Canadian film industry says he lost the plot after Trump vowed to pay tariffs on foreign films
U.S. President Donald Trump said he wanted to impose a 100% tariff on films produced nationwide, a move that could destroy Canadian cinema landscapes – but experts were shocked by how this tax works given the way the global film industry is intertwined.
Trump said in his Truth Social Post Sunday night that he directed the Commerce Department and the U.S. Trade Representative to “start immediately” the process of imposing tariffs. He has not signed an executive order yet, and the White House said on Monday that no final decision was made.
Other countries are offering various incentives to keep filmmakers and studios away from the United States, Trump wrote. ”
He continued: “Hollywood and many other parts of the United States are being tortured.”
Asked if he asked questions during his meeting with Prime Minister Mark Carney on Tuesday, Trump replied that Canada is “one of many countries” and it uses tax benefits to attract U.S. film production.
The British Columbia government warns more possible chaos due to comments from U.S. President Donald Trump. Trump said he was interested in Canada becoming the 51st state and recently spoke about the imposition of tariffs on films made outside the United States. Prime Minister David Eby said the comments were a red flag.
He provides details on how the latest planks in his tariff regime will be implemented, including whether it will affect joint production or films made entirely abroad and exhibited in the United States, not to mention those that appear on streaming services and film festivals.
Greg Denny, Canadian film producer, recent honors include apprenticea biopic about Trump was shot in Toronto, and he said that movies are rarely a product of a country.
Ontario Prime Minister Doug Ford calls on U.S. President Donald Trump to order new tariffs on films produced outside the United States. Speaking to reporters on Monday, Ford said Trump was following the world and called the president “incredible.”
“We’re not creating a good one here,” he asked. “This is a country where many countries always work together to create material and content…this is not what I see, you can impose tariffs. ”
The announcement also drew quick reprimand from a alliance of the Canadian Association of Media Producers (CMPA) and a Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA).
British Columbia Prime Minister David Eby called the proposal “uncomprehensible” and Ontario’s Doug Ford lamented” [Trump]” every day.
Why Hollywood Goes North
Like the rest of the economy, the Canadian film industry is closely intertwined with the film industry of the southern neighbors. Oscar winners like it Titanic,,,,, Resurrection agent and Juno All shot on Canadian soil at least; Hollywood filmmakers from Guillermo del Toro to Christopher Nolan have made several films here.
This means Canada is also vulnerable to crises originating from Hollywood, such as the 2023 American Writers Association and SAG-AFTRA strike, which further hurt an industry that is still recovering from the pandemic-related closures.
According to experts, Canada is very attractive to American filmmakers. The film production workforce is skilled but has a lower payment cost, and Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary and Halifax are often used as backups for other cities in the United States, Europe and Asia. According to Mayor Olivia Chow, U.S. film production has created 30,000 jobs, with $2.6 billion in economic impact in Toronto alone.
On top of that, the federal government offers a 16% refundable tax credit to attract foreign production from Hollywood and elsewhere to Canada.
The province also has its own tax benefits, some of which (such as Ontario) can be coordinated with federal credit. Meanwhile, BC announced just a few months ago that it would raise its production tax incentives and provide a $2 billion bonus for spending massive production in the province.
CBC News responded to several major studios in the United States, but no one responded. Trump said on Monday that he would meet with the industry to discuss the proposal.
“I don't want to hurt the industry. I want to help,” he said. “I want to make sure they're happy with it because we're all about work.”
“Consumers still want to consume”
Charlie Keil, a professor at the University of Toronto Film Institute, said the American film industry, Exodus from Canada, will have a “destructive impact” on the domestic sector.
But it's hard to know how a tariff like Trump's proposed will be imposed and the movies that will apply.
“There is a whole range here, mainly between films made in the United States, but there may be some post-production work in another country, which is a film that is completely made in another country,” he said.
There is another question about who will absorb the tariff costs. Keil said a more expensive movie ticket may not be with the audience after years of price increases and hidden junk fees.
This means that the drama owner will eat the cost themselves or distribute the cost with the distributor, which will make production more expensive. Kyle noted that given that global box office is very important to blockbuster success, retaliatory tariffs will make things more complicated.
What about our streaming service? Netflix, for example, has had success with content made in foreign countries – a major distributor of Oscar fares, such as Spain Snow and South Korea OKJA.
Noah Segal, co-president of Toronto-based film publisher Elevation Pictures, said the main streamers are unlikely to join Trump’s proposal.
“I think they want to get localized content because they know there is a certain [niches] They cannot browse American content. ” he said.
But if the United States imposes global tariffs on other filmmaking countries, Sigal believes that this may be a boon for Canadian domestic industries.
“If there is less satisfaction, consumers still want to consume as much as consumers want to consume. So this could be a great opportunity for Canadian content, Canadian culture and Canadian industries,” he said.
