ACTRA (the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists) is calling for urgent action from the Canadian government to bolster support for the country’s film and television industry — including implementing the CRTC’s 15 per cent Canadian programming expenditure requirement for online streaming services, which the government recently asked the regulator to review.
The performers union is calling on the government to bolster domestic production with stronger, predictable financial support for Canadian producers, stories and creative talent, as well as diversify internationally by attracting more productions and investment from markets around the world, rather than relying heavily on the United States.
ACTRA’s call for action comes a day after U.S. President Donald Trump expressed his support for the passage of a federal film and TV tax incentive by the U.S. Congress in a Truth Social message on Monday. In the message, Trump wrote: “I am going to suggest that Republicans and Democrats get together, and immediately craft Legislation to save the Movie, Television, and Entertainment Business in America. Congress should approve, immediately, a Federal Production Incentive to create Entertainment Jobs in America.”
In a press release Tuesday, ACTRA said: “U.S. President Donald Trump’s demand for a federal film and television production incentive is a stark reminder that governments around the world understand the strategic importance of a strong domestic screen industry. While nothing has yet been decided in the United States, the message to Canada should be unmistakable: we must bolster our domestic industry immediately.”
Noting that Canada’s film and TV industry contributes nearly $12 billion to the country’s GDP and supports more than 181,000 Canadian jobs, ACTRA said the industry is “an economic powerhouse that deserves the same strategic attention the government gives to other major Canadian industries such as automotive, steel, and dairy.”
ACTRA said if Canada does not strengthen its domestic screen industry with Canadian stories made by Canadian storytellers, it risks one of two outcomes — “American productions electing to stay in the U.S. as a result of their own tax-incentives, hollowing out our production ecosystem; or they stay, leaving Canada increasingly dependent on a single foreign client for the health of our industry.”
“It’s now more important than ever, that Canada keeps its focus on producing more Canadian stories here at home,” ACTRA National President Eleanor Noble said in a statement. “Canada must support its own industry, and we must carve out our own place in the world.”
ACTRA has joined with other members of the Canadian screen industry — including the Canadian Media Producers Association, the Directors Guild of Canada, the Writers Guild of Canada, and advocacy group Friends of Canadian Media, among others — in a public campaign backing Ottawa’s decision to walk away from trade negotiations with the U.S. last month, reportedly due in part to U.S. efforts to restrict Canada’s protections of language and culture.
Following the collapse of trade negotiations, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer pushed back against claims the U.S. had taken issue with Canadian rules to ensure French-language content is easily discoverable on streaming platforms.
In response, Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc said the federal government welcomed the U.S. “withdrawing” its position on discoverability and “confirming that measures to promote French language and Canadian culture will not be subject to future U.S. trade actions,” in a statement posted on X, according to a CBC report.
