How Trump's '51st State' Jibes Made Culture, Media & The CBC A Key Battleground For Canada's Future

Yahoo

18-04-2025

Canada goes to the polls on April 28, and when its TV production community hits the voting booths, they'll be doing so with a sense of renewed optimism. That's all down to an unexpected source: Donald Trump.
A few months ago, Conservative party leader Pierre Poilievre was expecting a big majority win, maybe even a landslide, as favor turned against Justin Trudeau and his left-leaning Liberals. Poilievre had made clear he would enact wide-scale change at the CBC and target other cultural institutions that didn't fit with his Trump-lite version of right-wing politics. Voters broadly seemed to like it.
More from Deadline
Canada's Bell Media & Fox Entertainment Global Developing Emily VanCamp Series 'Prejudice' About Sex Worker-Turned-Litigator
Most Canadian Thing Ever: Election TV Debate Rescheduled For Hockey Game
Counterfeit Pictures Hires Just For Laughs' Blake Gregory As Production Chief For Audio Arm
Now, with less than two weeks until voting, it is the Liberals that appear set for a majority, thanks to a surge of patriotism born out of President Trump's goading of the U.S.'s northern neighbor and his plans to turn it into the '51st state.' The Conservative lead has crumbled and even Trump himself seems to have accepted Carney as his Canadian counterpart, recently saying a Liberal leader would be 'easier to deal with.'
Usually, culture and media play a very small part in deciding how elections are won. However, sources we've spoken to across the Canadian production sector point to several factors that have made the 2025 race a different story. Almost all unanimously say Conservative threats to tear up cultural institutions just as Trump aggressively seeks to recalibrate America's relationship with Canada, whether through tariffs or other actions, led to culture becoming a real battleground – and it's a battle the Liberals are winning easily.
Carney has pledged to protect CBC/Radio-Canada, increase its budget by C$150M ($110M), strengthen local news output and promote both English- and French-language media. It seems a smart move: A Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA) poll from earlier this week showed 91% of Canadians believe Canadian culture and identity must be protected, especially 'in contrast to the influence of the United States.' The survey also revealed that nearly 60% would support a political party that champions Canadian identity by backing the cultural industries. Only 3% said it would make them less likely to do so.
'The Liberal Party's campaign commitment to support CBC/Radio-Canada sends a strong message to Canadians that a properly funded and sustainable national public broadcaster is a key ballot issue,' says Marla Boltman, Executive Director of Friends of Canadian Media.
'Protecting longstanding Canadian institutions and strengthening our national public broadcaster is something that everyone in the country should support,' says Reynolds Mastin, President and CEO of the CMPA. 'As the single largest commissioner of independently-produced Canadian content, CBC/Rdio-Canada plays a significant role in the domestic industry, telling our stories and promoting Canadian cultural identity.'
On the contrary, because of Poilievre's pledge to defund the CBC, Boltman calls a potential Conservative win 'nothing short of a disaster for the millions of Canadians who rely on CBC/Radio Canada, and for the overwhelming majority who want Canada to remain a strong, sovereign country with a distinct culture and robust democracy.' That sentiment appears to be the winning the argument right now.
One senior unscripted producer says the 'worst-case scenario' would be a minority Conservative victory, with parties further right of Poilievre's politics propping up a coalition. This would see CBC/Radio Canada under immense pressure, but the likelihood of it happening seems remote now, with the Liberals likely to win outright, according to most polling. CBC/Radio-Canada declined to comment on the parties' policies for this article.
How did we get here?
John Brunton, founder and CEO of Big Brother Canada and The Amazing Race Canada producer Insight Productions, recalls how prior to Trump's second presidency, producers had decided to look across the border or overseas. 'Leading into this election, there was worry in Canada that [Poilievre's potential] new government wasn't as concerned about Canadian culture as the previous Liberal government had been,' he says. 'Support for the CBC was in jeopardy and you could see a trend moving quite aggressively towards the Conservative Party, so we made the strategic decision to start growing our relationships in the U.S. with the likes of Amazon, Netflix and Apple.'
Dan Bennett, partner at The Office Movers maker Counterfeit Pictures, adds that producers were preparing for 'seismic changes' under the Poilievre government 'for the past 18 months,' and had been 'strategizing to the point where the CMPA hired a former Conservative Minister of Heritage to consult with us.'
However, when Trudeau decided to pass the torch to Carney and Trump's attacks began turning public sentiment, 'in terms of Canadian cultural issues, there was suddenly a very bright light at the end of a very dark tunnel,' Insight's Brunton adds. 'The last time I felt this degree of nationalism was in 1967 when we had the world trade fair and the Toronto Maple Leafs won the Stanley Cup.'
'Trump's actions and rhetoric were the wrong thing at the right time,' says Friends of Canadian Media's Boltman. 'Up until his recent unprovoked attacks, we seemed to have forgotten the lessons from the past that taught us that failure to protect our culture and identity is a recipe for foreign domination.'
This has all had a direct correlation with upturns in TV advertising, says Brunton, whose company makes the likes of Top Chef. 'When there have been complications in the past, quite often big American companies stop advertising in Canada and advertising becomes a little bit more cautious, but I'm actually seeing the reverse of that right now, at least on our shows. There's been an aggressive approach to encouraging Canadians to buy Canadian products and marketing Canadian brands that stimulate the Canadian marketplace. I'm a lot more optimistic than I was a month ago.'
Luke Hutchie, showrunner and co-star of CBC comic paranormal series Ghosting with Luke Hutchie and Matthew Finlan, concurs. 'One hundred per cent, there has been a shift in feeling,' he says. 'Canada has been the U.S.'s side chick forever, but now more than ever people are sinking their teeth into Canadian content and rooting for Canadians in a way that's way more mainstream than before.'
