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“When I’m premier, we’re going to stop giving our lunch money away to a bully and bring jobs and head offices back to Alberta,” he said. “Alberta’s film incentives will be better than B.C.’s, so Albertans can come home to work.”

The Alberta Liberals “Arts and Culture Platform Preview” released on the weekend made a similar promise: “The current grant­based system is too complex and is not retaining and attracting film and TV productions. Alberta Liberals support adding a tax credit system to the existing grant-­based system.”

In an interview with Postmedia last week, Alberta Liberal leader David Khan offered more details. He said a Liberal government would also “move to a tax-credit system that other jurisdictions use and that would be either a 65 per cent labour-tax credit or a 35 per cent all-spend tax credit.”

“Every other jurisdiction we are competing with is doing this, so we have to level the playing field,” Khan says. “We are on the verge of slipping to fifth in the city rankings in Canada in terms of spend in this sector. I guess Winnipeg is nipping at our heels.”

Calgary is currently fourth after Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal.

On the weekend, the United Conservative Party also addressed the industry in its platform promises. Similar to the Liberal and Alberta Party policies, a UCP government would “convert the Alberta Screen-Based Production Grant into a tax credit with greater flexibility to allow Alberta to compete for major media projects with provinces like British Columbia and Ontario; we will consult with stakeholders in the film, television and digital media industries to createan optimal tax credit designed to attract large productions and series.” It would also “incentivize media production in rural areas, following the lead of Manitoba’s film tax credit.”