Canadian Industry Rebuffs Trump's DEI Rollback
That commitment came Monday at the Banff World Media Festival, where major Canadian broadcasters, producers, guilds and funding agencies unveiled a statement of values to double down on efforts to advance diversity and inclusion in the domestic screen industry to reflect the country's multicultural communities.
More from The Hollywood Reporter
Trump's Trade War Will Loom Large Over the Banff World Media Fest
'Maxton Hall: The World Between Us' Renewed for Season 3 at Prime Video
Stephen Curry, Nicola Coughlan, Patton Oswalt Lead All-Star Voice Cast of Sony's 'GOAT'
'It's holding each other to our promises, our commitments,' Christa Dickenson, CEO of CPAC, Canada's C-SPAN network, told The Hollywood Reporter. The statement of values asserts 'we believe that diverse perspectives, backgrounds, and lived experiences (including those of individuals from diverse racial, sexual, and gender identities and expressions, as well as those with disabilities) lead to stronger, more engaging, and innovative content.'
The goal for Canadian media players is to continue reflecting and representing all domestic audiences with a diverse field of programming. 'We commit to actively dismantling systemic discrimination, including racism, ableism, and other forms of oppression, within our organizations and throughout the screen industry,' the statement of values added.
In the wake of the murder of George Floyd in 2020, whose death sparked protests for racial justice, the Canadian film and TV industry, backed by government financing and tax credits, committed itself to greater diversity of creative voices, including new talent from the country's Black, Indigenous and People of Color communities.
But the second Trump administration has seen DEI efforts south of the border come under attack, with the U.S. entertainment industry putting efforts to diverse screen content on the back burner. The Canadian industry, after a series of consultations and bargaining, by contrast has looked to press ahead to maintain hard-won equality gains and resist pressures to once again marginalize and erase certain peoples on screen.
Joan Jenkinson, CEO of the Black Screen Office, told THR that, at a time of retrenchment in Hollywood from diversity and inclusion efforts, Canada's screen industry is distinct and stepping forward. 'We're doubling down on what we believe and, despite the rhetoric and the vitriol coming from Trump and from other parts of Europe, we're saying we want to be leaders in this space,' she insisted.
Jenkinson in her earlier address in Banff on Monday said the Canadian industry would not retreat, and instead will double down on its commitment to diversity and inclusion. 'Today, at Banff, we say this together: Canada's screen industry is not backing down. We're stepping forward.'
Around 75 major Canadian industry players and organizations have so far signed the statement of values, and more are expected to come on board after the unveiling in Banff. That effort has been helped by the federal Canadian government, led by Prime Minister Mark Carney, continuing to invest in diverse homegrown talent, in front and behind the camera.
And while the Canadian industry made early gains to close a gender gap in the film and TV industry, making strides in advancing and promoting talent from underrepresented Black, Indigenous and People of Color communities has been slower and more incremental.
Canadian media players face the same economic headwinds and slimmed-down content budgets that has led some of its American peers to give up on ideals. Against that backdrop, a beneficiary of a shift to supporting underrepresented voices in the domestic industry has been indigenous content creators, which includes producers of the recent Netflix and CBC comedy North of North, starring Anna Lambe.
'As the world's first national Indigenous broadcaster, APTN is proud to be a founding signatory and to help lead this collective step forward. Together, we're shaping a screen industry that is more inclusive, more reflective of the communities we serve, and guided by values that represent us all,' Mike Omelus, CEO of APTN, Canada's indigenous-focused TV network, said in a statement.
