Supply management costs Canadians average of $244 per year, MEI study finds

Cows are fed at a dairy farm in Granby, Que., Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi

MONTREAL — A new report from economic think tank MEI says supply management costs Canadian consumers an average of $244 per year.

MEI came up with that figure by comparing Canadian prices for dairy products, eggs and poultry with similar markets in the U.S. Midwest.

Canada’s supply management system has been around in its current form since the 1970s and seeks to keep prices stable and farmers’ income steady by limiting production of each product category.

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The study’s authors found milk costs 171 per cent more in Canada than the comparable U.S. markets, while consumers pay 46 per cent more for eggs and 29 per cent more for chicken.

And the impact is felt harder among lower-income Canadians than more affluent ones.

The study says the additional costs amount to 1.25 per cent of disposable income in the bottom quintile of households and 0.33 per cent in the top quintile.

“Supply management is a regressive policy that places a particularly heavy burden on the less fortunate while benefiting only a small number of farmers,” said Gabriel Giguère, senior policy analyst at MEI.

“For families struggling to make ends meet, it’s clear that having a few hundred more dollars in their pockets at the end of the year would make a big difference.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 18, 2026.