{"id":5127,"date":"2026-02-19T13:43:11","date_gmt":"2026-02-19T13:43:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/convergencemag\/?p=5127"},"modified":"2026-02-24T19:53:46","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T19:53:46","slug":"its-time-for-canada-to-rise-within-their-film-industry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/convergencemag\/its-time-for-canada-to-rise-within-their-film-industry\/","title":{"rendered":"It\u2019s\u00a0time for Canada to rise\u00a0within\u00a0their film industry\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By: Annays Medeiros<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI am authorizing the Department of Commerce, and the United States Trade Representative, to immediately begin the process of instituting a 100% Tariff on any and all Movies coming into our Country that are produced in Foreign Lands.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That was U.S. President Donald Trump\u2019s  social media post<\/a> on May 2025, telling American film industries to stop filmming outside the U.S. The proposed prohibition was vague and unspecific, but it was enough to make most people in the industry to worry about the hit the Canadian film industry might take. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matthew Kennedy, program coordinator and professor of Humber\u2019s Film and Television (FMTV) program, said most people in the film industry got worried once that statement was made, but he didn\u2019t see much change a few months after the post. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen that announcement was made, there was massive, overnight panic, but nothing’s come of it,\u201d Kennedy says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He says everyone got worried, but they waited it out and now things are back to normal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was very short lived\u2014it was about a week and then afterwards people just stopped talking about it. It stopped being a thing. Nothing ever official came from it,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you just follow what the producers are doing, I mean, you can just go to like the Toronto Film Office or the local guilds and unions and they show you what productions are active, he says, \u201cand you can see they maybe started in the summer and they’re still continuing and there’s been no change.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

WHAT DOES THAT LIST LOOK LIKE? <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

According to City of Toronto<\/a>\u2019s website, it says there are about 14 projects being produced in Toronto in 2025. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Murdoch Mysteries 19 is one of the shows being filmed in Ontario as a well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andrea McCabe, a Second-Assistant director, who\u2019s worked on the TV series Revival<\/a> as one of her most recent projects, says when Trump makes threats like this, it gets everybody to stop and wait to see what happens before continuing their projects. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“People are scared, and so they’re stopping and waiting to see what happens. Because you don’t want to start a production, spend a bunch of money, get an office, hire a bunch of people, all those things, and then be like, \u2018oh, we can’t do this here,\u2019\u201d she says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

McCabe said Trump\u2019s threats were mostly about movies, so in terms of media being recorded in Canada, \u201cwe have a fair bit of American TV shows here. Not a lot of movies are happening.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

McCabe says companies are merging to make more movies as it\u2019s become more expensive. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tariffs, she says, will make it more expensive for the Americans.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have bonuses like \u2013 we have just as good crews as they do, but of course, we are less expensive because our dollar is lower,\u201d she says as their dollar would buy them between 30 to 25 per cent more on everything.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She says the far right in the in the U.S. and Trump are championing the religious right, and trying to remove various books, so on some level, they’re trying to control artistic output. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBecause if you think about it, Los Angeles and Hollywood became\u202fa thing because you could do all kinds of things there that you couldn’t do anywhere else,\u201d McCabe says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut what if you turn it into somewhere where you can’t do it anymore?\u202fWell, where’s the next Hollywood? Who knows? \u202fMaybe here,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

McCabe says that it can lead to Americans not being able to be creative in their country, and those are people who live on having their freedom to be creative. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With that amount of government\u2019s control, McCabe heard many people saying it\u2019s unstable in America, so many are shifting to work outside for a while. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Edgar Romero, a content creator and visual content manager for Global Fire Live TV (GFL<\/a>) studios, and who\u2019 has  been working in the film and media industry for more than 10 years, says  his friend Oswald \u201cOzzy\u201d Quiroz, who was a director for a small TV show in Florida, moved to Canada saying it is better to produce things here. Quiroz has since worked in unscripted productions and commercials in Canada. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Romero says Canada is a big part of the film industry, and that there\u2019s still work as lots of films are being produced in Canada\u2014even after Trumps\u2019s prohibition of filming outside the U.S. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Romero mentioned how Guillermo Del Toro came to Canada and took the opportunity to record parts of his 2025 film Frankenstein. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second biggest Film festival, TIFF, takes place in Toronto, so it\u2019s important to keep the industry going and moving in Canada and Romero says that right now is a great time to work with films, as competition is rising and companies are in need of content, so it brings opportunities for one to have more work with that. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, Giovanna D\u2019Lucca, the Executive Assistant, Screen Writer and assistant director at GoFilms Production, and also the Executive assistant for GoLive TV, says the U.S. seems to support the film industry more than Canada. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAmerican actors have more opportunity than foreign ones, it’s more difficult to\u202fbe successful and famous as a Canadian. I mean there are many Canadians that have become famous and successful in the film industry,\u201d she says, \u201cbut U.S.A. has an advantage to that.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt’s just a matter of working together. The government also needs to help\u202fprovide these opportunities to Canadians because\u2026there’s a lot of potential and a lot of talent in Canada as well in the film\u202findustry with directors, and producers, and actors,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

