Lights, camera, pause in the action?
In the latest chapter of the tariff war, U.S. President Donald Trump threatened a 100 per cent tariff, on May 6, on all films produced outside of the United States and released in the States.
This caught the eye of the film industry, especially Okanagan Film Commissioner Jon Summerland.
"It鈥檚 unclear how Trump would even enforce something like this," said Summerland. "Tariffs on films? It鈥檚 a logistical mess. Are they going to screen every movie for Canadian shooting days? There are trade agreements like the USMCA (United States鈥揗exico鈥揅anada Agreement, replacing NAFTA) that would likely challenge this kind of move."
British Columbia, and more locally the Okanagan, has become a hotbed for television and movie shoots. Recently, Netflix's reality show Million Dollar Secret was shot in 麻豆精选 as well as the comedy film F*** Marry Kill, Puppy Love (both starring Lucy Hale), as well as multiple Hallmark movies, and more.
According to the 麻豆精选 Chamber, The Canadian Media Producers Associations counted that foreign productions valued at $4.73 billion in 2024, creating 90,000 jobs. Additionally, the Okanagan is nearing $100 million dollars in annual productions.
鈥淭his newest threat would be a tremendous blow to our film industry which while robust is also fragile, and subject to upturns and downturns, depending on government policies and now, tariff threats," said 麻豆精选 Chamber president Derek Gratz. "We will do everything we can to help protect the local film industry from this latest risk.鈥�
Summerland added that if the tariffs were to happen, "there鈥檚 a silver lining, especially for Canadian productions."
"Productions that are already underway in Canada will likely finish; it鈥檚 too expensive to pull out mid-shoot," said Summerland. "But we might see some new U.S. productions pause or shift until things become clearer. That could free up crews, gear, and space here, and create room for Canadian-led projects to step up and fill the gap. These tariffs wouldn鈥檛 hit productions directly but would affect the distribution of films made outside the U.S., so studios might feel pressure not to shoot abroad if the final product is punished when brought home."
Trump threatened the tariffs on Monday, but there has been no indication if/when they are put in place.
American company Netflix has a movie studio in Vancouver.
