Tag: French Canadians

It involved people buying cases of cheese in the United States, driving them back across the border into Canada without declaring the goods, and selling the ill-gotten product to local pizzerias. The reason this was so lucrative was Canada’s agricultural policy known as “supply management,” which results in milk and cheese prices that are as much as three times higher in Canada than in the United States. If this rings a bell, it might be because President Donald Trump has repeatedly attacked Canada during NAFTA talks over the past year for being “unfair” to American dairy farmers. Supply management is at the center of the biggest political shake-up in Canada in more than a decade, which could lead to the formation of a new breakaway political party that fractures the opposition Conservatives and all but guarantees Justin Trudeau another term as prime minister in next year’s elections. It just so happens that the dairy industry is also centralized in those provinces, making politicians loath to challenge the system. While Bernier stayed quiet for a while, he soon became a thorn in the side of the new leader by continuing to voice his opposition to supply management, accusing dairy farmers of having infiltrated the Conservative Party to elect his rival. What all this means for Canadian politics is still unclear, but early polling suggests a new party led by Bernier could draw enough support to act as a spoiler for the Conservatives in next year’s federal election. Surprisingly, the issue of the dairy lobby’s power could end up being resolved by Donald Trump. Canada’s dairy tariffs have been a key sticking point in ongoing talks between Canada and the U.S. over the renegotiation of NAFTA, and Trump has been attacking Canada’s protectionist policies since late last year, specifically singling out the dairy industry. It’s the perfect talking point for the president, who has upended numerous international relationships based on his belief that the United States is being taken for a ride.