The Government of Canada and the Swiss Federal Council have signed a new coproduction treaty, designed to strengthen production work between Canada and Switzerland with a modern and flexible approach.

The treaty will replace the current one, which was signed in 1987, according to a news release. It will need to be ratified and implemented in “several stages” before coming into effect.

The new treaty was jointly signed by the Minister of Canadian Heritage Pascale St-Onge; Alain Berset, president and federal councillor for Interior Affairs of the Swiss Confederation; and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mélanie Joly at a ceremony on the sidelines of the Cinemania Film Festival in Montreal on Nov. 3.

Details on the modernized treaty were not available as of press time, but the new agreement is expected to make it “easier” for professionals in both countries “to collaborate on film, television and video projects,” said the release.

Canada and Switzerland have collaborated on six coproductions over the past decade, with combined budgets of more than $21.4 million.

Under the existing terms of the treaty between the two countries, the respective contributions of the co-producers of the two countries may vary from 20% to 80% of the budget for a project. The minority contribution in these copros is set at 20% percent for each project.

“Canada and Switzerland share a strong connection, especially through our common use of the French language,” said St-Onge in a statement, adding that the new agreement will “provide greater support for our cultural industries.”

The new Canada-Switzerland treaty is part of the Canadian government’s initiative to modernize international copro treaties, said the release. In 2021, the governments of Canada and France signed a new agreement to bring film and TV coproductions under one copro treaty. The previous two agreements, signed in 1983, covered film and TV separately.

Canada has treaties with 59 countries, and copros represent a production volume of $500 million every year, according to Telefilm Canada.

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