Green Party leader Elizabeth May says Parliament will never permit cabinet to trade away Canada’s dairy quotas, vowing to protect the supply-managed sector in the face of renewed U.S. complaints.“We have to stand up,” said May, MP for Saanich–Gulf Islands, after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened new tariffs over what he called unfair protection of Canada’s dairy industry. “No thank you, Mister Trump, we will hang onto our supply management and protect our dairy farmers and protect Canadians.”Trump, in a July 10 letter, warned of a 35% general tariff on Canadian goods starting August 1. He criticized Canada’s dairy tariffs as high as 400% and said U.S. farmers struggle to access the Canadian market. “The trade deficit is a major threat to our economy and indeed our national security,” Trump wrote..The dispute comes just weeks after the federal cabinet backed down on the Digital Services Tax Act, a law set to charge $3.7 billion in levies on large U.S. tech companies. The tax was suspended June 29, hours before implementation.May said that decision raises concerns about future trade concessions. “When we cave on the digital sales tax, how do we stand up and protect supply management?” she asked. “If you back down on a digital sales tax, why wouldn’t we back down on supply management? We promised to protect it.”May also pointed to health and safety as reasons to shield the dairy sector from U.S. imports. .“Let’s talk about why Canadian dairy farmers are protecting our health,” she said, noting Canada banned bovine growth hormones rejected by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration but still used in American milk production. “Bovine growth hormones are not legal in Canada.”Parliament on June 17 passed Bill C-202, a Bloc Québécois bill that bars the government from making any international trade deal that alters Canada’s quotas for dairy, eggs or poultry.
