The Ford government says it is planning to “wait and see” whether U.S. President Donald Trump follows through on his latest tariff threat targeting the film industry before deciding what to do.
On Sunday night, in a post on his platform, Truth Social, Trump announced he was starting the process of levying tariffs on films made outside of the United States.
Ontario is a major filming location with productions for Netflix, Amazon and Warner Bros. Pictures, all taking place in the province for an industry worth more than $3 billion.
While it is unclear how a tariff would work, Trump suggested he wanted to add a 100 per cent levy to all films made outside of the United States.
Minister of Tourism, Culture and Gaming Stan Cho said he wouldn’t rush to put measures in place for the film and television industry, with Trump susceptible to change his mind.
“I’m hoping his Sunday night post might be followed up by a Monday morning briefing, which tells him how important this industry is,” Cho told reporters.
“We’ve seen this type of behaviour from the president before. He’ll say one thing one day and the next day he’ll change his mind, so we’re hoping that he’ll realize just how huge this industry is as a driver and creator of jobs.”
Cho would not say if the government had plans to stimulate the film industry if tariffs did hit, or for any other economic support.
“We’ll have to wait and see if he follows through,” he said.
Premier Doug Ford’s office told Global News that Ford had not been invited to a meeting between Trump and newly elected Prime Minister Mark Carney at the White House on Tuesday.
Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles said the Ford government’s response was “laissez-faire” and ineffective.
“Once again, what we seem to be getting from this government is a laissez-faire, kind of throw-in-the-towel approach,” she said.
“Their attitude is wait and see, wait and see what Donald Trump is going to do. That is not serving us well in this province right now.”
Stiles pointed to auto sector production pauses and layoffs in Oshawa and Windsor after tariffs in those sectors as evidence the approach is not working.
Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade Vic Fedeli, however, said daily U.S. media appearances from Ford had been part of a push which had seen tariffs either deferred or reduced.
Trump has reduced or changed some tariffs on Canada, but levies on autos, steel and aluminum all remain in place.
“We’ll suit up again for yet another assault — this one is in the film industry,” Fedeli said.
“This is a direct assault to our film sector all through Ontario … we’ve been reasonably successful fighting them one by one, we’ve got a long way to go and a lot more acreage in front of us.”
Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy said the tariff threat was the latest sign a “new world economy” was being built and suggested he remained confident his government could navigate it.
“Every day brings something new, and we’re just going to continue with our strategy,” he said on Monday.
“The film and TV tax credit industry has been built up over decades, we have a very competitive product here in Ontario, we have great workers and talented people.”
Bethlenfalvy did not say if stimulus or support funding would be made available to the Ontario film industry if tariffs were to hit.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said he had told the Department of Commerce and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to add a 100 per cent levy on “any and all Movies coming into our Country that are produced in Foreign Lands.”
“The Movie Industry in America is DYING a very fast death,” he wrote, complaining that other countries “are offering all sorts of incentives to draw” filmmakers and studios away from the U.S. “This is a concerted effort by other Nations and, therefore, a National Security threat. It is, in addition to everything else, messaging and propaganda!”
It’s unclear how a tariff on films shot overseas in places like Ontario would work or what it would apply to. Some productions take place entirely overseas, while others — particularly big-budget movies — are filmed in multiple locations and countries.
Incentive programs have for years influenced where movies are shot, increasingly driving film production out of California and to other states and countries, like Canada and the United Kingdom, with favourable tax incentives.
Data from the agency Ontario Creates shows film and television productions in the province accounted for $3.15 billion in production spending in 2022, representing 419 productions. Those numbers were a record for the province; 103 of the 419 productions were foreign projects.
In total, the industry created 45,891 direct and spin-off jobs, according to the agency.
— With files from The Associated Press