It’s lengthy been a shining a part of Calgary’s economic system, however U.S. President Donald Trump has out of the blue solid a darkish cloud over the town’s movie trade.
In a submit Sunday night time on his Reality Social platform, Trump stated he has approved the Division of Commerce and the Workplace of the U.S. Commerce Consultant to slap a 100 per cent tariff “on any and all Films coming into our Nation which are produced in International Lands.”
“It looks like an actual intestine punch,” stated Deborah Yedlin, president & CEO of the Calgary Chamber of Commerce.
“We’ve labored so arduous.”
Town has made a cameo in a number of big-ticket movies and T.V. reveals over time — standing in for the town of Metropolis within the 1983 movie Superman III, and extra just lately, that includes within the HBO drama, The Final of Us.
The lights are brilliant — and it’s even greater enterprise.
“Take into consideration how consumed we had been by the filming of The Final of Us,” Yedlin recalled.
“That generated about $182 million to the Calgary economic system.”
The encompassing southern Alberta area has additionally performed host to productions just like the Fargo and Underneath The Banner of Heaven television collection, and flicks like Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Brokeback Mountain and The Revenant, to call a couple of.
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Yedlin says each greenback spent on a movie manufacturing in and round Calgary ends in about $4 generated for the economic system at giant.
For the Worldwide Alliance of Theatrical Stage Staff (IATSE) Native 212, about 1,600 members usually spend this time of 12 months gearing up for a busy summer time of labor.
“Proper now we in all probability have about 65 per cent of our members working,” defined union consultant Lee Proudlock. “That quantity will in all probability fluctuate a bit all through the summer time.
“We’re already estimating a slower 12 months so this uncertainty might put a little bit of a damper on that as effectively.”
Provinces and international locations have lengthy competed for big-ticket movies by providing tax incentives — one thing Proudlock says Alberta might have a look at as a strategy to doubtlessly offset the U.S.-inflicted ache.
“As a union, we’ve been — not alarm bells ringing — however beginning to point out that perhaps our tax incentive would possibly want a slight increase as much as compete with some Canadian and worldwide markets.”
There’s nonetheless no phrase on how or when the tariffs can be applied. Proudlock and Yedlin each consider that course of might show extraordinarily sophisticated.
Within the meantime, Calgarians are all hoping for a change in fact in Washington.
“I’m hoping people within the White Home perceive that movie and tv manufacturing are greatest achieved at a world scale,” stated Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek.
“Give the followers what they need.”
© 2025 International Information, a division of Corus Leisure Inc.
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