Tri-Cities film and TV productions dip by nearly 50 percent so far this year

Sharp-eyed Port Coquitlam residents might have spotted the Netflix show Virgin River shooting in town recently.

However, the sight of a film crew in the Tri-Cities has become much less commonplace in 2025, with film permits declining steeply in the first five months of the year.

At this point in 2024, Coquitlam, Port Moody, and Port Coquitlam had issued 49 film permits. The three municipalities have issued a total of 25 film permits so far this year.

While film production has been fairly consistent in Port Coquitlam and Port Moody (Port Coquitlam added three productions this year while Port Moody lost three) Coquitlam has seen a steep decline, dropping from 32 productions in 2024 to eight so far this year.

While the film industry began to slow down last fall, the recent decline may have been exacerbated by uncertainty caused by U.S. tariffs, according to Coquitlam’s senior manager of economic development Eric Kalnins, who called the situation “volatile.”

“The instability creates real challenges,” Kalnins stated in an email to the Dispatch. “Tariffs on film production is one thing but tariffs on other items associated with film production is another.”

Other factors include more competition within the United States and internationally, as well as an increase in reality TV.

However, there is “cautious optimism” the city will see a rebound following a recent uptick in film permit requests, Kalnins added.

Generally, Metro Vancouver stays competitive through tax incentives, the lower Canadian dollar, and talented film crews.

In order to keep the cameras rolling at popular Coquitlam locations like Quarry Road on Burke Mountain and səmiq̓ʷəʔelə (Suh-MEE-kwuh-EL-uh)/Riverview, Coquitlam is looking to boost promotion.

In the immediate future, the city will give “much more prominence” to film and creative industries on Invest Coquitlam, an economic development website scheduled to launch later this spring.

Film and TV production remains a key sector of the city’s economic strategy, Kalnins noted, adding the city will maintain a one-stop dedicated film office.

“We take pride in providing an ongoing film-friendly culture and community,” Kalnins wrote.

Other strategies will be implemented as the city rolls out its economic development strategy, he stated.

Port Coquitlam

The city between rails and rivers brands itself as having a “small-town” backdrop for films, with locations like city hall, Shaughnessy Street and numerous parks including Lions Park, Gates Park, Aggie Park, and the Traboulay PoCo Trail.

The city has issued 11 permits so far in 2025. While that figure falls short of the 17 city-issued permits in the early portion of 2021, it’s comfortably ahead of the last two years, in which the city issued nine and eight permits, respectively.

The city hasn’t experienced any issues with attracting U.S.-based productions, according to the city’s director of development services Bruce Irvine.

Port Moody

The City of the Arts has issued six film permits so far in 2025, down from nine last year, which was Port Moody’s busiest on record, according to the city’s manager of cultural services Karen Pighin.

Besides supporting requests from production companies with location and permit assistance, the city doesn’t take active measures to attract film and TV productions to Port Moody, Pighin added.

Familiar locations

The Tri-Cities has a foothold in B.C.’s $2.3 billion film industry. In 2024, shows like the Netflix mystery series Untamed shot at Chip Kerr Park and the FX miniseries Shogun took over the old Flavelle mill property.

Fans of conspiracy thriller The Night Agent might notice some familiar scenery, as the Laurel Lodge set was played by Minnekhada Lodge in the last episode of the show’s first season.

The Netflix movie The Adam Project (starring Ryan Reynolds, Walker Scobell and Jennifer Garner) was filmed in the Lower Mainland in 2020 and 2021. It also used Port Moody’s College Park Elementary for classroom scenes.

Coquitlam has also hosted its own share of blockbusters, from Deadpool 2 (səmiq̓wəʔelə (filming on Riverview Lands), to Godzilla (at the United Boulevard industrial area) to New Moon of the Twilight saga.