Netflix Steps Into Quebec Political Fray After Deal With Trudeau

Pact with federal government has no sales tax, French content
Top broadcaster leads the charge as government pushes for tax

The Netflix Inc. app is displayed for a photograph on an Apple Inc. iPad mini tablet computer in Tiskilwa, Illinois, U.S., on Tuesday, July 12, 2016. Netflix is scheduled to report quarterly earnings on July 18.
Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg

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By Sandrine Rastello

November 22, 2017 at 10:00 AM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

Netflix Inc. is getting a taste of Canadian identity politics.

Quebec’s political and media establishment is pummeling the American video-streaming company after it pledged to spend C$500 million ($392 million) filming in Canada -- without committing to French-language content. The agreement with the federal government also sparked outrage and a campaign by the nation’s top broadcaster because it didn’t subject Netflix to a sales tax, which the province now wants to enforce on its own.