Ontario is gaining ground on rival British Columbia as film and television shoots in the province surged by more than 40% to $946.5 million in 2009, the Ontario Media Development Corporation reported Wednesday.

That got the province back to production levels not seen since 2002, and well above the disappointing $610.56 million in local and foreign expenditures recorded in 2008.

Ontario, which rang alarm bells in British Columbia last fall when it broadened and raised its film tax credit to 25% to draw Hollywood production east, still depends on indigenous film and TV production as a local driver.

Local production, for which Ontario offers a 35% tax credit, in 2009 rose 24% to $674.4 million, according to OMDC data.

Hollywood foreign location shooting last year jumped 114% to $145.5 million.

Karen Thorne-Stone, OMDC president and CEO, welcomed the rebound in the face of economic challenges and a strong Canadian dollar.

‘Ontario has consistently demonstrated that it has the right mix of government support, financial incentives, world-class infrastructure, superb talent and skills, and diverse locations to attract outstanding foreign and domestic productions,’ she said.

The OMDC figures reveal the number of domestic productions that shot locally in Ontario last year virtually matched 2008 levels.

What changed were Canadian feature film budgets which, on average, all but doubled.

B.C. recently goosed its tax credit for labor on local shoots and introduced a tax credit for video game production, but has stopped short of matching the 25% all-spend tax credits in Ontario and Quebec to stay competitive.