Canadian Dairy Commission

The Canadian federal government has been active in supporting the dairy industry since 1890, when the first Dominion Dairy Commissioner was appointed.

In 1967 the government of Canada passed the Canadian Dairy Commission Act which established the Canadian Dairy Commission (CDC).

The Canadian Milk Supply Management Committee, whose members include the CDC and representatives of provincial producer marketing boards, was set up in 1970 to administer the national Market Sharing Quota.

In 1972, the Farm Products Agencies Act authorized the establishment of supply management, which can restrict production by use of quotas.

Product quality

Although Canadians pay high dairy prices, quality is not assured according to Dalhousie University professor Sylvain Charlebois. He pointed to Buttergate which revealed the practice of feeding cows with palmatite, an imported palm oil derivative, which affects butter's hardness.

The consumer cost of dairy products

The CDC limits the supply of milk entering the market, which keeps the price to consumers among the most expensive in the Western world.

Milk farmers are required to participate in the supply management price-fixing system, an arrangement that would be illegal in almost any other sector of the Canadian economy (the Competition Bureau in 2018 brought a case against retailers for fixing the price of bread).

Also, the high cost has a disproportionate impact on low-income Canadians, since a greater proportion of their incomes are spent on dairy products.