Political intrigue on both sides of the Canada/United States border could have a negative impact on Canada’s independent content producers, Reynolds Mastin believes.

As president and CEO of the Canadian Media Producers Association, Mastin represents many of those whose programming ends up on the nation’s screens.

In a wide-ranging interview with The Wire Report, Mastin looked at the uncertainty facing the industry. 

One of those concerns is U.S. President Donald Trump’s potential call for early renegotiation of the Canada-United States-Mexico (CUSMA) trade agreement. Originally scheduled to be opened up for review in 2026, the incoming president is reportedly now urging talks earlier.

As the Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA) head, Mastin wants Canada to stand firm against the possibility that the Americans could look to weaken the cultural exceptions currently included in the free trade pact. 

“Every time there’s a renegotiation there’s an opportunity to make gains,” Mastin states. “We are going to be encouraging our government to enter into any renegotiation of CUSMA with an aim, among others, of strengthening the cultural exemption.”

According to the federal government, the cultural exception allows Canada to “take measures to support and protect its cultural industries, without contravening the terms of the agreement.”

“Without a cultural exception, federal and provincial tax credits and program funds to support our newspapers and magazines, book publishers, and producers would be at risk,” the government says on its website. “The cultural exception also protects Canada’s broadcasting system, ensuring sustained investment in content created and produced by fellow Canadians.”

On this side of the border, independent producers are worried that Conservative federal Opposition leader Pierre Polievre’s campaign against CBC/Radio-Canada – in which he has said he would defund the public broadcaster should he become prime minister – will hurt them. Mastin says those fears are justified.

“The CBC is the single biggest domestic commissioner of independently produced content,” he states. “The economic impact just of that [defunding the CBC] would be very, very negative and significant.”

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Mastin concedes that the CBC needs to evolve. He pledges to work with the Tories to correct any problems while at the same time recognizing the public broadcaster fills an essential role in the nation, especially with children’s programming.

“Given the fracturing we’re experiencing both within the country and the pressures we’re facing from outside the country, having a national public broadcaster that is truly reflective of Canadian society and the diversity of ideas within the country, having that is more important than ever, we would argue,” he states.

Private broadcasters are also struggling. BCE Inc.’s Bell Media has laid off people and Corus Entertainment Inc. has hemorrhaged staff. The CMPA hopes this does not lead to reductions in Canadian content quotas for the private sector, which require one third of prime time programming to originate with Canadian producers.

“We will be taking a very strong position against any efforts by the broadcasters to significantly reduce their Canadian content requirements,” Mastin asserted. “That said, we also share the broadcasters’ view that those requirements should be equitably shared by foreign streaming services.”

Because the CRTC is just starting to implement the provisions of the Online Streaming Act, it is creating uncertainty, says the CMPA president. That should dissipate as the law becomes more established, he argues.

Mastin does not want to see the commission grant regulatory relief when it comes to Canadian content, or CanCon, saying that could result in programmers doing less than they are now. Even though larger broadcasters may lament the hit on their bottom lines when they are required to spend on Canadian programming, the CMPA president feels they should keep it in perspective.

“Most independent production companies would kill to have the margins that the major Canadian broadcasters do on their broadcasting assets,” he says.

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Independent producers have faced several challenges of late. Strikes in the United States by the actors’ union and the writers’ guild in 2023 halted productions, many of which film in Canada. Recovery has been slow but steady, Mastin reports. 

“A year ago if we had had this conversation, I would have felt highly pessimistic about the future and today I feel optimistically pessimistic, let’s put it that way,” he says.

Many of these issues will be front and centre at the CMPA’s annual conference, Prime Time. The 30th edition gets underway Jan. 29 in Ottawa.

There will be a panel featuring producer associations from other parts of the world, giving Canadian producers insight into how to deal with the international market. New CBC president and CEO Marie-Philippe Bouchard will address the audience. Former Conservative Minister of Canadian Heritage James Moore will be interviewed by comedian Mary Walsh, a veteran of This Hour Has 22 Minutes. 

Mastin has been working for the CMPA since 2008 and has been its leader since 2015. He likes the challenges the job entails. He plans to stick around for several years to come.

“If they’ll continue to have me in this role. I feel as lucky to have this job as I did the very first day on the job,” he remarks. “Producers have been genuinely an interesting group of people to represent.”

One of the benefits of his work is hearing the stories his membership has to share, he reports. He enjoys the give-and-take of dealing with the creative community.

ppark@thewirereport.ca