Writers Guild of Canada (WGC) members have voted overwhelmingly in favour to authorize a strike in negotiations with the Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA) over the Independent Production Agreement (IPA).

The week-long voting period resulted in a 96.5% vote to approve a strike. Just over 70% of eligible WGC members participated in the vote, which closed at 3 p.m. ET on April 23.

“This strike authorization vote, a first in the guild’s 33-year history, represents a pivotal moment for Canadian screenwriters,” said WGC executive director Victoria Shen in a statement. “It underscores our members’ commitment to securing fair compensation and meaningful AI protections in an ever-evolving industry.”

“While a strong strike mandate does not necessarily mean we will strike, it tells the producers we are ready to defend ourselves if necessary. We remain committed to negotiating a fair agreement for our members,” she continued.

The organizations have been in negotiations to renew their IPA since last October, and began mediation in January. The agreement expired on Dec. 31, 2023.

Key issues that have emerged in talks include AI protections for screenwriters, increased compensation for animation writers and a minimum baseline of writer participation in production.

The guild said it is “confirming dates when all parties can get back to addressing the outstanding issues,” in the news release announcing the vote results.

“The CMPA remains at the table and is committed to a negotiated settlement with the WGC,” said Sean Porter, VP, national industrial relations and counsel at the CMPA, in a statement on the results. 

“Canadian producers value the work of Canadian screenwriters and sincerely believe that future Canadian projects should be written by humans, not AI algorithms. We believe a labour dispute would be extremely damaging to the domestic Canadian film and television production sector and we remain focused on successfully concluding negotiations,” he continued.

As per the terms of the IPA, a strike cannot occur until certain conditions are met, including a requirement for a third-party mediator to send a report to the federal Minister of Labour notifying the organizations failed to reach an agreement. A strike can occur 15 days after the report is sent.

The WGC represents approximately 2,500 English-language screenwriters in Canada across film, television and web series, while the CMPA represents more than 450 Canadian independent production companies.

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