Alberta Photography / Videography Licensing Fees

Dear {Insert MLA},

I am writing to express my concern over the increased licensing costs of travelling vendors. Event and wedding vendors have been disproportionately affected by this pandemic, and licensing costs for several municipalities has been an issue they have faced for some time. Combined with the current economic climate, changes desperately need to be made.

We have a unique problem in Alberta, one our Provincial government and clients don’t even seem to be aware of. As a photographer, we are required to purchase business licenses in every single municipality we work in. That means that, as a resident of Edmonton, I am required to purchase a Home-Based Business License for Edmonton, but then must purchase Non-Resident Licenses for surrounding areas like Spruce Grove, St. Albert, Fort Saskatchewan, Leduc etc. That amounts to $2,531 in annual licensing costs and 9 separate business license applications just for Edmonton and locations within 50km of Edmonton. You can imagine how frustrating this is for wedding photographers who are expected to travel to 3 different municipalities in one day to photograph one wedding.

We are required to apply for separate business licenses in the National Parks AND in the towns in those National Parks. Mountain towns are also now introducing new film permit fees that didn’t apply before. Wedding photographers are NOT “commercial” photographers, yet we are expected to pay the same fees that commercial photographers do, when we make disproportionately less than commercial photographers do, and our scope of work is completely different.

All of these licensing fees result in greater fees passed on to our clients. Businesses operating illegally are able to offer very low pricing while the legally-run businesses are priced too high in this market, resulting in fewer clientele and the failure of legally operating small businesses.

I have attached a list below of some of the towns and cities in Alberta and the associated licensing fees. I took the liberty of doing the math, and JUST for the cities on that list, a photographer that lives in Edmonton, but works Alberta-wide, is looking at $9,026 in annual licensing fees and 21 different license applications… and there are only a fraction of Albertan towns on that list. The average salary for a photographer in Canada is $39,000 per year.

This seems to be a uniquely rare problem for our Albertan small businesses, but again, disproportionately affects us. Photographers and videographers all across the country do NOT have this same problem, no other province charges photographers licensing fees in every single municipality they photograph in.

As a government that campaigned and ran on cutting red tape for businesses with Bill 25 – the Red Tape Reduction Implementation Act, myself, my clients, and my colleagues from across the province are urging our MLA’s to come together to rectify this problem. Are we not all Albertan? Should we not be able to photograph our loyal clientele regardless of where they choose to get married? We feel we should be expected to purchase a Business License in the municipality our business primarily operates and resides in, not in every single municipality in the Province.

I look forward to your timely response on this matter.

Sincerely yours,

{Insert Name and Company}

Please see attached Business License Fees for SOME Albertan towns and cities below.

Business License Fees:

City of Edmonton

Resident Business License: $244.00

Non-Resident License: $559.00 + $244.00 General Business

St. Albert

Resident Business License: $141.00

Non-Resident License: $683.00

Spruce Grove

Resident Business License: $260.00

Non-Resident License: $212.50

Temporary 3-Day License: $55.00

Fort Saskatchewan

Resident Business License: $200.00

Non-Resident License: $300.00

Leduc

Resident Business License: $154.00

Non-Resident License: $308.00

Devon

Resident Business License: $25.00

Non-Resident License: $250.00

Gibbons

Resident Business License: $100.00

Non-Resident License: $150.00

Morinville

Resident Business License: $100.00

Non-Resident License: $231.00

Redwater

Resident Business License: $35.00

Non-Resident License: $150.00

City of Calgary

Resident Photographer Business License: $172.00

Non-Resident License: $768.00

Red Deer

Resident Business License: $111.60

Non-Resident License: $433.90

Non-Resident License (short term, 4 months): $180.80

Airdrie

Resident Business License: $128.00

Non-Resident License: $357.00

Temporary Business (3-day): $102.00

Medicine Hat

Non-Resident License: $1,800

Temporary Business (1-day): $180.00

Grande Prairie

Resident Business License: $200.00

Non-Resident License: $420.00

Temporary Non-resident (3 day): $75.00

Canmore (Town)

Resident Business License: $130.00

Non-Resident License: $600.00

Monthly Non-Resident: $150.00

Temporary Non-Resident (3 Days): $75.00

Film/Photographer Permit: $100/shoot

Kananaskis

Non-resident License: $180.00

Town of Banff

Resident Business License: $180.00

Non-Resident License: $897.00

Non-Resident 1 Day: $223.00

Banff National Park

Non-Resident License: $196.20 + $2 million liability insurance and proof of local license

Hinton

Resident Business License: $160.00

Non-Resident License: $285.00

Temporary (7 days max): $25/day

Town of Jasper

Non-Resident License: $168.00

Jasper National Park

Non-Resident License: $196.20 + $2 million liability insurance and proof of local license