The Government of Nova Scotia has expanded the province’s film and TV incentive with new benefits for productions in rural areas.

The Distant Location Incentive is a two-tiered initiative based on the location of eligible productions. Any projects filmed more than 100 kilometres from Halifax City Hall will be able to receive an incentive of up to 7% of eligible Nova Scotia costs. The incentive is increased to up to 10% for productions more than 150 kilometres from Halifax City Hall.

The added incentive was created to address higher costs of production in rural areas and to encourage more filming outside of the Halifax region, according to a news release.

To be eligible for the incentive, productions must already qualify for the 2% location bonus within the Nova Scotia Film & Television Production Incentive Fund, which is available for productions where 50% of principal photography takes place outside of metropolitan areas.

The current Nova Scotia Film & Television Production Incentive Fund covers 26% of eligible local spend for majority Nova Scotia-owned productions, and 25% for productions with less than 50% Nova Scotia ownership.

The Fund includes a 1% bonus for productions longer than 30 days. Eligible projects must have a local spend of at least $25,000 before HST.

“The expansion of the Nova Scotia Film & Television Incentive Fund will allow productions to make the decision to film in rural communities where the perfect location exists,” said Screen Nova Scotia executive director Laura Mackenzie in a statement. “It puts all of Nova Scotia on offer, creating jobs, tourism opportunities and injecting production dollars directly into the locally owned businesses of all rural communities.”

The Nova Scotia Film & Television Incentive Fund was introduced in 2015 after the provincial government scrapped the local tax credit program. Support for the Fund has increased over the last few years, including increasing the per-project cap to $10 million from $4 million in 2022. The government said it invested $39 million across 83 productions in the 2023-24 fiscal year.

Recent domestic productions in Nova Scotia include CTV’s Sullivan’s Crossing (pictured) and Crave original series The Trades.

Image courtesy of Bell Media