Existing soundstages in Montreal and Toronto are disturbingly quiet for the summer season, but entrepreneurs in other Canadian cites are throwing caution to the wind and constructing more purpose-built studios than ever, gambling that Hollywood service shoots will return to usual levels when U.S. labor unrest subsides and money markets cool off.

British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia are aiming to compete with the newly opened Filmport in Toronto, with megastages of their own in the works.

Construction of Pacific Studios, a 37,000-square-foot purpose-built studio (and a new 23,000-square-foot soundstage) is underway at Burnaby, BC's Canadian Motion Picture Park, which already houses eight stages.

"We are fully booked through to December and have been getting calls for movies that we can't accommodate," says Wolf Isachsen, VP of CMPP, adding that the new facilities should be open in November. "This larger stage will help us attract larger movies that want purpose-built studios and not warehouse space."

In Saskatchewan, Kevin DeWalt of Minds Eye Entertainment says he is in the preliminary stages of putting together a deal to build a new purpose-built studio with two interconnecting 22,000-square-foot stages, where he will shoot the $50-million feature Wicked City in summer 2009 with German partner Stallion Media. The approximately $4-million soundstage will have an accordion wall so that it can be opened up to be used as one 44,000-square-foot stage, or divided in two.

"The land has been purchased and the drawings are almost complete, and we are finalizing the financing, which is all coming from private-sector investors in Europe and Canada," says DeWalt, noting that the principals aim to begin construction in November on land about 15 minutes outside Regina. He adds that informal discussions are underway with SaskFilm (which runs the Canada Saskatchewan Production Studios) to be contracted to run the new soundstage.

A proposal for two new Nova Scotia soundstages is also in the works, to deal with the studio crunch expected with the imminent closure of Electropolis Motion Picture Studios in Halifax, which up to now has provided the province's the main soundstage.

Film Nova Scotia CEO Anne MacKenzie says Nova Scotia Power, which owns the building where Electropolis is located, is planning to turn the complex into its head office in late fall or early winter.

Tour Tech East in Dartmouth is hoping to make up for the shortfall by expanding its own studio facility. TTE president Peter Hendrickson says he has submitted proposals to all three levels of government to kick in 50% of the proposed $10 million required to build a 40,000-square-foot stage and a 5,000-square-foot studio with a 30-foot submersion tank.

"Right now we mostly do MOWs and small movies up to $20 million, but the new studios would open the door for larger productions," says Hendrickson, noting that Tour Tech is willing to put up $5 million of its own money for the expansion.