Toronto, ON (September 1, 2026) – As the United States considers a new federal tax incentive for film and television production, ACTRA Toronto is calling on the Ford government to ensure Ontario remains a top destination to make film and television.

U.S. President Donald Trump has called on Congress to introduce a federal production incentive. Although no incentive has been enacted, the proposal signals that competition for film and television production, and the jobs they create, has intensified.

Cultural sovereignty and film and television policy are now inseparable from trade and industrial policy.

“Ontario’s world-class performers must be at the centre of any plan to strengthen and protect our film and television industry,” said Kate Ziegler, President of ACTRA Toronto. “Canadian and international productions are a life blood for our members. If Ontario wants to remain a world-class production centre, we need a balanced plan to attract international investment, grow Canadian production and protect performers.”

While U.S. and international productions are an important part of Ontario’s screen industry, a stronger domestic industry is equally important. Canadian-owned productions create more opportunities for Canadian performers and creators while ensuring audiences continue to see their own lives, communities and experiences reflected on screen.

“Ontario does not have to choose between foreign service production and domestic production. A healthy industry needs both. As competition for production intensifies, Ontario performers need more than recognition, they need rights,” said Rob Halpin, Executive Director of ACTRA Toronto.

ACTRA Toronto is calling on the Ford government to:

• keep Ontario’s film and television incentives competitive, predictable and easy to access;
• put more support behind Canadian-owned productions developed and made in Ontario; and
• introduce meaningful Status of the Artist legislation that gives professional performers and other creative artists sectoral collective bargaining rights.

“Meaningful Status of the Artist legislation would give professional performers a clear legal framework to bargain collectively across the entire film, television and commercial sector. Support for Ontario’s production ecosystem must go hand-in-hand with protecting the performers whose work makes that production possible,” added Halpin.

Ontario has everything it needs to compete; extraordinary talent, crews, locations, facilities and decades of experience. The task now at hand for Ontario is to keep attracting international productions, while building a stronger Canadian industry alongside them.

ACTRA Toronto is the largest organization within ACTRA, representing over 15,000 of Canada’s 30,000 professional performers working in recorded media in Canada. An advocate for Canadian culture since 1943, ACTRA is a member-driven union that continues to secure rights and respect for the work of professional performers.

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Media Contact: Jennifer McGibbon, Public Relations Officer, 416-642-6710, jmcgibbon@actratoronto.com