2024 Just for Laughs comedy festival cancelled, company seeks creditor protection

The Montreal company that operates the Just for Laughs comedy festival has cancelled the 2024 edition of the event after filing a notice of intention to make a proposal to creditors — a formal process under Canada’s Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act. 

Seventy-five people were laid off Tuesday morning, according to a festival spokesperson, who called the company’s financial situation “unsustainable.” 

The company cited lost revenues during two years of the global pandemic and challenges facing the media industry, particularly reduced budgets at networks and streaming platforms, as reasons for restructuring. 

In a news release sent Tuesday, Groupe Juste pour rire inc. (JPR), said it plans to “maintain JPR’s operations, albeit in a scaled-down format” as organizers restructure the event. 

“Once the restructuring is completed, we hope that the festival will take place in 2025,” the statement reads.

Festival shows cancelled: 

• Messmer.
• Neev.
• Eve Côté.
• Jean-Sébastien Girard.
• Louis T. 
• Mélanie Couture.
• Waitress.

Ticket holders can get refunds either through the venue where they purchased the tickets, or through their credit card company if the tickets were purchased directly through Just for Laughs or on a ticket sales platform.

Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante said she will be asking workers at the city of Montreal to contact JFL and assess its plans for a “flagship event” of Montreal’s cultural scene.  

“We will miss the Just For Laughs Festival this summer,” Plante said on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Comedy is an integral part of our culture and we will continue to support it.”