Jobs Minister Ravi Kahlon said the provincial government is taking a wait-and-see approach after U.S. President Donald Trump said on social media Monday (Sept. 29) that he would be imposing 100 per cent tariffs on films made outside of the country.
Kahlon spoke with media virtually Monday, following the president's latest tariff threat.
"There's lots of discussions going on with the sector about what we can do to be resilient in the face of these constant threats," he said. "But also the industry knows that at this point it's just another tweet until we see details of what may come."
The jobs minister added that he appreciates the frustration that those in the industry must be feeling.
"I feel that daily, depending on whichever sector is being raised by the Trump administration," he said, adding the provincial government's message to the film industry is "we're going to be there to support you."
Trump posted on his Truth Social social media site Monday that the movie-making business "has been stolen from the United States of America, by other countries, just like stealing 'candy from a baby.'"
He said he would be imposing a 100 per cent tariff "on any and all movies that are made outside of the United States."
The president said California has been "particularly hard it." He also took a jab at California Governor Gavin Newsom, calling him "weak and incompetent."
Kahlon said it's "not entirely clear" if Trump is trying to have a war with Newsom "or if he's trying to create uncertainty or if he doesn't fully appreciate how complex making a film is in North America."
He said this is an industry that is very difficult to put a tariff on.
"It's not as simple as the president putting out a tweet. And so if it happens, we have to wait for those details, and we're prepared to work with the sector to navigate that," Kahlon said.
"But this is something we've been hearing for the last several months. Until we get those details, it's hard to figure out if this is real or not."
It was back in May that Trump threatened tariffs on the film industry. At the time, he said he had directed his government to "immediately begin the process of instituting a 100% Tariff" on any non-U.S. movies coming into the country."
The B.C. government in December 2024 boosted two provincial tax credits to keep productions coming to B.C. One of those is the Film Incentive BC that supports Canadian-content production, while the other was the production services tax credit, which is an incentive for international projects made in B.C. The production services tax credit was upped to 36 per cent, and for projects that bring in more than $200 million to B.C. receive an additional two per cent.
However, Kahlon said Monday that the tax credits in place in B.C. "are just to match what we know is happening in other jurisdictions around the world."
"Our tax credits are not higher that other jurisdictions. In fact, California has some of the highest tax credits from all sectors in North America."
Kahlon added that Arts and Culture Minister Anne Kang has already been working with stakeholders about what can be done to diversify opportunities with other trading partners to keep people working and not dependent on the U.S.
"We want to be able to create more Canadian content."
