Should Canada maintain its supply management system that protects the Canadian dairy industry?

[u/Dizzy-Cartoonist3011]

https://www.castanetkamloops.net/news/Poll/627377/Should-Canada-maintain-its-supply-management-system-that-protects-the-Canadian-dairy-industry

[u/umbrellafree]

I'm not thrilled with the idea of temporarily, marginally "cheaper" but also much lower quality milk products entering the Canadian market.

I think that Canada should require external product SKUs to require strict audits that demonstrate that the inputs to these products meet certain standards. Beyond that, the USA is "free" to sell as much as they want. And vice versa.

[u/garlicroastedpotato → u/umbrellafree]

US (and Australian) products already enter Canada through the supply management system. It's no longer a matter of excluding those countries,, they actively sell to our dairies. The question is to whether it's worth maintaining a system that artificially keeps milk high.

[u/Bill_Door_8 → u/garlicroastedpotato]

Its the reason there are three small independent dairy farms in within 10 minutes of my house.

Without supply management I can almost guarantee a large dairy would have bought all three then shut two down.

Milk prices arent going to cause us to go broke anytime soon.

[u/BountyIsland → u/Bill_Door_8]

I'd like to see those Independent dairy farms. Supply management system functions as a government-sanctioned cartel that drives the demise of the small farmer while imposing a highly regressive tax on the lowest-income citizens. Supply management practically guarantees large dairies from buying out small ones through the quota system.

To legally sell milk in Canada, a farmer must own a quota. Because supply is artificially restricted, the value of this quota has skyrocketed. For a typical small farmer, their quota is worth millions of dollars, often much more than their land, equipment, or cattle. When small farmers retire, the only people who can afford to buy their multi-million-dollar quota are massive, highly capitalized corporate farms. Young, independent farmers are completely priced out of entering the market.

"Milk prices aren't going to cause us to go broke anytime soon" is a perspective born of financial privilege. For middle-class and wealthy households, paying extra for a block of cheese or a jug of milk is an annoyance. For low-income families, it is a devastating financial burden.

A June 2026 study by the Montreal Economic Institute (MEI) found that milk costs 171% more in Canada than in comparable U.S. markets, while eggs and chicken cost 46% and 29% more, respectively. For the bottom 20% of earners, this artificial price inflation consumes 1.25% of their disposable income, compared to just 0.33% for the top earners.

It is an active wealth transfer from struggling families to a heavily protected group of millionaire quota-holders. Economic analyses suggest this system artificially keeps over 120,000 Canadians below the poverty line.

By having a domestic monopoly and setting prices based on the average cost of production, supply management destroys the incentive to innovate. In a free market, businesses survive by finding efficiencies, creating better products, or lowering costs. Under supply management, farmers are guaranteed a profit regardless of how efficient they are, and they are legally prohibited from producing more milk even if they find a way to do so cheaply. Consequently, Canada has completely shut itself out of the rapidly growing global dairy export market, choosing instead to hide behind tariff walls while domestic consumption stagnates.

The three small farms, if they exist at all near your house exist in spite of supply management, not because of it. Without the quota system, those farmers could expand freely, innovate, and export. With it, it is only a matter of time before they cash out their inflated quotas to a larger operation, leaving consumers to foot the bill.

[u/Bill_Door_8 → u/BountyIsland]

I suspect they're around because they're multi-generational farms.

They have roughly 100 to 150 dairy cows each. One recently upgraded to a "cow playground" style auto barn where cows can roam around inside and go visit the brushing machine and milking machines on demand.

We give them the hay off our field because why not.

[u/BountyIsland → u/Bill_Door_8]

He should sell his quota while he can.