The U.S. is considering a federal tax incentive for films.
asserted
U.S. → consider → films
How might that affect Canada?
uncertain
that → affect → Canada
Trump name-dropped Canada in proposal to keep Hollywood projects filming in U.S.
Lights go up this week at the Toronto International Film Festival, a celebrated event exemplifying Canada’s place in the global film industry.
asserted
Lights → drop → industry
But with the U.S. considering a national incentive program to keep film productions in the U.S., could Canada — home to many U.S.-based film sets — see its film industry profile change?
uncertain
Canada → consider → change
U.S. President Donald Trump said last week there is bipartisan support to create a federal tax incentive to keep film production in the U.S. and stop it from moving “to Canada and other Countries.”
asserted
Trump → say → Canada
“[The U.S. film industry] is being dissipated in its entirety,” he wrote after a meeting with actor Jon Voigt.
asserted
he → dissipate → Voigt
There is no incentive to be there, and it is hurting California very badly."
asserted
it → be → California
The prospective legislation, which Trump dubbed the Motion Picture, Television and Entertainment Revitalization Act, is making waves among film professionals and advocates in the U.S. who have been calling for years for these investments.
asserted
who → dub → investments
Jobs have certainly been disappearing from Hollywood’s original hub.
asserted
Jobs → disappear → hub
Employment in Los Angeles County’s film and television sector was down roughly 26 per cent at the end of 2025 compared to the end of 2010 and down 38 per cent compared to a mid-2022 high, according to the Otis College of Art and Design.
uncertain
Employment → compare → Art
In 2025, there were 8,581 total shoot days for feature film and TV productions in Greater Los Angeles, a 61 per cent drop from 2021, according to FilmLA, which tracks production volume in L.A. and beyond.
uncertain
which → be → L.A.
Trump’s announcement might make you think that Canada — which has long been a popular filming destination for international productions, many of which are helmed by U.S. companies — is sucking up the majority of these productions and jobs.
uncertain
many → make → productions
But while industry data shows an overall decline in TV production, those that are being made are frequently finding homes not only in L.A., but also other American states and the U.K.
Roughly 25 per cent of U.S.-scripted TV series distributed in 2024 were filmed in Los Angeles, according to FilmLA, with 12.5 per cent filmed in the U.K., 9.6 per cent in the state of Georgia and 8.4 per cent in British Columbia.
The U.K. beat Canadian provinces as a filming jurisdiction for streaming TV series, cable TV series and movies with theatrical releases in 2024.
uncertain
U.K. → show → 2024
Canada only came out on top in made-for-TV movies — roughly 26 per cent of TV films distributed in 2024 were filmed in B.C., FilmLA found.
asserted
FilmLA → come → B.C.
So if Canada isn’t absorbing the lion’s share of film and TV productions by U.S. studios, why are we getting highlighted in messaging from Trump?
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we → absorb → Trump
Canada vs. U.S. for location
This is an old battleground for U.S. politicians, Hollywood labour groups and Canada, going back to the 1990s and early 2000s.
asserted
This → go → 1990s
Canada became one of the first countries in 1997 to implement a federal tax credit to attract foreign productions.
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Canada → become → productions
It differed from previous tactics, such as New York opening film offices in the 1960s and assisting productions with permits, by being a direct financial incentive that covered a percentage of qualifying Canadian labour on sets.
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that → differ → sets
It was quickly followed by a B.C. incentive.
asserted
It → follow → incentive
“They were really large enough that Hollywood took notice and packed up and really did go to Vancouver in the late '90s,” Jade Miller, an associate professor in communication studies at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ont., told CBC News.
asserted
Miller → take → News
It whipped up fury south of the border, sparking protests in Hollywood and a call endorsed by the Screen Actors Guild (SAG), the actors union, in 2001 for countervailing tariffs against U.S. productions that had filmed in Canada with the aid of subsidies.
asserted
that → whip → subsidies
The Director's Guild of America and SAG commissioned a report claiming the U.S. economy had lost billions in 1998 due to U.S. producers filming abroad, predominantly in Canada.
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producers → commission → Canada
The Canadian film industry hit back with its own figures, claiming the U.S. had inflated the numbers, rejecting the framing that Canada was stealing business that "belongs" in the U.S. and pointing out that Canada was putting money into Hollywood.
asserted
Canada → hit → Hollywood
There have been cases of Canada winning a production that would have otherwise filmed in the U.S. — Ang Lee wanted to film the Oscar-winning film Brokeback Mountain in Wyoming, but went with Alberta because financial incentives and film infrastructure in Wyoming couldn’t compete, Alberta producer Tom Cox said in 2006.
asserted
Cox → win → 2006
But opponents of Canada's incentives ultimately decided the best way to defeat them was to join them.
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way → decide → them
U.S. states and countries around the world rushed to implement or expand their own tax incentive programs.
asserted
states → rush → programs
In Canada, nearly every province has an incentive program, usually in the form of tax credits.
asserted
province → have → credits
The majority of U.S. states have their own tax credits, including one in California that was expanded last year.
asserted
that → have → California
- Video
Microdramas are on the rise, and they’re being made in Canada
- COMMOTION
asserted
they → make → Canada
Do Canadian films have a visibility problem?
asserted
films → have → problem
“There was a very brief period in time when it was like Canada stood out from everyone else with the biggest tax incentives, and they were the first there,” Miller said.
But with financial incentives now available across the globe, and the U.K. snagging large film productions such as the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday, it’s unclear why Canada is getting the majority of the heat from the U.S.
uncertain
Canada → be → U.S.
“It is just political rhetoric,” Miller said.
asserted
Miller → say → ?
Cynthia Littleton, editor in chief of Variety, told CBC News this new move from Trump comes “in the context of midterm elections in November that … will have a huge impact on the future of Congress and the second half of Trump’s second term.”
asserted
that → tell → term
She added that “there is a swell of trying to save American manufacturing, and this is a form of American manufacturing.”
asserted
this → add → manufacturing
Trump has hit out against the film industry during trade tensions with Canada before.
asserted
Trump → hit → Canada
In May 2025, Trump said he would institute a 100 per cent tariff on movies filmed outside the U.S., but did not follow through on the threat.
uncertain
he → say → threat
What’s to come for film sets in Canada?
asserted
What → come → Canada
It’s not clear how a U.S. federal incentive could impact Canada, Reynolds Mastin, president and CEO of the Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA), told CBC News.
uncertain
Mastin → ’ → News
In 2024/25, foreign film and TV productions generated more than 97,000 jobs in Canada, according to the CMPA.
uncertain
productions → generate → CMPA
“This is a huge industry we're talking about.
asserted
we → talk → ?
…and 10 more, not listed.
The Aporia
