End Supply Management
As inflation continues to squeeze Canadian families, the rising cost of food has become a pressing national issue.
The New Democrats and the Liberals have pledged to tackle inflation, curb price gouging, and address child poverty. Leaders like Jagmeet Singh have railed against supposed corporate greed and price manipulation, while Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government has introduced programs claiming to feed your children.
But despite these efforts, food affordability remains a serious problem in Canada. If our political leaders are committed to making nutritious food accessible for all Canadians, they must confront a significant, primarily ignored factor: Canada's supply management system.
This is also an opportunity for the Conservative Party of Canada, which traditionally supports free markets and policies that protect families. As the Conservatives inch closer to forming government, potentially without significant support from Quebec—a province where supply management has strong backing—this is the perfect time for the party to make a bold move.
Dismantling supply management would align with their free-market principles and offer tangible relief to millions of Canadian consumers, particularly low-income families struggling with rising food costs.
Supply Management: A System That Hurts Families
Supply management, which governs the production and pricing of dairy, eggs, and poultry in Canada, was designed decades ago to stabilize farmers’ incomes. However, this system now acts as an unnecessary burden on Canadian consumers, artificially inflating the cost of essential food items. Farmers are given strict quotas on how much they can produce, and sky-high tariffs—often more than 200%—are imposed on imports.
This creates a closed market that keeps prices far higher than in a free-market system. According to a 2021 report from the Montreal Economic Institute, Canadian families pay up to $600 more per year on dairy products alone due to supply management. This is no small sum, particularly for low- and middle-income households already feeling the pinch from Justinflation.
To put this in perspective, a litre of milk in Canada costs between CAD$1.50 and $2.50, compared to USD 1.00 (around CAD 1.35) in the United States, where such market controls don’t exist. The cost of other staples, such as eggs and chicken, follows the same pattern, with Canadians paying significantly more than their American counterparts.
These artificially high prices disproportionately affect families and individuals struggling. As inflation continues to drive up the cost of housing, fuel, and other essentials, paying extra for basic food becomes an unbearable burden for many Canadians. For some, the price difference is between having three meals daily or skipping meals to cover rent or bills.
The Conservative Opportunity: Free Markets and Family Values
The Conservative Party has historically championed free markets and policies promoting family well-being, but they also support the supply management food cartels. Ending supply management would achieve both goals. In a genuinely free market, prices are determined by supply and demand, leading to lower consumer costs and more production efficiency.
While Conservatives have long supported free markets, they have been reluctant to challenge supply management, largely due to political concerns in vote-rich Quebec, where the system is popular among producers. Being simultaneously pro-trade and supporting supply management are incongruous political positions.
However, with the Conservatives drawing closer to forming government and potentially without significant electoral support from Quebec, now is the time for a strategic shift. Shedding the protectionist supply management policies would be a bold and forward-thinking move that would distinguish the party as serious about free markets and family welfare.
It would also send a powerful message to voters, particularly in regions where food insecurity is rising. Conservatives could frame the policy change as a direct effort to reduce food prices, ease the burden on low-income families, and protect Canadian consumers from the artificially high costs that supply management imposes.
Moreover, transitioning away from this outdated system could be managed through temporary support for producers to help them adjust, ensuring Canadian farmers are not unfairly penalized.
The Ethical Case: Dumping Food While Canadians Go Hungry
Perhaps the most shocking aspect of supply management is the waste it produces. To keep prices high, millions of litres of milk are dumped every year when production exceeds the artificially controlled quotas.
In 2023 alone, tens of millions of litres of milk were discarded—wasted food that could have gone to Canadians in need. This is an unconscionable practice in a country where nearly 2 million people rely on food banks to survive. How can wasting food while many families struggle to afford basic groceries be justified?
This waste flies in the face of Canadian values of compassion and fairness and contradicts the principles of a free market. It needs to be stopped.
The Bloc Quebecois' Game
Given that the significant dairy industry in Quebec benefits immensely from supply management, the Bloc Quebecois is seeking to leverage the weakness of the Trudeau minority in exchange for a Bloc private members bill that would advantage and prolong supply management.
Food cartels are worried that their system could be eroded in trade deals in which Canada may grants access to larger sections of the market that the cartels control. This would benefit mist other food producers like cattle ranchers and canola farmers.
Supply management thus creates challenges for broader agricultural trade opportunities and stands in the way of agricultural growth. With Canada striving for more significant trade partnerships on the global stage, the supply management system presents a complex dilemma.
One of the key setbacks is the restriction it places on open market access. As Canada operates under a controlled supply chain for specific products, it hinders the ability to embrace free trade agreements fully. International partners rightly view supply management as a protectionist measure, pressuring Canada to dismantle or reform this system as part of trade negotiations.
The Bloc's desire to shield supply management from future changes is embodied in Bill C-282. The Bloc Québécois’ Bill C-282 is a legislative proposal to amend the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Act. This bill seeks to protect Canada's supply management system and reportedly has support from all parties in Parliament.
One of the primary objectives of Bill C-282 is to prevent the Canadian government from making concessions in international trade agreements that could undermine the supply management system. This is particularly relevant in trade negotiations where foreign countries often seek increased access to Canada's agricultural markets.
Consequently, this limits the potential for growth in agricultural exports, as Canada's trading partners seek reciprocity and open market access. Central Canada benefits the most from supply management, and its trade reverberations seem to hurt Western producers the most.
A Call to Action
For New Democrats and Liberals, the solution to supporting families and children through food affordability lies in targeting corporate greed or expanding social programs. If they are serious about addressing child poverty and food insecurity, they must be willing to confront supply management's role in keeping prices artificially high. Jagmeet has an opportunity to fight supply management greed.
Likewise, for Conservatives, ending supply management is a natural extension of their free-market impetus and commitment to family values.
The time for change is now. Regardless of party, Canada’s leaders should recognize that dismantling supply management would be a direct, meaningful step toward making food more affordable for all Canadians and maximizing agricultural chances to expand Canada's exports. With the rising cost of living pushing more families into food insecurity, we cannot afford to let outdated policies inflate prices, perpetuate waste, and curtail chances for more agricultural growth.
Ending supply management is not easy, but it is right. As Canadians continue to line up at food banks in record numbers, leaders must ask themselves if it isn't time to stop protecting the interests of a few and stand up for the many.
It’s time to end supply management and support a food system that works for all Canadians—not just the fortunate few. All other parties should unite to kill the Bloc's Bill C-282.