QUESTION PERIOD — Global Affairs
Supply Management
October 1, 2025
Leader, the issue of dairy farmer quotas is back in the spotlight following an article published in The Globe and Mail, which references anonymous sources claiming that the government was considering the possibility of offering U.S. dairy farmers greater access to the Canadian market in an effort to ease tensions with the United States.
What is this government plotting behind dairy farmers’ backs?
To begin with, as you know, Senator Carignan, you must never give credence to rumours. Rumours can lead to a lot of places.
The Prime Minister was absolutely clear during the election campaign, and the government’s position remains firm. When it comes to quotas and supply management, the Government of Canada will stand shoulder to shoulder with dairy, poultry and egg farmers to protect supply management.
I have no backroom information and my answers are definitely not based on rumours.
Well, that is good to hear. That makes me feel better. In fact, it is precisely because I don’t trust rumours that I am asking the Government Representative these questions.
This government has changed its mind several times, and there is a difference between what it said during the election campaign and what it is actually doing today. How can dairy farmers in Canada and Quebec be reassured by your response when several anonymous sources suggest that the government is putting quotas on the negotiating table?
Presumably, if the sources were reliable, they would not be anonymous. I was born on a dairy farm in Quebec. I know how important supply management is, not only for dairy farmers in Quebec, but also for all other supply-managed farmers in Canada.
The government has been very clear that it will protect supply management, and I have no reason to believe that it will change its position for any reason.
