ACTRA is calling for urgent action from Ottawa as U.S. President Donald Trump renews his call for an American production incentive for film and television intended to draw back the huge volume of shows and movies shooting outside the country.
The Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists represents the interests of more than 30,000 members across the country. It says while nothing has been decided stateside, the message being sent to Canada “should be unmistakable: we must bolster our domestic industry immediately.”
“The issue is not President Trump’s announcement. The U.S. has been debating ways to bring production home for years. The issue is what Canada does next,” the organization said in a statement issued Tuesday morning.
Foreign Location and Service (FLS) production in Canada reached $5.3 billion in 2024/25, an increase of more than $461 million, according to data from the Motion Picture Association – Canada. That includes foreign film and television shooting, in addition to VFX work. Roughly 87% of those productions were American, up more than 85% from the previous year, due in part to a rebound following dual Hollywood labour disputes in 2023.
Trump wrote in a post to Truth Social on Monday that following a meeting with actor Jon Voight, he has a renewed interest in bringing more production back to the U.S. Los Angeles on-location film and television production dropped 13% year-over-year in the second quarter of 2026, totalling 4,711 shoot days, according to Film L.A. numbers.
“Hollywood is a Complete and Total Disaster! Despite the name, it is getting very little work,” wrote Trump. “There is no incentive to be there, and it is hurting California very badly. Jon, and many others in the Industry, are suggesting we do Federal Tax Incentives in order to Make our Movie and Television Production Business GREAT AGAIN, perhaps GREATER THAN EVER BEFORE! The amount of money spent on Tax Incentives will be made up tenfold by the money pouring into the Treasury’s coffers. Meetings are being set up with the Leaders of both Parties in order to get this done…What we watch on the Silver Screen should be made in what was once the Movie and Motion Picture Capital of the World.”
ACTRA says Canada’s domestic industry needs to be bolstered with more predictable financial support. The union says the Canadian industry also needs to diversify internationally by attracting more productions and investment from markets around the world, rather than relying so heavily on the U.S.
“If Canada does not strengthen its domestic industry with Canadian stories, made by Canadian storytellers, we risk one of two outcomes: American productions electing to stay in the U.S. as a result of their own tax-incentives, hollowing out our production ecosystem; or they stay, leaving Canada increasingly dependent on a single foreign client for the health of our industry. A refrain which is playing out across Canada amid our ongoing trade dispute.”
ACTRA is additionally calling on the federal government to implement and protect the CRTC’s 15% Canadian programming expenditure (CPE) requirement for online streaming services, ensuring foreign streamers reinvest in Canadian stories and talent. Ottawa signalled earlier in the summer, it would move away from the policy amidst pressure from the U.S.
“It’s now more important than ever, that Canada keeps its focus on producing more Canadian stories here at home,” said ACTRA National President Eleanor Noble. “Canada must support its own industry, and we must carve out our own place in the world.”
“It is time for Canada to treat culture like the major Canadian industry it is.”
