TORONTO – According to Ontario Premier Doug Ford, supply management in agriculture is something that is etched in stone. “We will never give up supply management as long as I’m premier,” Ford told a room of 800 dairy committee members at the annual Premier Doug Ford poses for a photo at the Dairy Farmers of Ontario (DFO) annual meeting.
“I will always support the federal government as they work to defend Canada’s supply management system.”
Hours later, the same message was repeated by Dairy Farmers of Canada (DFC) president David Wiens.
Wiens and other DFC members met in Montreal with Dominic LeBlanc, Canada’s Minister of Internal Trade of Canada, who also confirmed that supply management is not up for negotiation.
There seemed to be a common belief that those in agriculture must stand together, work together and collaborate, in order to present a common front to government.
According to Wiens, 5,000 letters of support in defense of dairy had been sent to government as of November, 2025, not just from farmers, but from their partners throughout the whole management chain.
Ford made a point of indicating his support for the dairy industry, guzzling a glass of chocolate milk and pointing to the $200 Million dollar expansion of Chapman’s Ice Cream as a home grown success story, saying that the province’s investment in the Agri-Food Innovation Alliance program will help farmers and agri-business compete in the global marketplace, while expanding research and innovation.
According to Ford, Ontarians have to stop focusing on the US and President Trump, and concentrate on the things we can control.
Putting money back in the pockets of businesspeople, according to Ford, leads to investment in their people, technology, their infrastructure, and maybe buying new equipment and then hiring more people.
Ford criticized President Trump’s propensity to attack his country’s number one customer, adding that together Canada and the U.S. are the strongest, wealthiest, richest, and safest two countries in the world.
