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Is the tariff war set to hit Vancouver’s film industry?

The details are still unclear, but the industry is a big employer in BC and Vancouver

Author

Geoff Sharpe
May 05, 2025

What happened: International relations by tweet continues… President Donald Trump announced yesterday that foreign-produced films would be subject to a 100 per cent tariff, as he claimed that Hollywood was being “devastated” by films being made outside the U.S.

Breaking it down: Well, frankly, we don’t know much. Somehow, he has declared it a national security threat, which enables the President to enact tariffs. According to the Guardian, it was unclear how it would be targeted, since films include filming, production and post-production in different countries.

  • Background: Film production in Los Angeles has fallen 40 per cent in the last 10 years. Part of this has to do with governments around the world offering generous tax credits in order to lure those companies to produce films in those countries.

Here at home, the provincial government announced back in December that they were increasing the tax credit for international projects that film in the province from 28 per cent to 35-36 per cent, according to CBC. Back in 2023, the province gave $900 million in subsidies to film projects, of which 80 per cent were foreign companies. The idea behind the credit is that it boosts economic growth, thereby creating jobs in the province.

The impact: The value of film and TV production in BC was $2.3 billion in 2023, according to the Vancouver Sun. Vancouver is the third-largest TV and film production location in North America, and the largest in Canada. Around 26,000 workers are employed in the industry in BC.

What it means: Truly impossible to say at the moment, given the lack of details and how quickly tariffs have been added and removed. But assuming they do get levied on foreign products, it would likely have an impact on jobs in BC and in Vancouver.

  • Yes, but: The industry has already faced some major headwinds in BC. IATSE 891, which represents workers in the industry, said that global production has dropped 40 per cent, which has impacted their members, according to CityNews.