Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks at a housing announcement in Toronto, on Aug. 5, 2026. The Canadian Press/Sammy Kogan
Prime Minister Mark Carney has signalled that his government will continue to defend Canada’s supply management system for dairy products in trade negotiations with the United States, which Washington has long criticized as a trade barrier.
“We can see that the Liberal Party is very loyal to this issue of supply management,” Carney told reporters in Saguenay, Que., after touring a local aluminum facility on Aug. 6.
Carney was responding to questions from reporters about whether Ottawa would continue to protect the supply management system, a key priority for dairy producers, particularly in Quebec and Ontario.
The Liberals recently nominated former Dairy Farmers of Canada board member Daniel Gobeil as their candidate in the upcoming byelection in the Quebec riding of Chicoutimi-Le Fjord. Carney said the nomination of the former dairy producer demonstrates a commitment to preserving supply management.
Canada’s supply management system, established in the 1970s, regulates the production and importation of dairy, eggs, and poultry to stabilize prices and protect domestic producers. The system includes tariffs of up to 400 percent on some imports and has long been a point of contention in Canada-U.S. trade relations.
U.S. President Donald Trump recently signed proclamations imposing new tariffs on Canadian goods, set to take effect on Aug. 19. The measures target products including alcohol, dairy, cement, and hockey sticks. Washington said the tariffs were prompted by Canada’s dairy supply management system, provincial restrictions on U.S. alcohol, and Canadian counter-tariffs on automotive parts.
The Liberal government has repeatedly maintained that Canada’s supply management system is not part of trade negotiations with the United States. Carney said in April 2025 that the system was “off the table,” and Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne has used similar language.
During the press conference, Carney was also asked about Trump’s comments at an event in Las Vegas the previous day, where he had referred to Canada’s leadership as “nasty” while touting his tariff regime.
“I love tariffs, right? Because we’ve been screwed by tariffs used against us for years. By China, by Japan, by South Korea, by Germany, by everybody — by Canada,” Trump said.
“Canada’s nasty. They are. They’re nasty,” he said. “I love the people, but they’re nasty. Nasty leadership.”
When asked about Trump’s comments, Carney described the situation as a “tough negotiation.”
“We can change the adjective. You can say ‘nasty,’ but I mean, this is a question of Canadian jobs,” he said. “It’s a question of the future of Canadian businesses.”
The prime minister was also asked if the federal government might impose export quotas on steel and aluminum, given that Canada has been hit with U.S. tariffs on those sectors. He said there are “different options on the table.”
Carney said Ottawa wants to negotiate a “win-win situation” with Washington on trade, but said this must involve steel, aluminum, and automobile sectors.
“All these are connected. So we’re not interested in having a very targeted deal without connecting other sectors,” he said.
