Ontario will 'suit up' to fight against possible 100% U.S. tariffs on films, minister says
Trump is 'unbelievable,' Ford says in response to latest tariff threat
Ontario will head down to Washington to fight against a possible 100 per cent tariff on films coming into the U.S. that are not produced in the country, the province's minister of economic development said.
U.S. President Donald Trump said he is authorizing the Department of Commerce and the U.S. 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" in a post on his social media platform Truth Social on Sunday.
Min. Vic Fedeli said the province will "suit up again for yet another assault" in response to Trump's post, speaking at a news conference in Oakville on Monday.
"We'll suit up, just like we have for every other particular mention of a tariff, head back down to Washington … and fight them one by one," he said.
Fedeli, who is MPP for Nipissing, said he has a particular interest in the film industry due to a number of Hallmark films that are filmed in North Bay — which he referred to as "Christmas kissy face movies."
"This is a direct assault to our film sector all through Ontario," he said.
Minister of Finance Peter Bethlenfalvy, who was also at Monday's news conference, said the province will do what it takes to support all businesses amidst the U.S. tariff threat.
"There are many industries that are under attack. We have to face the reality that this is a policy choice coming out of south of the border," he said.
The government announced a five per cent increase in the Ontario Made Manufacturing Investment Tax Credit at Monday's conference, which will be included in the province's 2025 budget.
The credit is a refundable corporate income tax credit for corporations on qualifying investments in buildings, machinery and equipment, according to a provincial news release from 2023.
It will increase from 10 to 15 per cent, Bethlenfalvy said.
He said he's also proposing to expand eligibility for a non-refundable tax credit to non-Canadian-controlled private corporations and publicly-traded corporations making eligible investments in Ontario.
The government says the changes would mean providing an additional $1.3 billion over three years, and businesses could receive a tax credit of up to $3 million per year.
Ford seeks Carney's support on 401 tunnel
Bethlenfalvy said provincial ministers are "attached at the hip" with their federal counterparts and are having ongoing discussions about Canada's response to U.S. tariffs. Prime Minister Mark Carney is meeting Trump at the White House on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Ontario Premier Doug Ford wrote a letter to Carney on Monday, setting out a series of Ontario priorities that he hopes the prime minister will address, including accessing critical minerals, building an electric-vehicle supply chain and enacting bail reforms.
He said in his letter that at a meeting in March with the premiers, Carney asked them to identify "nation-building projects."
Ford said he would like the federal government to prioritize development in the Ring of Fire, nuclear energy generation, GO passenger train service, a new James Bay deep-sea port and a driver and transit tunnel expressway under Highway 401.
Opposition critics have ridiculed the tunnel idea as being a "fantasy," saying it would cost tens of billions of dollars and not truly address gridlock.
The Ford government is seeking proposals for a feasibility study for the tunnel, but the premier has pledged to get it built no matter what.
Ford addressed the possible tariff for films at Queen's Park on Monday, saying Trump is "going after the entire world."
"This guy, he's just unbelievable. It's everyday something new with him," he said.
"I think he has to start moving quick before the midterms because it's not going to look good for him," Ford said, referencing Trump's polling numbers.
Tarrifs would hollow out Canada's film industry: expert
The 100 per cent tariff on films would "completely devastate" Canada's film industry, said Barry Hertz, deputy arts editor and film editor for The Globe and Mail in an interview with CBC Radio's Metro Morning.
About half of all Canadian film and television production is based on foreign service and location shoots, which is when productions outside the country — often based in Hollywood — film in Canada, he said.
These productions employ local crews, production managers, producers and local talent, Hertz said.
"If there's a 100 per cent tariff or any kind of tariff for that kind of content, no Hollywood or American production company is going to want to come here," he said.
"It would be prohibitively expensive and thus it would hollow out our industry."
He said there is a "legitimate concern" in the U.S. film industry as locations around the world are offering incentives for movies to be filmed there, such as through tax credits and a cheaper labour force.
But he said nobody in the film industry wants these tariffs.
"This would just implode the industry."
Mayor Olivia Chow said American films made in Toronto create 30,000 jobs and generate some $2.6 billion for the local economy.
"The film industry is very global and it is not as simplistic [as] ' can we just make everything in the USA?'" she said, speaking at city hall on Monday.
"How are you going to be able to do that?"
While the city does not provide its own tax credit to the film industry, Chow said it provides a film office that "make[s] life a lot easier for the companies to find the right people in the right place to do the kind of films they want."
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With files from Metro Morning and The Canadian Press