How potential U.S. film tariffs could impact Canada’s film industry

An assistant director stands by as a stunt car drives down Yonge Street, during the shooting of the movie 'Suicide Squad,' in Toronto on May 26, 2015. Film, television and digital productions contributed more than $2 billion to Toronto's economy in 2016, Mayor John Tory said Monday as he promised to streamline regulations, helping the city compete with other global destinations.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young (Chris Young/THE CANADIAN PRESS)

Potential tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump could affect the Canadian film industry.

Trump announced Sunday that he plans to impose 100 per cent tariffs on all films produced outside the U.S.

“I am authorizing the Department of Commerce, and the United States Trade Representative, to immediately begin the process of instituting a 100% Tariff on any and all Movies coming into our Country that are produced in Foreign Lands,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

Trump claimed on Truth Social that the movie industry in the U.S. is dying, and with other countries offering incentives to draw filmmakers and studios to their own country, “this is a concerted effort by other Nations and, therefore, a National Security threat.”

With details unclear on how or when these tariffs would be imposed, the Canadian Media Producers Association said Monday in a press release the incoming tariffs could cause “significant disruption and economic hardship to the media production sectors on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border.”

Particularly, Toronto and Vancouver, two major filming hubs commonly known within the industry as “Hollywood North,” could be the cities most likely to be impacted by the proposed film tariffs.

‘Devastating to the film industry’

Toronto’s film industry employs approximately 30,000 people. According to the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television, and Radio Artists (ACTRA), Ontario had more than 400 productions in 2023, which created 25,000 jobs and created $1.8 billion in economic activity.

“Hairspray,” “The Incredible Hulk,” “Good Will Hunting,” “Chicago,” and “Suicide Squad” are just some of many movies filmed in Toronto.

Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow told CP24 Monday that the tariff announcement surprised her.

“I can’t imagine what it means, what would happen to this industry” Chow said. “We also do a lot of editing work for, again, whether it’s Netflix or Primal or Disney or PBS … I can’t imagine what it means.”

Chow says she hopes something gets sorted out, adding that tariffs could devastate the film industry in both Canada and the U.S.

• Trump’s movie tariff would be ‘devastating’ for Toronto’s film industry: Chow

In January, ProdPro, a platform that tracks film and television production trends, released a report that ranks Toronto as the number one preferred location shoot by film executives.

More so, Toronto was named number one on the annual “best places to live and work as a moviemaker” by MovieMaker Magazine in 2024, which accounts for film commissions, talks with moviemakers, and research into financial incentives, cost of living, and overall happiness and in-person visits.

• Toronto is the best place to live and work as a moviemaker this year: report

“What we do provide is a film office to facilitate the making of these beautiful films right here in our incredibly diverse, world-classed city,” Chow said. “It would just make life a lot easier for the companies to be able to find the right people in the right place to do the kind of films they want.”

ACTRA Toronto released a statement Monday that the group is concerned what impacts these tariffs could have on the industry and its members.

“The stated goal is to drive production back to American soil – but the international film community is raising red flags about what this could mean for the global industry, including right here in Canada,” the statement reads.

While tariffs have not come into effect, the statement says the alliance will continue to advocate for its members for “policies that support fair, collaborative production.

Martin Katz, founder and president of the movie studio Prospero Pictures, called the proposed film tariffs “nonsensical.”

“This whole tariff situation is that it will have a chilling effect,” Katz told CTV News Channel Monday. “It’s had a chilling effect on production of automobiles, it’s had a chilling effect on all investment. People don’t know what the law is going to be from one day to the next. What element of the cost of production are you putting a tariff on? How do you calculate this tariff?”

‘We’re going to stand strong‘: B.C. premier

Vancouver placed in the top five spots on both ProdPro’s January report and MovieMaker Magazine’s 2024, which employs 26,000 people in the film industry and generated $2.7 billion in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2022, according to Creative BC.

B.C. Premier David Eby echoed Chow’s confusion and concern on the proposed film tariffs at a press conference Monday.

“The implementation challenges of this are profound and hard to understand exactly how this would work,” Eby said. “There’s no question that the president is threatening people who work in industries across British Columbia and across Canada.”

Eby says that despite what happens, the province will support the B.C. industry, praising the province’s success in attracting major talent and film and television shows to shoot in B.C.

According to Eby, popular television series “The Last of Us” and “Shogun” will both be shooting another season in B.C.

“We’re proud of the work that we do here, everything from the amazing Hallmark movies right up to the big budget productions,” Eby said. “It’s an important sector for our province and we’re going to stand strong for (film industry workers).”

‘Industry hasn’t been OK since the pandemic’

Although the proposed film tariffs could impact the Canadian film industry, Canadian Screen award-winning actress and filmmaker Aisha Evelyna says the “industry hasn’t been OK since the pandemic.”

“We did see a boom in 2022 when it comes to productions happening here,” Evelyna told CTV News Channel Monday. “However, after the writers’ strike, there’s only more uncertainty.”

Evelyna says while the proposed tariffs are “destabilizing,” she says she hopes the industry could see this as an opportunity.

“Is it possible this is an opportunity for the industry to be more self-sustainable in Canada, more self-generative?” she asked. “We have to champion us. We have the world here. We have languages. We have people. We have the ability to create really great work and find other markets.”

“This is not the first time that the arts have come under attack,” she continued. “Unfortunately, I don’t think it’ll be the last. Maybe this is just the time for us to double down and bet on Canadians and what we can do.”