Why John Krasinski’s Rogers ad is upsetting Canadian union actors mired in labour dispute [Video]

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 …