Question Period Note: Supply Management in Trade Agreements

Canada's typical position in trade negotiations is to exclude supply managed products from tariff liberalization. Canada has only provided new market access for these products in CETA, CPTPP, CUSMA.

• Our Government supports Canada's supply management system to provide stable, fair and predictable prices for famers and to ensure a stable supply of high-quality products for Canadians.
• Canada is a trading nation and an ambitious free trade agenda to open new markets for Canadian goods will continue to be a priority for our Government.
• As our Government works to open new markets and opportunities for Canadian businesses and consumers, we will continue to vigorously defend Canada's supply management system.
• The Government is committed to Canada's supply management system and will consider proposals in support of that system

Canada's supply management system provides fair and stable prices for producers by regulating production and pricing of dairy, poultry and eggs. Import controls are also necessary and constitute the third pillar of the system. Canada's typical position in trade negotiations is to exclude supply managed products from tariff liberalization. Canada has only provided new market access for these products in the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (or CETA), the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (or CPTPP), and the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA). The previous government under Prime Minister Trudeau reiterated at the highest level its commitment to protect supply management and to not provide any new market access for supply managed products in future trade agreements. In the previous two Parliaments, the Bloc Québécois introduced a private member's bill that proposed to amend the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Act to prohibit the Government of Canada from making any commitment in an international trade treaty that would have the effect of increasing tariff rate quota volumes or reducing over-quota tariff rates for dairy products, poultry or eggs. Both bills (C-216 and C-282) died on the Order Papers when elections were called. In the Bloc Québécois' election platform, it committed to reintroduce a bill to protect supply management from "being sacrificed by Ottawa in the CUSMA 2026 review", as soon as Parliament returns.

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