Quebec Premier Christine Fréchette met with representatives from the province’s agricultural sector Friday, wrapping up two days of emergency meetings as the government prepares for potential impacts of U.S. tariffs that could take effect Aug. 19. Fréchette said the federal government must uphold Canada’s supply management system, which controls the production and pricing of dairy, poultry and eggs. She said Quebec’s dairy sector could be most affected by tariffs. Quebec accounts for 37 per cent of Canada’s dairy production, with nearly 4,000 farms and tens of thousands of jobs in the industry, Fréchette said. “We need to make sure that the federal government will not put forward the idea of modifying the supply management for the dairy sector,” Fréchette said Friday. “Quebec has been so far the most impacted province when it comes to the impact of the tariffs. Many sectors have lost a lot of jobs, thousands of jobs, and therefore, it is even more important to preserve the supply management mechanism for the agriculture sector.” It was the second day of Fréchette’s emergency meetings with Quebec’s key sectors that could be affected by 50 per cent tariffs on several Canadian goods imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump. Fréchette’s first meeting on Thursday involved representatives from Quebec’s aluminum, forestry, and steel industries. Representatives from Quebec Employers’ Council, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, the Federation of Quebec Chambers of Commerce and Investissement Québec were also present. Thursday’s meeting also focused on calls for the federal government to protect Quebec’s economic interests and provide support measures for the province if Canada and the U.S. cannot reach a deal before the new tariffs take effect. Fréchette said Thursday that up to 9 per cent of Quebec’s exports could be affected by new tariffs, amounting to a potential impact of $7 billion. Quebec Economy Minister Bernard Drainville said at Friday’s meeting that there is still no deal between the two countries. The new tariffs are in response to what Trump called “Canada’s discriminatory treatment of U.S. commerce.” In the announcement, he cites provincial bans on U.S. alcohol, specifically mentioning Quebec, tariff-rate quotas on U.S. cheese, and certain tariffs and quotas on cars imported into Canada from the U.S. Quebec’s restriction on the sale of U.S. alcohol in provincial liquor stores operated by the Société des alcools du Québec (SAQ) was introduced in response to American tariffs first announced at the beginning of 2025.
