B.C. film industry expresses concern over latest U.S. tariff threat
B.C. premier says not to panic, province will support industry if necessary
Those in B.C.'s film industry are preparing for what could be significant consequences from U.S. President Donald Trump's latest tariff threat.
On Sunday, Trump posted on social media to announce that he's authorized officials to impose a 100 per cent tariff on films produced outside the U.S. — including Canada.
While details about this proposal are scarce, industry stakeholders in B.C. are expressing concern for the province's film and television industry, which Creative B.C. says brought in about $2.3 billion in 2023.
Industry professionals, government collaborating on unified message
Gemma Martini, CEO and founder of Martini Film Studios and chair of Screen B.C., said that foreign film production contributes billions of dollars to the B.C. economy.
"That is a huge economic impact, should something like these tariffs be implemented," she told CBC News. "And further to that, it means that tens of thousands of people will not be working, in addition to the thousands of businesses that are somehow connected to the film industry."
Martini mentioned players like local caterers, grocery stores and dry cleaners as examples of how integrated the film industry is to B.C.'s economy.
Martini said there is ongoing collaboration between government and industry partners — such as partner studios in California — to come together and present a unified message about the proposal.
"At the end of the day, I don't think [the proposed tariffs are] actually going to achieve what's intended," she said.
She's unsure if productions in the middle of filming, such as Virgin River, would stop immediately, or when the effects of Trump's latest proposal would be felt, should it happen.
Right now, she said it's business as usual while local stakeholders work together on their unified front to push back on what could come and highlight how challenging it would be to implement.
B.C. film producer wonders why incentives aren't being considered instead
Brightlight Pictures producer Shawn Williamson also called the announcement "confusing at best" and said that it'd be challenging to do what Trump is suggesting.
"I think the industry is struggling to understand what he means," he told CBC News.
Williamson estimates around 70 to 80 per cent of production comes from foreign finances, including U.S.-financed studio shows.
"We also do shows out of Germany and the U.K., but certainly the bulk of production comes from U.S. studios," he said.
"We need the U.S. to maintain the current size and bulk and volume that we currently have, not only in Vancouver but across the country."
That said, Williamson also pointed out that what they produce isn't being physically sold, and therefore would be difficult to tariff. He said that further clarification will be needed to make sense of what potential tariffs would mean.
"I think that the Canadian film industry just needs to take a breath," said Williamson. "There is nothing to be done at the moment, I think we have to see where this falls out."
He said he's unsure why the U.S. isn't taking other steps, such as providing U.S.-based credits, similar to what's done in Canada, Europe and Australia, to incentivize production in that country.
While there are incentives at the U.S.-state level, he said there is currently nothing that exists federally.
Eby reassures sector
Speaking from Victoria on Monday, Premier David Eby called Trump's proposal "ludicrous" and "incredibly hard to understand" because the implementation challenges would be profound.
He gave the example of two versions of Netflix — one where you see a handful of American films, and another, more expensive version where you have access to "what everyone else in the world gets to see."
Eby asked those in the sector not to panic and reassured that the "president tweets a lot of stuff," but that if it did happen, the province would stand with the film industry.
The premier also mentioned that The Last of Us signed on to shoot another season, and Shōgun would be doing more filming in Port Moody, B.C. But he also said that Trump's latest target is a sign Canada needs to stand on its own two feet and reduce reliance on the U.S.
Spencer Chandra Herbert, B.C.'s minister of tourism, arts, culture and sport, told CBC News that film is an integrated industry, and needs to work collaboratively across borders.
"They may do all their camera work here but maybe they do their editing there, they might write the story there but they do all the editing here," he said. "There's a lot of that back and forth across the border, it would be very difficult to tariff."
Chandra Herbert said the proposed tariffs would not be good for the U.S. or Canada and called them "incomprehensible."
Conservative Party of B.C. Leader John Rustad was also critical of Trump's tariff threat. "When I saw that, I thought, what an arrogant SOB," he said.
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With files from Renée Lukacs, Sohrab Sandhu, BC Today and The Canadian Press