Mr. Speaker, one of the things that the member for Provencher mentioned in the course of his remarks was his belief that the government is considering a Netflix tax. I can disabuse him of that again tonight. That is absolutely not the case.
On November 1, the Minister of Finance tabled his fall economic statement. Setting a new bar for transparency, this statement included economic projections for policy actions taken since budget 2016. This includes the regulatory change that now makes talk shows eligible for the Canadian film or video production tax credit, which dates back to 1995. The immediate value of this change is estimated in that document at $8 million in 2016-17. Over time, this amount will increase as new productions emerge and become eligible to an estimated $33 million.
Our government is proud to support Canada's film and television sector.
Indeed, federal support for this sector in 2015-16 was almost $670 million, excluding CBC/Radio-Canada. In budget 2016, we made important new investments in Telefilm Canada, the National Film Board, and CBC/Radio-Canada. These investments will support a key economic driver in our country's cultural sector. Film and television activity in Canada generated an estimated $8.5 billion in GDP in 2015-16.
This industry is also an important vector for job creation in Canada. It employs more than 140,600 Canadians and benefits small and medium-sized businesses across the country.
It is also a sector that is showing strong growth. In 2015-16, $6.8 billion was spent on production budgets in Canada. This includes both the Canadian content productions supported by this tax credit and also foreign productions that shoot in Canada. As a labour-based tax credit, the Canadian film or video production tax credit increases as more films and television shows are produced in Canada and more Canadian creators are employed.
More film and television production is not only good for our economy today, but also helps us attract the international talent and investment that can position Canada as a future leader in a global economy where innovation and creativity will play an important role. There are enormous opportunities for our creative industries in an increasingly digital and global marketplace. Our government is working hard to support their current and future successes.