A woman walks by the Just for Laughs festival at the Quartier du Spectacle, on July 16, 2021 in Montreal.Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press
Montreal-based Just for Laughs Group, the organizer of one of the world’s pre-eminent and influential comedy festivals, has cancelled this year’s event, announcing it is seeking creditor protection under Canada’s Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act.
In a statement Tuesday, Just for Laughs (JFL), or Juste pour rire (JPR) in French, cited COVID-19 and inflation in recent years as the key factors in its decision, which it said resulted in the layoff of most of its staff.
“The global pandemic forced us to effectively cease operations for two years, with significantly reduced revenue, while carrying nearly all of the associated overhead costs,” JFL said. The inflation that followed meant that “our cost structure increased appreciably, exerting unprecedented financial strains on the organization.”
The board of directors “came to the conclusion that the financial situation of the organization left no other choice than to initiate formal restructuring proceedings.”
Arts and culture organizations across the country have found themselves in a financial bind. After COVID-19 restrictions, inflation pushed up production costs, and the continuing rise in real-estate costs in many cities has made venue rentals difficult for the performing arts. Such economic pressures have been acutely felt by grassroots touring musicians and smaller theatre companies in particular, but even larger events have not been immune.
JFL, founded in 1983, describes its Montreal festival as “the world’s largest and most prestigious comedy event, welcoming more than 2 million people each summer.”
Over the years, the festival has hosted performances by Jerry Seinfeld, Jim Carrey, Sarah Silverman, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Aziz Ansari, Seth Rogen, Chevy Chase, among other big names. The event’s New Faces of Comedy showcase is known industry-wide and gave lesser-known talent a platform to be discovered by television and movie producers.
The 2023 edition of the festival had 250 shows in 25 downtown Montreal venues, bringing together some 1,700 artists from 19 countries.
JFL said Tuesday that it faces some of the same challenges as the rest of the media industry.
“Consolidation and reduced budgets at the networks and streaming platforms have made television production more challenging,” its statement says.
The company said it plans “to maintain JPR’s operations, albeit in a scaled-down format, throughout the restructuring process.” But its customary comedy festival will not take place in 2024, “at least not at the same time and in the same form as it customarily has,” the group said. “Once the restructuring is completed, we hope that the festival will take place in 2025.”
JFL spokesperson Julien Provencher-Proulx, of public relations firm National, said 75 people were laid off Tuesday, representing about 70 per cent of the company’s employees.
Other related shows and tours were also cancelled, Mr. Provencher-Proulx said. They include the Waitress musical shows scheduled in Montreal and Quebec City; magician Mesmer’s shows scheduled during the 2024 Just for Laughs Festival; and the tours of comedians Neev, Eve Côté, Jean-Sébastien Girard, Louis T and Mélanie Couture.
Mr. Provencher-Proulx said people who purchased tickets from venues could get reimbursed through the venues themselves, while those who purchased tickets from JFL or through platforms such as Ticketmaster have to contact their credit card company to get a refund.
Some artists were already at work to save their shows Tuesday. Valérie De Launière, manager for Ms. Côté, said in an interview that she was confident the tour would not, in fact, be cancelled and declined to further comment. Marilou Hainault, manager of Louis T, said she learned of the cancellation by reading the news and was also confident the tour could be saved.
Erika Alneus, who is responsible for cultural matters on Montreal’s executive committee, said in a statement that the city “is proud to have supported the Just for Laughs Festival and we will quickly contact the organization to assess the planned follow-up.”
She added: “Humour is a distinctive element of the Montreal cultural scene and we hope that the group’s restructuring efforts will allow it to continue to offer Montreal programming.”
Mathieu Lacombe, Quebec’s Minister of Culture and Communications, said on X, formerly Twitter, that he is “aware of the difficult situation in which our Quebec festivals currently are.” Mr. Lacombe said he and Caroline Proulx, Quebec’s Minister of Tourism, “are monitoring the situation closely.”
Three big investors currently control the Just for Laughs Group. Creative Artists Agency, an American talent and sports agency, owns 49 per cent of the shares. Montreal-based event promoter Evenko, owned by Montreal Canadiens ownership group Groupe CH, owns a 26-per-cent stake. Bell Media owns 25 per cent.
Quebec businessman Geoff Molson, whose family controls Groupe CH, is one of JFL’s five board members, records show. The entertainment company is led by President Bruce Hills.
JFL was founded by Gilbert Rozon. He sold his majority stake in the company in 2018 after allegations of sexual misconduct and assault against him. He was acquitted of charges of rape and indecent assault in 2020.
With files from Nicolas Van-Praet and Josh O’Kane