President’s Message

Dear ACTRA Manitoba members,

It has been a crazy busy summer for ACTRA Manitoba and the fall is going to be equally busy! I can’t believe it’s been a year, but serving our Branch as ACTRA Manitoba President has been an absolute privilege and honour. Thank you for your faith in my leadership, and I promise to continue serving with diligence and strength in the years to come.

Mark Your Calendars!

November 7, 2026 is our Awards Gala!  Stay tuned for details on how to get tickets and be a part of this exciting night celebrating the amazing work we all do!

With a new award category, Breakthrough Performance by an Actor, and the beautiful Canadian Museum for Human Rights as our venue, it is sure to be an incredible evening.

AFBS will also be on site in the days leading up to the Gala, to have one-on-ones with any Full members who wants to pick their brains learn more about their benefits.

ACTRA Manitoba and Film Festivals

This summer, ACTRA Manitoba has had a presence across a variety of festivals.  I attended the Gimli International Film Festival where I presented the best performance awards, sponsored by ACTRA MB, to Sera-Lys McArthur for Many Wounds and Malia Baker for Hair of the Bear.

On August 25th, I had the honour of attending and presenting best performance awards again, but this time at the 48 Film Festival.

From September 10-15, 2026 I set out for the Toronto International Film Festival, where I attended many networking opportunities and meetings with producers, casting directors, talent agents, union and guild representatives from across Canada, actors and directors to promote our amazing workforce and why producers should come here and cast Manitoba. 

I made significant inroads with at least 3 producers saying they want to film here and they want to cast you.  I connected with opportunities to bring voice work to our members and representation.  I developed relationships with the Women in Film and Television – Toronto and with short film fest producers, who are offering incredible opportunities and benefits for ACTRA Manitoba.

I walked away inspired and encouraged.  Speaking for 5 days about what an amazing, talented group of people we have at home in Manitoba re-invigorated the tremendous pride I’ve always held for ACTRA Manitoba and the incredible work we all do.

Entertainment Unions Caucus

I have formed a working group between ACTRA Manitoba and the Manitoba Branches of DGC and IATSE.  We meet every 3 months to discuss joint concerns and opportunity for collaboration and information sharing between our unions.  This is a fabulous chance to grow our presence in the industry as a whole, with inroads already being made for joint training opportunities and social events with our sister unions.

Executive Summit – August 17-19, 2026

I attended a summit of the ACTRA National Executive in Toronto – approved at our June 2026 National Council Meeting – along with the Presidents of the Branches from across the country to discuss a very true reality: Dues and what Union Membership means for you.

What do your dues do for you? 

ACTRA is comprised of individual autonomous branches, like ACTRA Manitoba.  Union membership provides a number of services, both at the local level and nationally, as a collective.

At the Branch:

Our staff, Rea, Shauntana and Julie are superstars.  And I can’t say enough good things about them or their dedication.  And they do more than sit in an office.   ACTRA Manitoba:

  1. Provides front line Membership services, signing members up, changing membership status, and issuing work permits. 
  2. Tracks branch statistics such as membership diversity, production demographics, and the layout of our work and our industry.
  3. Provides local and regional advocacy, including liaising with larger Film & Television Industry stakeholders and counterpart Unions and Government leadership to ensure performers rights are protected
  4. Interprets and enforces the collective agreements that bind us all.  They are the ones who provide stewardship on sets and protect YOU in your work.  They fiercely fight to ensure that you are safe and respected on set.
  5. Fields questions and complaints from members, and engages disciplinary processes where appropriate. 
  6. Oversees and enforces production payment requirements, including remittances for all earnings in Manitoba.
  7. Supports Branch Council and National Council by facilitating Member Training, Member Events, MIP administration, the MIP Grants Program, the MIP Showcase, Awards Gala, Member communications, and Community & Public Relations

ACTRA National

ACTRA National enormous support to the Regional Branches, including ACTRA Manitoba including:

  1. The administration of Branch finances,
  2. Oversight of Membership Online Payments
  3. Providing Human Resources Support
  4. Negotiating staff agreement(s)
  5. Overseeing hiring
  6. Providing grievance & arbitration support,
  7. Providing IT support
  8. Enforcing collective agreements.

In addition to providing tremendous support to the Regional Branches, ACTRA National works and fights tirelessly for Canadian talent and Canadian work.

Whether it be the National Council and Executive bargaining the Independent Production Agreement or National Commercial Agreement (which is weeks and weeks of negotiations with producers), ACTRA PRS advocating to ensure use fees are properly paid, or AFBS providing extensive benefits to our members, ACTRA works tirelessly for its members.

ACTRA advocates and lobbies on matters of Artificial Intelligence, the meaningful presence of Canadian performers and content, the viability of reciprocal agreements, legislative change reflecting performers rights, and recognition of and respect for diversity.  The list goes on

ACTRA is more than just an office.  We are over 30,000 strong, and ACTRA fights for you. EVERY.  SINGLE.  DAY.

What is happening:

We met in August to discuss the current state of dues and what, in light of inflation over the past 20 years, is required to ensure that ACTRA can continue providing all the services and benefits

When our dues were set at $195 some 20+ years ago, that made sense.  Since then, inflation and the changing times have simply made it impossible to provide the same quality and level of services, even with significant financial cuts having already been made across the country, without raising dues.

It is likely that there will be another referendum in the future, and it is our prerogative to ensure you have every opportunity to engage in that conversation and be a part of the process.

We will be running sessions in the coming months to hear your voices on what did and didn’t work during the last Dues Referendum and to answer questions.

Then, having heard your voices, we will be coming back to you in 2027 with recommendations on next steps that incorporate your feedback.

Thank you for your time, and your support.  If you have any questions, know that you can always reach out:  kbomback@actra.ca

Kalyn Bomback
President and National Councillor
ACTRA Manitoba