Jeff Brinton, the former head of communications at CFTPA, has been hired as head of the Alberta Film Commission, Playback Daily has learned, and will start this month, according to sources close to the provincial agency and elsewhere in the Alberta industry.

Officials have withheld comment, though a formal announcement is expected shortly. He will work out of the agency’s offices in Edmonton.

Brinton steps into the post held by longtime commissioner Dan Chugg, and arrives during a thorny time in the Wild Rose province. Calgary film commissioner Beth Thompson last year stepped down after a seven-year stint, citing a lack of initiative and commitment to attract productions from both the province and the industry.

The province has more recently made headlines by brokering a deal with Lionsgate to shoot a $20-million series in Edmonton.

The CFTPA has yet to announce a replacement for Brinton.