Why John Krasinski's Rogers ad is upsetting Canadian union actors mired in labour dispute

The vice-president of Canada's English language acting union isn't happy seeing a Rogers ad featuring U.S. star John Krasinski letting loose to Taylor Swift in a boat on Lake Simcoe.

"Every time I see that commercial, it makes my skin crawl," said Keith Martin Gordey, who is also the president of the Union of British Columbia Performers. "The agency that made that, Publicis … has locked us out."

For more than two years, a labour dispute between The Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA) and a group of Canadian ad agencies has effectively prevented union actors from appearing in spots for many of the country's largest brands. 

Actor Jason Bryden says he moved to Toronto in 2012, because union commercial work had dried up in Vancouver.

"I just thought we should try Toronto and see if it's better there. And it was, until this lockout." 

He says he went from auditioning six times a week to once every six months.

"I know that would be a lot different if I left my union, if I was a non-union performer," he said.

Bryden and some Canadian actors say the related loss of work has contributed to them having to sell their homes. That's one of the reasons the ad, featuring a Hollywood star from an agency that isn't using Canadian union talent, has drawn criticism. Meanwhile, the group representing ad agencies in the dispute says agreeing to the deal the union wants would spell the end of union commercial work in Canada.

From the 1960s to 2022, ACTRA had a deal called the National Commercial Agreement (NCA) with two groups, the Association of Canadian Advertisers (ACA), representing Canadian brands, and the Institute of Canadian Agencies (ICA), representing the creative agencies that produce ads on behalf of brands.

The ACA has signed on to a series of extensions, allowing advertisers a path to work with agencies using union talent. Meanwhile, the ICA and ACTRA have been unable to agree on an updated version of the deal, with talks breaking down in April 2022.

ACTRA filed a bad faith bargaining claim with the Ontario Labour Relations Board (OLRB) against the ICA and ICA agencies. The union contends the NCA is a collective agreement, while the ICA says it's a contract that has expired, meaning they can use non-union actors. The OLRB hearings are scheduled through December..

Mediated discussions between the two parties broke down in the fall of 2023, with the ICA stating on its website that the mediator determined the parties were too far apart to continue with the process.

With union acting gigs drying up, Bryden says he had to sell his house in December and move to a different neighbourhood with his kids. 

He's also considering a career change at age 52 and is thinking about going back to school to get a Masters in psychology to become a counsellor or a psychotherapist.