The next generation of global studios may look more like A24 or NEON than the old Hollywood giants. Why shouldn’t those offices be in Mount Pleasant or Railtown? Why not Gastown instead of Brooklyn?
Vancouver already has the talent, the time zone, and the infrastructure. What’s been missing is the long-term vision and policy support to tie it all together.
Few stories illustrate this better than producer Chris Ferguson, the founder of Oddfellows Entertainment.
In 2024, Oddfellows co-produced and filmed the indie horror hit Longlegs in Vancouver. The movie grossed US$128 million worldwide on a budget of less than US$10 million — Neon’s highest-grossing release ever and one of the most profitable indie films of the year.
Now Ferguson is leveraging that success into bigger projects, like The Monkey, a Stephen King adaptation. His trajectory shows exactly what happens when Vancouver talent has the chance to scale globally. Imagine a dozen more Fergusons building world-class projects here, backed by smart immigration pathways that make it easier to stay, hire, and grow.
Then there’s Volumetric Camera Systems (VCS), a small Vancouver studio taking big swings. From Altered Carbon to Neill Blomkamp’s Demonic, they’ve captured over 200 terabytes of volumetric data using 400+ cameras. By 2022, they were running Supermuseum America for the U.S. government.
Starting earlier this month, for at least one whole year, VCS partnered with the H.R. MacMillan Space Centre to update the planetarium for a new 360° immersive experience called “Dome Vancouver,” with nightly shows now playing on drastically improved audio and visual equipment.
This is what’s already happening — with minimal support. The projects are real. The talent is here. What’s missing is a system that matches ambition with opportunity.
From a services and infrastructure standpoint, Vancouver is already one of North America’s best-positioned cities for creative industry growth. We have a pipeline of talent from post-secondary institutions such as Emily Carr University of Art & Design, Capilano University, and Vancouver Film School, world-class visual effects, animation, and post-production studios, competitive tax credits for film and digital production that were recently reinforced by the provincial government, an emerging music, nightlife, and immersive events ecosystem, and close proximity to Hollywood, Silicon Valley, and the Pacific Rim.
Layer in a streamlined immigration pathway, and Vancouver could lead the world.
It’s time for the provincial and federal governments to step up — by formally developing this pilot program, securing federal support through Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, and aligning with industry stakeholders. Vancouver’s elected officials will also bring the contents of this approved municipal motion to the Union of BC Municipalities in 2026 to build broader backing on the municipal level province-wide.
Vancouver’s creative economy isn’t a “nice to have.” It’s a cornerstone of our identity, one of the few sectors with the potential to drive long-term, resilient, IP-driven growth for the city, the province, and the country.
This approach is a practical step toward building the next chapter of Hollywood North — one that leaves behind outdated models and embraces a future that’s inclusive, innovative, and globally competitive.
Because when you invest in creators, you’re investing in the future of your city.