Latest news with #BillC-11
National Post
05-05-2025
- Business
- National Post
Effect on Canadian industry could be widespread after Trump threatens tariffs on films
Article content U.S. productions come to Canada because of great locations, a cheaper dollar and well trained local talent, he said, none of which tariffs will impact in the short term. Bringing production back to America means 'less will be made and prices will be higher; therefore you'll have to charge consumers more. Once again, tariffs will affect the consumer more than anybody.' Article content Keil noted that other countries have tried to push back against an influx of American films with tariffs and other methods. China famously has an annual quota on how many U.S. films that can be screened there, which it recently reduced in response to U.S. tariffs in other sectors. Article content 'There's been a whole arsenal deployed against a behemoth,' he said of other countries' efforts. 'This is the behemoth turning around and saying we want more for what is still for them a fairly lucrative industry to be taking place on domestic land.' Article content The effect on the Canadian film industry could be widespread, he suggested. Article content 'Our industry is very much a supplemental service industry. We are kept afloat by the fact that we are the service industry of choice for many American-made entertainment products.' He added that Australia, the U.K. and much of eastern Europe are in a similar position. 'All of those industries would be damaged by this.' Article content Article content Justin Rebelo, CEO of Canadian studio Vortex Media, said the threat of tariffs highlights the need for Canadians to invest in the domestic industry. He noted that the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission is holding hearings this month and next on regulations for Bill C-11, the Online Streaming Act, which became law in 2023. It amends the Broadcasting Act to include digital platforms, and gives the CRTC new powers with a goal of promoting Canadian cultural expression. Article content 'I think it's really important for Canadians to continue to have … the right to own their own (intellectual property) and their own content, and I think it's really important that all platforms that are existing here in Canada have an obligation and a requirement to invest in Canadian content. This only continues to escalate and highlight that importance.' Article content On Trump's specific announcement, he said: 'For now I think it's just very vague. I'm not sure what else to say except that the devil will be in the details.' Article content A similar tone was taken by Reynolds Mastin, President and CEO of the Canadian Media Producers Association. Article content 'While specific details are far from clear at this point, the proposed actions outlined in U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement will cause significant disruption and economic hardship to the media production sectors on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border,' he said in a statement to National Post. Article content 'Yesterday's announcement, and the uncertainty it has caused, underscore the incredible importance of ensuring that Canada has a strong, independent domestic media industry. We look forward to making this case at the upcoming CRTC C-11 hearings.' Article content Segal suggested that a federal-level tax credit in the U.S. could help move more production back home, more efficiently than a tariff. 'I understand that (Trump) is noticing there's a problem, so good on him. But bad on him for trying to take a complicated problem and oversimplify it. At first blush, that approach won't work for anybody.' Taking the example of Deadpool & Wolverine, which was shot in Canada, he said that if tariffs go into effect: 'Disney will still make Deadpool. It'll just cost 25 to 30 per cent more.' Article content
CBC
01-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
Calgary film industry optimistic for recovery after North America-wide slowdown
Southern Alberta residents can expect to see plenty of cameras and production crews over the coming months and years, according to some Calgary film industry insiders. After the 2023 Hollywood strikes cooled off local production, Calgary Economic Development (CED) received more scouting package requests in the first quarter of 2025 than any other Q1 in the last decade. It's a good indication that Alberta's Rocky Mountain views are in high demand, said CED president and CEO Brad Parry, with some of the biggest companies in the industry ramping up production again. "Netflix has a number of projects they're shopping around," Parry said. "We know Paramount, we know Apple, there's a lot of people that have a lot of pent-up projects now, that are going to start to, I think, hit the ground soon." The Directors Guild of Canada tracks ongoing productions by pay rates. Three projects currently in production in Alberta fall in their 'Tier A' category — which generally means they're higher budget productions, said Michelle Wong, a film industry consultant based in Calgary. One is a film adaptation of Reminders of Him, a romance novel by New York Times bestselling author Colleen Hoover. The third season of Billy the Kid, a western series produced by MGM+, is also filming around Calgary. "At first we thought maybe there would be a bit of a downer year," said Wong. "We're seeing actually something of maintaining what was last year, and maybe a slight tick up actually." Wong credits a shaky Canadian dollar and more resources available for Indigenous productions for the strong start to 2025. Bill C-11, which passed in April 2023, specifies Canadian broadcasters must provide opportunities to Indigenous people to produce programming, and has helped increase the amount of content produced by Indigenous filmmakers, said Wong. Uncertainty created by U.S. trade policy is also having an impact, Parry said, but Calgary's film industry is also becoming less reliant on American productions by welcoming projects from other markets. "Especially at the end of last year, we had a lot of projects coming from Korea," he said. "Now you're starting to see a few more of the European countries also start to look for ways to get some different vistas to shoot." Hundreds of union members out of work The head of the film industry union's Calgary branch says the provincial government could take steps to help stabilize the local industry. Damien Petti, president of IATSE Local 212, notes that of the more than 1,500 members available to work in film and television production, only about 65 per cent are currently employed. "Many people have a plan B and a supportive spouse," he said on The Calgary Eyeopener on Monday. "There's always been peaks and valleys, but there are a number of other factors that have changed rapidly," he added, referring to an increase in the number of tax incentives offered in other countries, meaning Canada now faces greater competition to attract big projects. He wants to see the province increase its base 22 per cent tax credit on production costs to 25 per cent. In a statement, Ministry of Finance press secretary Justin Brattinga said that Alberta's Film and Television Tax Credit Act was amended last year to widen its application window, expand the number of eligible production genres and offer additional access to the higher tax credit level for productions filming in rural and remote parts of the province. "Going forward, Alberta's government is monitoring developments in other jurisdictions and will continue to take steps to ensure the FTTC program remains competitive," Brattinga said in a statement. The long-running western drama Heartland has been renewed for a 19th season, Petti said, also teasing that other big projects are on the way that he can't yet reveal.
