With world demand soaring, Canada’s dairy system keeps milk producers locked out of growth, and consumers stuck with high prices

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Prime Minister Mark Carney is no Justin Trudeau. While the team around him may be familiar, the tone has clearly shifted. His first week in office signalled a more data-driven, technocratic approach, grounded in pragmatism rather than ideology. That’s welcome news, especially for Canada’s agri-food sector, which has long been overlooked.

Historically, the Liberal party has governed with an urban-centric lens, often sidelining agriculture. That must change. Carney’s pledge to eliminate all interprovincial trade barriers by July 1 was encouraging but whether this includes long-standing obstacles in the agri-food sector remains to be seen. Supply-managed sectors, particularly dairy, remain heavily protected by a tangle of provincially administered quotas (part of Canada’s supply management system, which controls prices and limits production through quotas and tariffs to protect domestic producers). These measures stifle innovation, limit flexibility and distort national productivity.

Consider dairy. Quebec produces nearly 40 per cent of Canada’s milk, despite accounting for just over 20 per cent of the population. This regional imbalance undermines one of supply management’s original promises: preserving dairy farms across the country. Yet protectionism hasn’t preserved diversity—it has accelerated consolidation.

In reality, the number of dairy farms continues to decline, with roughly 90 per cent........

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