Ubisoft took nearly C$977 million in tax credits before closing Halifax studio
Documents show Ubisoft received about C$977 million in federal and provincial tax credits from 2020–2024. The Halifax studio closed and 71 staff were laid off three weeks after union certification.
Copy link
By Torontoer Staff
Documents shared by Communications Workers of America Canada show Ubisoft received 605.6 million euros, roughly C$977 million, in federal and provincial tax credits between 2020 and 2024. The disclosure comes after Ubisoft closed its Halifax studio and laid off 71 employees three weeks after staff voted to unionize.
The union released the figures following a Wednesday meeting with Ubisoft in which union leaders say the company offered no financial documents or concrete plans to relocate affected employees. CWA Canada has filed a complaint with the Nova Scotia Labour Board, alleging the closure was intended to avoid dealing with a newly certified union.
What the documents show
The numbers come from French senate documents cited by CWA Canada. They indicate Ubisoft collected 605.6 million euros in Canadian federal and provincial tax credits from 2020 to 2024, an amount the union says is significantly higher than subsidies the company received in France over the same period.
- 605.6 million euros, about C$977 million, in Canadian tax credits, 2020–2024
- Approximately C$11 million in tax credits from Nova Scotia since 2017
- 71 employees laid off when the Halifax studio was closed
- Closure announced three weeks after Halifax workers voted to unionize
Union response and the meeting with Ubisoft
CWA Canada says Ubisoft representatives attended a meeting without documentation about the studio closure and without a placement plan for displaced staff. The union pressed the company to secure work for affected employees, either remotely or at other Canadian studios.
Ubisoft came to the table with nothing. No documentation proving financial distress, and no plan to find work at other Ubisoft operations or increase severance.
Carmel Smyth, CWA Canada president
Union materials also raised concerns about employees on parental leave being told they would not qualify for proposed severance notice pay in full. The union characterised that as unfair treatment and included the issue in its complaint to the labour board.
It’s outrageous that a company can take hundreds of millions in tax breaks, public money, and then shut down an operation and lay off workers.
Carmel Smyth, CWA Canada president
Government funding and political reaction
The Nova Scotia NDP publicised an open letter from labour critic Paul Wozney to Labour Minister Nolan Young that calls for stronger worker protections and tighter conditions on corporate subsidies. The party highlighted about C$11 million in provincial tax credits Ubisoft has received since 2017, including C$1.78 million in 2025.
Workers deserve better than our weak labour laws and a government that hands over public money to a company that treats their workers this way.
Paul Wozney, Nova Scotia NDP labour critic
CWA Canada has asked governments to impose stricter conditions on corporate subsidies, including repayment clauses if a company closes or significantly downsizes operations that benefited from public money.
What happens next
The Nova Scotia Labour Board will review the complaint alleging the studio closure was linked to union certification. The union is pushing for job placements, full severance for affected workers, and changes to subsidy rules to prevent similar outcomes.
Ubisoft employs about 17,000 people worldwide and maintains Canadian studios in Toronto, Winnipeg and Quebec. The company did not respond to a request for comment from the union prior to publication.
The closure in Halifax and the newly disclosed subsidy totals have renewed calls for clearer conditions on public investments and stronger labour protections, and the case is likely to influence future discussions on corporate subsidies and union rights in Canada.
UbisoftNova Scotialabourtax creditsvideo gamesunion
