After Trump vows tariffs on foreign movies, the Canadian film industry says he's lost the plot

Jenna Benchetrit · CBC News

· Posted: May 06, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 7 minutes ago

U.S. President Donald Trump says helium wants to enforce a 100 per cent tariff connected movies produced extracurricular the country, a determination that could devastate the Canadian movie scenery — but experts are scratching their heads implicit however specified a taxation would work, fixed however intertwined the planetary movie manufacture is.

Trump, successful a Truth Social station on Sunday night, said helium directed the Department of Commerce and the U.S. Trade Representative to "immediately statesman the process" of imposing the tariff. He hasn't signed an enforcement order, and the White House said connected Monday that nary last decisions had been made.

Other countries "are offering each sorts of incentives to gully retired filmmakers and studios distant from the United States," Trump wrote. 

"Hollywood, and galore different areas wrong the U.S.A., are being devastated," helium went on, framing it arsenic a substance of nationalist security.

Asked if he'd interval the contented during his gathering with Prime Minister Mark Carney connected Tuesday, Trump responded that Canada is "only 1 of galore countries" that uses taxation incentives to lure U.S. movie productions. 

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He offered fewer details connected what this latest plank successful his tariff authorities would entail, oregon however it would beryllium executed — including whether it would interaction co-productions, oregon films made wholly overseas and exhibited successful the U.S., not to notation those that look connected streaming services and astatine movie festivals.

Greg Denny, a Canadian movie shaper whose astir caller credits include The Apprentice, a biopic astir Trump that was partially changeable successful Toronto, says movies are seldom the merchandise of a azygous country.

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"We're not creating a bully here. We're creating a movie. How bash you enactment a tariff connected apical of that?" helium asked. "This is galore countries moving unneurotic astatine each times, creating footage and content... It's not truly thing I spot you tin enactment a tariff on."

The announcement besides drew swift rebukes from the Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA) and the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA), the actors' union. 

B.C. Premier David Eby called the connection "incredibly hard to understand," portion Ontario's Doug Ford lamented that it's "something caller with [Trump]" each day.

Why Hollywood goes north

Like different parts of its economy, Canada's movie manufacture is profoundly intertwined with that of its confederate neighbour. Oscar-winners like Titanic, The Revenant and Juno were each filmed astatine slightest partially connected Canadian soil; and Hollywood filmmakers from Guillermo Del Toro to Christopher Nolan person changeable aggregate movies here.

That means Canada is besides susceptible to crises that originate successful Hollywood, similar the 2023 Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA strikes, which further wounded an manufacture inactive recovering from pandemic-related shutdowns.

Canada is highly appealing to U.S. movie producers, according to experts. The filmmaking workforce is highly skilled, but costs little to pay, and Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary and Halifax are often utilized arsenic stand-ins for different cities successful the U.S., Europe and Asia. U.S. movie accumulation creates 30,000 jobs and has a $2.6 cardinal economical interaction successful Toronto alone, according to Mayor Olivia Chow. 

Most importantly, the national authorities offers a 16 per cent refundable taxation credit, which is utilized to pull overseas productions from Hollywood and elsewhere to Canada. 

Provinces besides person their ain taxation incentives, immoderate of which — similar Ontario's — tin beryllium harmonized with the national credit. B.C., meanwhile, announced conscionable a fewer months agone that it would up its accumulation taxation incentives, and springiness a $2 cardinal bonus to productions that walk large successful the province.

CBC News reached retired to respective large U.S. studios for their reaction, but nary person responded. Trump said connected Monday that he'd conscionable with the manufacture to sermon the proposal. 

"I'm not looking to wounded the industry. I privation to help," helium said. "I privation to marque definite they're blessed with it due to the fact that we're each astir jobs."

'The user inactive wants to consume'

Charlie Keil, prof astatine the University of Toronto's Cinema Studies Institute, says a U.S. movie manufacture exodus from Canada would person a "devastating impact" connected the home sector.

But it's hard to cognize however a tariff similar the 1 Trump is proposing would beryllium imposed, and to which movies it would apply.

"There's a full spectrum here, betwixt films that are chiefly made successful the U.S. but mightiness person immoderate post-production enactment done successful different country, to films that are wholly made by different country," helium said.

There's besides the question of who would sorb the outgo of the tariff. After years of terms hikes and hidden junk fees, a much costly movie summons apt wouldn't alert with audiences, says Keil.

That would mean theatre owners would devour the outgo themselves oregon divided it with a distributor, which would marque accumulation itself much expensive. Retaliatory tariffs would further complicate things, fixed that the planetary container bureau is profoundly important to the occurrence of a blockbuster, Keil notes.

And what astir U.S. streaming services? Netflix, for example, has seen occurrence with foreign-made content — being the superior distributor for Oscar fare similar Spain's Society of the Snow and South Korea's Okja.

Noah Segal, the co-president of the Toronto-based movie distributor Elevation Pictures, says large streamers are improbable to get connected committee with Trump's proposal.

"I deliberation that they privation to get localized contented going due to the fact that they cognize there's definite [niches] that they can't get done American content," helium said.

However, if a U.S. tariff is imposed globally connected different filmmaking countries, Segal argues that it could be a boon for Canada's home industry.

"If there's little content, the user inactive wants to devour arsenic overmuch arsenic the user wants to consume. So therefore, it whitethorn beryllium a large accidental for Canadian content, Canadian culture and Canadian industry," helium said.