The Canadian film and TV industry won’t be sweeping efforts to boost diversity, equity and inclusion as part of a racial reckoning under the carpet anytime soon in the face of the Donald Trump administration’s DEI crackdown.
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.
“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.