Best of The Hollywood Reporter
'The Studio': 30 Famous Faces Who Play (a Version of) Themselves in the Hollywood-Based Series
22 of the Most Shocking Character Deaths in Television History
A 'Star Wars' Timeline: All the Movies and TV Shows in the Franchise
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Newsweek
11 minutes ago
- Newsweek
Donald Trump To Release Billions In Frozen Funds: What To Know
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. More than $5 billion in frozen education grant funding to the states will be released in the coming weeks, according to the Department of Education. The money, which was used to found a range of initiatives including teacher training and English language programs, was suspended by the Trump administration on June 30 pending a review by the federal Office of Management and Budget. Newsweek contacted the Department of Education for comment on Saturday via email outside of regular office hours. The Context The announcement follows weeks of lobbying from both Democratic and Republican lawmakers concerned about the impact the funding suspension would have on their districts. Lawsuits aiming to get the money unfrozen had been submitted by 24 states and the District of Columbia along with a separate group of teaching unions, school districts and parents. What To Know On Friday, the Department of Education spokesperson Madi Biedermann said the funding had been unfrozen and would begin being paid out next week. The money was part of a larger sum of nearly $7 billion that had been approved by Congress for education spending and was due to be released on July 1, but that the Trump administration announced it had placed a block the previous day. On June 30, the Education Department announced the spending was under review with the Office of Management and Budget saying it would investigate whether it had previously been spent supporting a "radical left-wing agenda." President Donald Trump speaks to the media as he arrives at Glasgow Prestwick Airport on July 25, 2025 in Prestwick, Scotland, UK. President Donald Trump speaks to the media as he arrives at Glasgow Prestwick Airport on July 25, 2025 in Prestwick, Scotland, UK. Andrew Harnik/GETTY The money had been earmarked for a number of services including migrant education, English language programs and adult education with $2.2 billion committed to teachers' professional development. On Friday the administration said there would be "guardrails" in place to ensure the released money wasn't spent "in violation of executive orders or administration policy." Earlier this month the Supreme Court ruled the Department of Education can go ahead with its plan to lay off nearly 1,400 workers. The Trump administration reportedly considered abolishing the Department of Education in its entirety earlier this year. What People Are Saying In a post on X, Nebraska House Republican Don Bacon wrote: "Exciting news to announce! All frozen education funding for the upcoming school year have been released." Referring to the payments on Friday at the National Governors Association's summer meeting Education Secretary Linda McMahon said: "I would think now that we've reviewed them … a year from now, we wouldn't find ourselves in the same situation." Addressing The Washington Post Democratic Senator Patty Murray said: "This administration deserves no credit for just barely averting a crisis they themselves set in motion. "You don't thank a burglar for returning your cash after you've spent a month figuring out if you'd have to sell your house to make up the difference." Speaking to Axios Republican Senator Shelley Moore Capito said: "The programs are ones that enjoy long-standing, bipartisan support like after-school and summer programs that provide learning and enrichment opportunities for school aged children, which also enables their parents to work and contribute to local economies, and programs to support adult learners working to gain employment skills, earn workforce certifications, or transition into postsecondary education." Skye Perryman, president of the Democracy Forward campaign group, said: "While this development shows that legal and public pressure can make a difference, school districts, parents, and educators should not have to take the administration to court to secure funds for their students." What Happens Next Payments from the frozen funding should start going out next week according to the Department of Education.
NBC News
11 minutes ago
- NBC News
Why a 'mini Trump' is breaking through in Japan
TOKYO — As President Donald Trump's tariffs add to a sense of uncertainty in Japan, more voters here are embracing an idea inspired by their longtime ally the United States: 'Japanese first.' The nationalist slogan helped the right-wing populist party Sanseito make big gains in Japan's parliamentary elections on Sunday, as it capitalized on economic malaise and concerns about immigration and overtourism. Party leader Sohei Kamiya, who since 2022 had held Sanseito's only seat in the upper house of Japan's parliament, will now be joined by 14 others in the 248-seat chamber. It's a far cry from the party's origin as a fringe anti-vaccination group on YouTube during the Covid-19 pandemic. Though Japan has long had a complex relationship with foreigners and its cultural identity, experts say Sanseito's rise is another indication of the global shift to the right embodied and partly fueled by Trump, with populist figures gaining ground in Europe, Britain, Latin America and elsewhere. Kamiya 'fancies himself a mini-Trump' and 'is one of those who Trump has put wind in his sails,' said Jeff Kingston, a professor of Asian studies and history at Temple University's Japan campus. Speaking at a rally on Saturday at Tokyo's Shiba Park, Kamiya said his calls for greater restrictions on foreign workers and investment were driven not by xenophobia but by 'the workings of globalization.' He criticized mainstream parties' support for boosting immigration in an effort to address the labor shortage facing Japan's aging and shrinking population. 