Prime Minister Mark Carney on Friday afternoon said he is completely unwilling to put the Supply Management Agreement or Digital Services Tax discussions up for negotiation.
The supply management system issue, which tightly controls the sale of dairy, eggs and poultry in Canada, has arisen several times this week as federal leaders vie for voters’ support on the campaign trail.
Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre on Wednesday said he will “never” cancel the controversial agreement, and PPC leader Maxime Bernier is calling for the “dairy cartel” to be completely abolished — and has been saying so since his 2019 break with the Conservative party.
President Donald Trump has condemned the supply management controls, which for years has imposed a 250% to 300% tariff on dairy, preventing American farmers to sell their product in the Canadian market.
It also inflates the price of dairy and poultry for Canadians and adds up to a lot of waste — farmers are compelled to buy a quota from the government, and if they produce more product than the quota allows for, it goes to waste.
Multiple videos on social media show farmers having to dump out hundreds of litres of milk because it’s illegal to see it beyond the government-issued quota.
“We will never discuss supply management with the US,” Carey told reporters at a press conference in Montreal Friday afternoon.
“The government is strong and clear on that.”
“From the very first day of my launch of my Liberal leadership campaign, the launch of my economic platform, [I said] we will not have discussions on supply management.”
“It’s off the table.”
A second controversial law Carney will not revisit is the Digital Services Tax, which the Parliamentary Budget Office says will cost $7.2 billion, according to the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.
“The feds need to stop dreaming up new taxes and new ways to make life more expensive,” said Franco Terrazzano, federal director of CTF, when it was first introduced in October 2023, adding it will “mean higher prices for ordinary Canadians.”
The services tax tacks on a 3% charge to foreign and domestic large businesses on certain revenue earned from engaging with online users in Canada, focusing on tech giants like Amazon, Google, Facebook, Uber and Airbnb.
The PBO advised the tax inflates prices for Canadians — the big businesses will not absorb the tax, but rather have it trickle down to consumers.
“It is also expected that businesses in the targeted sectors will adjust their services and prices in response to the new law,” said the PBO.
Carney takes no heed to such warnings and is moving full steam ahead without looking back.
“Quebec, supply management, issues involving culture and arts — they will never, ever be on the table,” said Carney on Friday.
Despite his expressed inflexibility during the Q&A portion, the press conference itself was designed to convince voters the Liberals have a “plan to diversify Canadian trade by improving Canada’s trade enabling infrastructure.”
Carney’s government will “diversify trade away from the United States” and focus on building the Canadian economy.
“The President of the United States is trying to fundamentally restructure his economy by imposing harmful and unjust tariffs. Canada’s response is to fight, protect, and build,” said Carney.
“In this time of crisis, my new Liberal government will fight their tariffs, protect our workers and industries, and above all, we will use this opportunity to build a new Canadian economy.”
The Liberals promise to spend $5 billion on a Trade Diversification Corridor Fund that will diversify trade partners and strengthen the security of Canadian ports “to stop the flow of drugs such as fentanyl and its precursors, as well as illegal guns and stolen autos.”
A CBSA agent recently admitted that under the Liberals’ oversight, less than 1% of imports are searched — and zero imports coming by rail are searched.
“The road ahead in this trade war will be long and difficult, but I have every confidence in our people,” said Carney.
“We are stronger when we are together. We will build a more productive, more competitive, more resilient economy. We are ready to build the fastest growing economy in the G7.”