TIFF CEO Defends Canada's Hollywood Role as Trump Threatens Film Tariffs

Toronto International Film Festival CEO Cameron Bailey is pushing back against U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to slap a 100 per cent tariff on foreign-made films, calling Canada’s contribution to Hollywood too vital to ignore. While Bailey isn’t rushing to judgment just yet, he cautions against disrupting the deeply interconnected cultural and economic relationship between Canada and the U.S. film industry.

“It’s really early days. We don’t know what this is going to mean,” Bailey told reporters Tuesday, as quoted by CP24. “All we’ve had so far is the post and then a lot of speculation.” Trump’s comments, posted on social media Sunday, blamed foreign film incentives for the “very fast death” of the American movie industry.

Bailey pointed to Canada’s steady stream of homegrown talent — including Ryan Gosling, Ryan Reynolds, Sandra Oh, and director Denis Villeneuve — as well as the regular use of Canadian locations and crews by major Hollywood productions. Films like Deadpool 2, The Revenant, and Netflix hits like Hot Frosty are just a few examples of how U.S. studios benefit from filming north of the border.

“The American film industry has succeeded by drawing on the talent and creativity of artists and craftspeople from all over the world,” Bailey emphasized. “That’s what’s made Hollywood great.” He warned that undermining this cross-border relationship would be a mistake, and said Canada’s creative sector is something worth protecting.

According to the Canadian Media Producers Association, film and television productions generated roughly $9.58 billion in spending across Canada last year, with foreign productions accounting for nearly half — $4.73 billion — and supporting more than 90,000 jobs.

Industry voices are joining Bailey’s call for action. Eleanor Noble, president of ACTRA, Canada’s national performers’ union, said in a statement that Trump’s proposal is “more than a trade dispute — it’s an attack on the livelihoods of Canadian performers and creators.” Noble called for greater investment in a self-sustaining domestic media industry that could weather global political threats.

Meanwhile, Noah Segal, co-president of Elevation Pictures, urged the federal government to lean into local production, noting that Canada has already proven it can generate top-tier content. He highlighted Infinity Pool, a Canadian-led international co-production, as a success story that bypassed reliance on the U.S. box office.

Segal warned the potential tariffs could dismantle the broader film economy by raising costs for global streamers like Netflix and disrupting access to Canadian filming locations. “That would change how you do business. You might reduce the amount of stuff you do, or charge the consumer more,” he told CP24. “So the people Trump is trying to protect could end up hurt the most.”

As Hollywood recalibrates, Bailey emphasized that Canada must stand behind its storytellers. “There’s no denying the quality of the storytelling that comes out of this country,” he said. “We just have to protect that and remind ourselves what our country can deliver. Then we can operate from a position of strength.”