'Japan is still the fourth-largest economy in the world. We have 120 million people. Why do we have to rely on foreign capital?' Kamiya told an enthusiastic crowd. The election results were disastrous for Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who is facing calls to resign now that his conservative Liberal Democratic Party — which has ruled almost uninterrupted since the end of World War II — has lost its majority in both houses of parliament. The Japanese leader had also been under pressure to reach a trade deal with the Trump administration, which said Tuesday that the two sides had agreed to a 15% U.S. tariff on Japanese goods. On Wednesday, Ishiba denied reports that he planned to step down by the end of August. The message from his party's string of election losses is that 'people are unhappy,' Kingston said. 'A lot of people feel that the status quo is biased against their interests and it advantages the elderly over the young, and the young feel sort of resentful that they're having to carry the heavy burden of the growing aging population on their back,' he said. Kamiya, 47, an energetic speaker with social media savvy, is also a strong contrast to leaders such as Ishiba and the Constitutional Democrats' Yoshihiko Noda, both 68, who 'look like yesterday's men' and the faces of the establishment, Kingston said. With voters concerned about stagnating wages, surging prices and bleak employment prospects, 'the change-makers got a lot of protest votes from people who feel disenfranchised,' he said. Sanseito's platform resonated with voters such as Yuta Kato. 'The number of [foreign immigrants] who don't obey rules is increasing. People don't voice it, but I think they feel that,' the 38-year-old hairdresser told Reuters in Tokyo. 'Also, the burden on citizens including taxes is getting bigger and bigger, so life is getting more difficult.' The biggest reason Sanseito did well in the election, he said, 'is that they are speaking on behalf of us.' Kamiya's party was not the only upstart to benefit from voter discontent, with the center-right Democratic Party for the People increasing its number of seats in the upper house from five to 16. Sanseito, whose name means 'Participate in Politics,' originated in 2020 amid the Covid-19 pandemic, attracting conservatives with YouTube videos promoting conspiracy theories about vaccines and pushing back against mask mandates. Its YouTube channel now has almost 480,000 subscribers. The party has also warned about a 'silent invasion' of foreigners in Japan, where the number of foreign residents rose more than 10% last year to a record of almost 3.8 million, according to the Immigration Services Agency. It remains far lower as a proportion of the population than in the U.S. or Europe, however. Critics say such rhetoric has fueled hate speech and growing hostility toward foreigners in Japan, citing a survey last month by Japanese broadcaster NHK and others in which almost two-thirds of respondents agreed that foreigners received 'preferential treatment.' At the Sanseito rally on Saturday, protesters held up signs that said 'No Hate' and 'Racists Go Home.' Kamiya denies that his party is hostile to foreigners in Japan. 'We have no intention of discriminating against foreigners, nor do we have any intention of inciting division,' he said Monday. 'We're just aiming to firmly rebuild the lives of Japanese people who are currently in trouble.' Despite its electoral advances, Sanseito doesn't have enough members in the upper house to make much impact on its own and has only three seats in the more powerful lower house. The challenge, Kingston said, is whether Kamiya can 'take this anger, the malaise, and bring his show nationwide.'
Yahoo
38 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump to hit Scottish links as protesters set to rally
US President Donald Trump was expected to play golf on the first full day of his visit to Scotland Saturday, as protesters prepared to take to the streets across the country. Trump's arrival at his Turnberry resort has turned this picturesque and normally quiet area of southwest Scotland into a virtual fortress, with roads closed and police checkpoints in place. Officers on quad bikes, police sniffer dogs and horses patrolled the storied links -- which has hosted four men's British Opens -- and its adjacent sandy beaches and grass dunes that hug the course. The 79-year-old leader touched down at nearby Prestwick Airport on Friday evening, as hundreds of curious onlookers came out to see Air Force One and try to catch a glimpse of its famous passenger. The 45th and 47th president has professed a love of Scotland, where his mother was born, but has controversial politics and business investments in the country have made for an uneasy relationship. Unsurprisingly, his five-day visit has divided the local community. "A lot of people don't trust Trump and I'm one of them. I think the man is a megalomaniac," retiree Graham Hodgson told AFP. "He's so full of himself. I think he's doing a lot of damage worldwide with his tariffs. And I think it's all for the sake of America, but at the moment I think America is playing the price as well for his policies." But at Prestwick Airport a boy held a sign that read "Welcome Trump" while a man waved a flag emblazoned with Trump's most famous slogan -- "Make America Great Again". "I think the best thing about Trump is he's not actually a politician yet he's the most powerful man in the world and I think he's looking at the best interests of his own country," said 46-year-old Lee McLean, who had travelled from nearby Kilmarnock. "Most politicians should really be looking at the best interests of their own country first before looking overseas, which unfortunately most leaders of the world actually do," he told AFP. Trump's visit has seen Police Scotland embark on a massive security operation in which it has asked for support from other forces around the UK to bolster officer numbers. The Stop Trump Coalition has announced demonstrations near the US consulate in the Scottish capital Edinburgh and another in Aberdeen, where Trump owns another golf resort, for Saturday. Police will also be monitoring any other protests that might spring up near Turnberry. With no public meetings in the diary for Saturday, Trump was expected to jump in his golf cart and play what he called Friday "the best course anywhere in the world". He is due to discuss trade with EU chief Ursula von der Leyen on Sunday and is also due to meet UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer while in Scotland. pdh/har/ach
