As the local B.C. industry rallies for better tax incentives to remain competitive with Ontario and Quebec, Premier Christy Clark announced Tuesday that British Columbia will invest $11 million to host the Times of India Film Awards in Vancouver this April.

With Vancouver chosen as TOIFA’s inaugural host destination, the province of B.C. will match the Times Group’s $9.5 million in funding towards producing the event.

“The Times of India Film Awards will be seen by hundreds of millions of people in one of the world’s fastest-growing economies and Vancouver will be centre stage. This is one piece of our government’s outreach efforts in India, opening up new opportunities for trade and investment that will create jobs here at home. This is tremendous economic opportunity for British Columbia to reach new markets – one that we will take advantage of,” said Clark in a statement.

The Bollywood awards celebration is a move to build awareness of and market B.C. as a potential travel, trade and investment destination, added Surrey Board of Trade CEO Anita Huberman.

And an additional $1.5 million is being budgeted for various ancillary activities in B.C., including hosting the B.C.-India Global Business Forum.

Multiple events will be held across Vancouver’s Lower Mainland between Apr. 4 and 6.

The Pacific Coliseum on Apr. 4 will host the TOIFA Music Extravaganza, while Apr. 5 will see screenings of Bollywood films in various B.C. multiplexes. And the TOIFA red carpet and awards event will take place on Apr. 6 at B.C. Place.

The economic benefit of hosting the TOIFA, according to a release from the province, is estimated to be between $13 million to $18 million of direct spending.

“With the awards being held in Vancouver, it is going to be the beginning of a new collaboration with a destination which is home to the second-largest Indian and South Asian population in Canada,” said A.P. Parigi, the director of the board of The Times of India Group, in his own statement.

According to a report from the Globe and Mail, Clark during Tuesday’s press conference announcement also addressed the current concerns about local production, saying the province is trying to “create a stable, sustainable environment in which people can work.”

Clark also said that as part of the deal to host the TOIFA, a Bollywood production will come to B.C. and use B.C. suppliers.

Hosting the April event won’t be the first time that an Indian film industry event has been staged in Canada. Ontario in 2011 courted Bollywood when the province played host to the International Indian Film Academy awards – reportedly helped by a $12 million investment by Ontario – as talks for the first official co-production treaty between Canada and India heated up.