John Morayniss, CEO of the Toronto- and L.A.-based Blink49 Studios, says there has been a 'material, visible change in how Canadians are expressing their cultural identity.' He can barely recall a time where he's more Canadian t-shirts and caps at LAX's arrivals terminal – surely a sign of the times.
Reflecting Canadian values
It's no secret that – broadly – creative types skew left politically. There is, however, indignation among Canadian media players that mirrors the public's feelings of betrayal and anger toward Trump's government. There's now a growing sense that a better-funded CBC/Radio-Canada will be able to better reflect and protect Canadian values.
'Canada is the biggest importer of U.S. shows per year, and that probably won't change, but now what we're seeing is an understanding of the importance of storytelling and the cultural significance of stories that connect Canadians.'
As a supporter of the CBC, Blink49's Morayniss would welcome an increase in the pubcaster's budget and the opportunity to produce more content, but he warns that future-proofing is vital, both at the pubcaster and other funding institutions such as the Canadian Film Center, where he is a board member.
'The thing that hasn't happened is investment in creative talent,' he says. 'Whether you're a small producer, mid-sized production company or a big studio to certain extent you become infrastructure and a facilitator to help, support and ensure those Canadian stories get made, but that all starts with the creatives. The problem is if we don't invest in those creators at earliest possible stage, they will leave. It's really easy to go to New York or L.A.'
That may or may not continue to be true, as one scripted producer tells Deadline that a Canadian cast member in their show who lives in the U.S. is getting 'more and more harassed every time they cross the border' and that they 'don't know if they want to stay there or come back north.'
Where the cash will go
Reaching the creator community is possible, adds Morayniss. Notably, Fifth Season-backed Blink49, which makes the likes of The Braxtons and Toya & Reginae for WeTV and Queen of the Castle for Canada's CTV, was the Canadian co-producer on MrBeast's Beast Games reality series on Prime Video. 'With his status and market penetration, did MrBeast need to do an Amazon series? It shows that there is still a desire to make longer form programs,' says Morayniss.
While on the subject of Prime Video and its global streamer counterparts, there is hope that the 5% streaming levy outlined as part of the divisive Bill C-11 will finally be brought into being (though this will further antagonize Trump, who has rallied against foreign taxes on American companies).
'For almost a decade, foreign streaming giants made billions from Canadian subscribers while paying nothing towards the systems and structures that protect our cultural sovereignty and allow Canadian storytelling to thrive,' says Friends of Canadian Media's Boltman. 'Now that our government has passed legislation requiring the streamers to contribute equitably to our broadcasting system, they need to stand down and accept that we are a sovereign country with sovereign laws.'
Producers are supportive, but broadly take a more measured and analytical line, with Counterfeit's Bennett saying: 'Bill C-11 would have been thrown out by the Conservatives. Trump has targeted it as a sore spot, so it's in suspended animation and the streamers are still on the sidelines.'
As for the future, there's no telling what Trump might do next, and while his tariffs do not impact Canada's films, TV shows and digital content, which are classed as services rather than goods, the CMPA's Mastin says TV and film makers need to remain on their guard. 'The current situation reinforces the importance of building a thriving domestic media production sector that is not dependent on foreign companies.'
Local production companies are hoping that CBC/Radio Canada opens more slots for new programs post-election, and that the likes of Bell Media 'double down on Canada,' as one producer puts it. As Bell boss Sean Cohan recently told Deadline that the commercial broadcaster was planning to take more Canadian content out globally.
'The next six to twelve months are really about hoping that shelf space opens up for another production to go forwards,' adds Counterfeit's Bennett, whose companies is also pushing hard into audio production with new hires as a means of driving new revenues. International co-productions are priorities for companies including Counterfeit and Insight, which is set to become part of local content giant Blue Ant Media as part of a deal for Boat Rocker Media's unscripted business.
Insight continues to work on Eurovision Canada, and there are hopes that a Liberal election win will reinvigorate CBC/Radio Canada further, with rumors of a local version of UK comedy entertainment format Taskmaster the word from several sources.
'I'm very excited about the atmosphere at the CBC,' says one major Canadian producer. 'It was a very sad place last fall, looking at extreme cuts, but now the people in management have a renewed sense of purpose with the increased nationalism in Canada – it has really enhanced their brand. There is a general enthusiasm and a lot of rumors about new shows they are making.'
'There's an understanding the value of the CBC is maybe more important now than ever,' adds Insight's Brunton, who is currently making a Canadian version of Jersey Shore for Paramount+, while Hutchie, whose company Luke Hutchie Productions is gearing up for Ghosting Season 2, says: 'The CBC knows the importance of making content that represents Canada, even in the current environment.'
Boltman from Friends of Canadian Media calls it 'absolutely critical that the next government support the entire Canadian media ecosystem, with CBC/Radio Canada at its core,' saying, 'Its programming helps unite us as a country and builds community across the vast distances that separate us. As the only media organization in the country mandated to serve all Canadians no matter where they live, CBC/Radio Canada centres a multiplicity of voices and perspectives, which is essential for a healthy democracy.'
Let's see if the country truly does agree when the ballot booths open on April 28. The world, Trump included, will be watching.
Best of Deadline
'Ransom Canyon' Soundtrack: All The Songs You'll Hear In The New Netflix Western Romance Series
Everything We Know About 'Emily In Paris' Season 5 So Far
Everything We Know About Ryan Coogler's 'Sinners': From The Themes To How It Was Shot