D\u2019Lucca says, since his spring post she hasn\u2019t seen much change. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI’ve seen it in the news,\u202fbut I don’t know if something actually changed or maybe I’m just unaware of it,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMaybe the change will come later on, like the\u202fimpact will be bigger soon, but right now no,\u201d D\u2019Lucca says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kennedy, also says he didn\u2019t see any changes after the tariffs threat. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whether it’s about production or post-production, animation, virtual production, none of it’s shown a direct impact from that announcement, he says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere’s been no executive order, as far as I know,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kennedy mentioned one of his grads who graduated in 2019 who\u2019s worked on Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein, which was filmed in Hamilton, is very active in the union and Local 873. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe was saying right now, it’s extremely busy. He said we have about 10 shows happening in Toronto right now, and for this time of year, that’s very high,\u201d Kennedy says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo to have kind of 10 shows happening in November, it means things are thriving and very healthy for that sector of sort of traditional film and television,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kennedy says Toronto has to offer in the GTA quality of labour exactly as any other major city in the U.S. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd so through provincial and federal tax incentives, it makes sense for a producer to come here to make things like Welcome to Derry,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Duane Farley,\u00a0the Executive Vice-President of the AMG Corp.\u00a0says\u00a0\u201cIt’s always advantageous for film producers from America to shoot up here\u202fbecause of the currency exchange.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Farley\u00a0says\u00a0he\u2019s\u00a0seen less producers\u00a0wanting to film in Canada, as they would rather film in the United States.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut, you know, it all comes down to the tax credits of various provinces or states,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He says whatever makes sense for the producer, the production wins. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cBut I am proudly Canadian and I think despite Trump’s tariffs that he wants to impose on productions,\u202fI think Canada has some of the best talent on the screen or behind in the entertainment business,\u201d 
-Duane Farley<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think what’s eventually going to happen, see how we have Netflix Canada, Amazon Prime Canada\u2014all those companies will eventually have Canadian entities\u202fand they will produce the films in their film and TV projects in Canada under those subsidies,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Farley says if American companies decide not to film in Canada, they would still do their post-productions in here. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He says Canada has some of the best post-production houses in the world, and that it is time for Canada to rise in the industry. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have great stories of the Canadian spirit and Canadian pride,\u202fand we need to start producing those series in TV shows, documentaries,\u202fletting the world know how cool it is to be Canadian,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCanadians, we are very unique.\u202fThat uniqueness in our way of life here needs to not only be celebrated,\u202fbut it needs to be showcased more,\u201d Farley says. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By: Annays Medeiros \u201cI am authorizing the Department of Commerce, and the United States Trade Representative, to immediately begin the process of instituting a 100% Tariff on any and all Movies coming into our Country that are produced in Foreign Lands.\u201d   That was U.S. President Donald Trump\u2019s  social media post on May 2025, telling American film industries to stop filmming outside the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5238,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/convergencemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/IMG_6536-scaled.jpg",2560,1707,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/convergencemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/IMG_6536-160x160.jpg",160,160,true],"medium":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/convergencemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/IMG_6536-640x427.jpg",640,427,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/convergencemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/IMG_6536-768x512.jpg",696,464,true],"large":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/convergencemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/IMG_6536-1280x853.jpg",696,464,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/convergencemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/IMG_6536-1536x1024.jpg",1536,1024,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/convergencemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/IMG_6536-2048x1365.jpg",2048,1365,true],"td_150x0":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/convergencemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/IMG_6536-150x100.jpg",150,100,true],"td_218x150":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/convergencemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/IMG_6536-218x150.jpg",218,150,true],"td_300x0":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/convergencemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/IMG_6536-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"td_324x400":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/convergencemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/IMG_6536-324x400.jpg",324,400,true],"td_485x360":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/convergencemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/IMG_6536-485x360.jpg",485,360,true],"td_696x0":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/convergencemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/IMG_6536-696x464.jpg",696,464,true],"td_1068x0":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/convergencemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/IMG_6536-1068x712.jpg",1068,712,true],"td_1920x0":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/convergencemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/IMG_6536-1920x1280.jpg",1920,1280,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"convergencemag","author_link":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/convergencemag\/author\/convergencemag\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By: Annays Medeiros \u201cI am authorizing the Department of Commerce, and the United States Trade Representative, to immediately begin the process of instituting a 100% Tariff on any and all Movies coming into our Country that are produced in Foreign Lands.\u201d   That was U.S. President Donald Trump\u2019s  social media post on May 2025, telling American film industries to stop filmming outside the…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/convergencemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5127"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/convergencemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/convergencemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/convergencemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/convergencemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5127"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/convergencemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5127\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5340,"href":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/convergencemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5127\/revisions\/5340"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/convergencemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5238"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/convergencemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5127"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/convergencemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5127"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/convergencemag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5127"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}