'It's disconcerting': Proposed Trump tariffs prompt worry for N.S. film industry

CBC News

· Posted: May 06, 2025 4:56 PM EDT | Last Updated: 5 minutes ago

A movie shaper and erstwhile seat of Screen Nova Scotia says U.S. President Donald Trump's proposed 100 per cent tariff connected overseas movies could origin chaos for the movie manufacture successful Nova Scotia.

"I person to accidental that it's disconcerting," Marc Almon told CBC's Maritime Noon on Monday.

"We're not truly definite what the interaction is going to be, but it's not looking bully for overseas work accumulation that takes spot present successful Nova Scotia and beyond."

Trump announced Sunday nighttime in a Truth Social station that helium wants to enforce a 100 per cent tariff connected each movies made extracurricular the United States.

He 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.

But it has caused considerable worry for the Canadian movie industry.

Almon said tariffs could deter overseas producers from making films successful Nova Scotia.

"It's going to beryllium hard to antagonistic these tariffs. I mean, the movie manufacture truly relies connected certainty. They privation to cognize that they tin person a reliable enactment web for the instauration of their content," helium said.

"And what I'm disquieted astir is that this is going to nonstop a chill done overseas producers who would usually travel present to Nova Scotia oregon to Canada."

Almon said the manufacture contributes astir $150 cardinal to $200 cardinal to the provincial economy each year, with fractional of that from overseas work production.

Trump's announcement comes aft the province added $38 cardinal to the Nova Scotia Film and Television Production Incentive Fund successful December to heighten the section industry. That brought the fund's full to $77 cardinal for the 2024-25 fund period.

The money offers economical incentives for screen-based contented successful 2 streams — 1 for productions with bulk Nova Scotian ownership and different for planetary oregon out-of-province ownership.

Barry Hertz, lawman arts exertion and movie exertion for the Globe and Mail, told CBC's Information Morning that not lone would Trump's program negatively impact the Canadian movie industry, but it's besides unrealistic.

"It's conscionable impractical. The plan, oregon the conception of a program that was enactment guardant successful his Truth Social station connected Sunday evening doesn't code thousands of tiny details that spell into however a accumulation similar a diagnostic movie is made," said Hertz.

It's unclear whether tariffs would use to the afloat outgo of a film, container bureau summons income oregon streaming subscriptions. Major U.S. studios and the Motion Picture Association person yet to comment.

In his societal media post, Trump accused different countries of hurting the U.S. movie manufacture by luring productions distant with incentives.

Hertz acknowledged that while fewer radical are moving successful the film manufacture successful the U.S., determination person been suggestions brought guardant that could beryllium utilized alternatively of tariffs. 

"A batch of radical person projected much tenable solutions to that, whether it's connected the authorities level of taxation incentives oregon immoderate benignant of subsidy connected the national level, which a batch of radical are pushing for that would bash it," said Hertz.

Amid the uncertainty, Almon said the Canadian manufacture needs to go little reliant connected the U.S. 

"We request to look astatine making changes to our home movie manufacture and however Canadians devour content. We request to marque definite that that changes with the times and I deliberation that we request to truly absorption connected gathering that manufacture truthful that it's much resilient," helium said.

Almon suggested these changes should see taxing overseas streaming services that are operating successful Canada and creating intelligence spot wrong the country. 

"The Canadian authorities needs to measurement successful and instrumentality power of the concern truthful that our manufacture tin past threats similar this one," helium said.