Carney says law protecting Canada's dairy supply management system is not necessary

Liberal Leader Mark Carney arrives at Maison de Radio-Canada to participate in television interviews, in Montreal on Thursday, April 3, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi

MONTREAL — Liberal Leader Mark Carney says it’s not necessary to protect Canada’s supply management system through binding legislation.

The stance puts him at odds with his party’s position less than two years ago, when the vast majority of Liberal MPs voted for a bill that would have protected the supply-managed dairy, egg and poultry markets from future trade concessions.

Speaking to a panel of Radio-Canada journalists on Thursday evening, Carney reiterated his assurance that supply management will “never (be) on the table” during trade negotiations with the United States.

But he said there’s no need to pass a law to safeguard the system, which controls the supply of dairy, poultry and eggs by setting production quotas for farmers, guaranteeing minimum prices and maintaining import controls.

“It’s not necessary to make laws for negotiating positions,” he said. “It’s not necessary. I know how to negotiate.”

U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly complained that Canada’s supply management system is unfair to American farmers, and has threatened tariffs on dairy products.

Carney has insisted that compromising on Canada’s dairy sector is a non-starter. On Thursday, he said negotiations on Canada’s trade relationship with the U.S. will begin shortly after the April 28 federal election - long before a law could be passed, he implied.

Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet, who appeared on the program after Carney, pointed out that the Liberals supported a Bloc private member’s bill in 2023 that would have prohibited further concessions on supply management.

Canada has opened up some access to its dairy market in recent trade deals, including the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement, which came into force in 2020.

“That means that everyone in the current Liberal party, except Mr. Carney, agreed that a law was relevant and useful,” Blanchet said. “Farmers want a law that they consider relevant and useful. That’s the only way to ensure that supply management is not a bargaining chip for the benefit of economic interests.”

The House of Commons passed the bill in June 2023, with the support of virtually all Liberal MPs and more than half of the Conservative caucus. But it faced pushback in the Senate and died when Parliament was prorogued in January.

American access to Canadian dairy markets was a major sticking point in North American free-trade negotiations during Trump’s first term in office.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 3, 2025.

Maura Forrest, The Canadian Press