Focus your ire on American streaming services not the movies
Stemming from the President of the United States (U.S.), Donald Trump’ s tariffs on Canada, Canadians are finding more and more reasons to boycott American goods. This, however, is not limited to groceries. Some Canadians are excluding American films and TV shows from their watchlist and are instead solely consuming Canadian content.
Since the tariffs were implemented, a push to boycott American goods has swept the country.
“[When the Americans impose tariffs], they think that the power is in [their] hands,” said a second-year business administration student at the University of Regina (UofR), Kamal Durgeshkumal Rana.
She proceeded to explain how Americans assume that other countries are desperate for what the U.S. provides. While I agree with many of the points she brings up, this might not be the case for the film industry.
Impact on Canada
Trump’s threats of a 100 per cent tariff on all films produced outside of the U.S. which were announced in May 2025, have yet to come to fruition. If they do, this could be devastating for Canada’s film industry.
According to an article by CTV News published in May 2025, Toronto’s film industry employs approximately 30,000 people. As per the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists’ (ACTRA) report, Ontario had more than 400 productions in 2023, which created 25,000 jobs and generated $1.8 billion in revenue.
Many Canadians rely on these job opportunities. Additionally, Toronto is considered one of the top filming locations. So it’s understandable how these tariffs can be so harmful. This ties to my earlier hesitation on whether these boycotts are the most constructive way of protesting against the tariffs.
While completely separating yourself from content from the States is not always a possibility, simply switching platforms can be a mindful way to protest the tariffs without punishing the people working on productions.” – Anya Peppler
Streaming services
I wonder if the boycotts would be more productive if centered around American streaming services rather than individual films from American creators.
American streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+ dominate the global market. Canada, however, has its own streaming platforms, including Crave, ICI TOU.TV, illico+ and CBC Gem.
While completely separating yourself from content from The States is not always a possibility, simply switching platforms can be a mindful way to protest the tariffs without punishing the people working on productions. This choice however seems a difficult one for some.
When I asked John Joo, a fourth-year U of R chemistry student, if he would ever boycott American streaming services, he explained that barring extreme circumstances, he would never be able to switch entirely. He consumes and enjoys American media and does not want to change that.
An increase in interest for CBC Gem
While it’s difficult to pinpoint the differences in viewers between Canadian and American streaming services, there has been an increase in Canadian viewers embracing local companies, seemingly stemming from the imposed tariffs.
The Canadian Media Fund published an article in their Now and Next section by Mathilde Roy on March 3, 2025 titled Buying local isn’t just about groceries — it’s TV, too. She included a quote from Tanya Koivusalo, the PR Manager, news, digital and industry for CBC on how both free and premium subscriptions for CBC Gem had increased by 40 per cent in comparison to the year prior.
Whether the boycotts are centered around American content or the streaming services themselves, they are not easily regulated or tracked. Unlike identifying American products on grocery store shelves, measuring how many American shows and films people watch is far more difficult. Nevertheless, I think an individual can still make a difference by choosing Canadian streaming platforms.
