The Daily Canuck 29.06.2026

Research evidence excerpt

The Daily Canuck 29.06.2026

tently demanding more

access to what it considers an unfairly protected Canadian market. The White House’s demands are

clear. The Trump administration wants Ottawa to change the way import licences are allocated so that

Canadian retailers – such as Loblaws, Walmart and Costco – will be able to import American dairy

products. In creating the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which went into effect in 2020,

Canada consented to an increase in dairy imports from the U.S. However, the Americans argue that

they have not been able to capitalize because Ottawa only allows dairy processors and distributors

access to import licences. Demand from these entities is not as high as demand from retailers would

be, according to the U.S. Dairy Export Council, resulting in less than half of the total quota being

used. Ottawa has so far refused to comment on whether it will be changing dairy import restrictions.

However, in October sources told The Globe and Mail that the office of Dominic LeBlanc, the federal

minister responsible for Canada-U.S. trade, had discussed the costs of changing import licencing rules

with dairy processors.

Chart of the Day

Last Friday, Statistics Canada reported that the Canadian general government posted a $16.4B deficit

in the first quarter of 2026, up $1.5B from a year earlier, as expenses rose 0.4% and revenue edged

down 0.1%. Excluding social security funds, the deficit was $34.1B, little changed from $34.0B a year

earlier.

The federal deficit widened by $3.3B to $19.4B, driven by lower revenue and higher expenses, while

provincial and territorial deficits narrowed by $5.2B to $18.2B because the first quarter of 2026 did not

include the large one-time Ontario transfers seen in the first quarter of 2025.