Danielle Smith says pulling Alberta out of supply management is worth considering
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Smith said at a town hall in Red Deer, Alta., that she found the idea of the province opting out of supply management intriguing.
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'(C)reating our own Alberta version of supply management, maybe as a pathway to a market system and maybe just because it would stick our finger in the eye of Quebec … might be (something) we want to do a little consultation on,' said Smith.
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Smith noted that Alberta's share of the Canada-wide quotas for dairy and egg production allotted under supply management falls below its share of the population.
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Her comments came after one of the attendees, Lee Eddy, a resident of Red Deer County, said earlier in the evening that pulling out of the system would be one way for Alberta to grab the attention of Laurentian power brokers. The town hall was being held as part of Smith's Alberta Next panel, struck to consider tactics for enhancing Alberta's sovereignty.
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'If we really want to make the eastern politicians … change their underwear, we should remove our supply management from the Canadian system,' said Eddy.
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Quebec producers hold roughly 37 per cent of Canada's total milk quota, with Ontario producers holding 32 per cent, according to Agriculture and Agri-Foods Canada. Producers in the two provinces have exerted considerable clout over politicians, given their concentration in certain ridings.
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Alberta producers hold just short of nine per cent, despite the province representing more than 11 per cent of the national population.
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Eddy suggested that Alberta move first to a transitional provincial quota system and eventually to a market-based system.
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Supply management has emerged as a major trade irritant with the U.S., further complicating already delicate cross-border trade negotiations.
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During the recent federal election, Carney promised to keep supply management 'off the table' in new trade negotiations with the U.S. Federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has also said he supports supply management.
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Sylvain Charlebois, director of the Agri-Foods Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University, says that Alberta's relative lack of skin in the dairy-quota game gives it a freer hand to take on supply management.
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So we'll see a slowdown over the next few weeks no matter what, but we do expect a lot of inventory to come back in September. If there are sellers waiting, they'll have competition then.' Quebec The price per square foot increases in the Montreal market of years past have continued on an upward trend, with condo prices rising 5 per cent to about the same level as they were in 2022, while detached house prices rose almost eight per cent in price. Sebastien Bonnerot, from CENTURY 21 Élite in Gatineau, Quebec notes that the price trends in Montreal have settled into a comfortable spot for future growth. 'We're not seeing the big jumps in prices that we saw four to five years ago, but we've also moved past that short period of decline that happened around 2023. The market in the Montreal area is strong, we have a lot of young buyers who want a city lifestyle and like the culture and affordability that Montreal has to offer, compared to markets in Ontario.' Ontario Ontario, more than any other region of the country, is feeling the most negative effects of the uncertain economic conditions. Condo and house prices in most GTA markets are down, most notably in Toronto proper, where condo prices dipped almost 12 per cent, and in Markham, where detached home prices dropped 22 percent. Outside of the GTA, pricing changes were more moderate and mixed, with Ottawa emerging as a more popular market and seeing price increases – 22 per cent up for detached houses. Nelson Goulart, with CENTURY 21 Signature Service, sees how buyers and sellers have hesitated to jump into the market. 'They tend to take a position of 'wait and see,' similar to the 90's. There are different factors now, but they're concerned about qualifying at higher interest rates and once that uncertainly lifts, that's when they'll jump in. 'The market has perked up in the last few weeks, and at the end of the day, uncertainty will pass. There may be opportunity now to buy at reduced rates as long as people are looking for long-term investments and looking at the 'why' of their decision to purchase a home.' Prairies Overall, prices in the prairies were strong compared to the rest of the country. Only condos in Winnipeg fell in price, and then by just 1.5 per cent, while condos in Brandon, Manitoba saw the highest increases – riding 22 per cent in price per square foot. The relative affordability of this region continues to draw buyers looking for more value for their dollar. Gary Busch, from CENTURY 21 Fusion in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, notes that his province is the tortoise in the race – no huge changes, but steadily moving forward. 'We're probably going to see a big jump next year,' he notes. 'We have jobs, and immigration both from within and outside of Canada. The people who come here are all skilled workers with above-average jobs, with good wages, so we're building houses as fast as we can, and we have the advantage of still being affordable.' Alberta Alberta holds the distinction of being the only region that saw no drops in price per square foot, continuing a strong market trend observed in recent years. There are signs that some of the fervor around Calgary may have cooled – prices rose by less than one per cent – but smaller towns such as High River, Okotoks and Red Deer continued to see increases. CENTURY 21 Canada's annual survey of data on the price per square foot (PPSF) of properties gathers and compares sales data from its franchises across Canada from January 1 to June 30 of each year. By looking at the price per square foot at the same time each year the firm is able to get a good idea of how prices have changed over time for similar properties. This year's survey compares 2024 prices with this year's results. See full PPSF study results here. View interviews with CENTURY 21 Canada market experts here. For more information please contact: Shawn Hall Phone: (604) 619-7913 Email: shawn@ About CENTURY 21 Canada ® CENTURY 21 Canada Limited Partnership ( is a real estate master franchisor with complete rights to the CENTURY 21® brand in Canada. The CENTURY 21 System is one of the world's largest and most recognized residential real estate franchise sales organization with approximately 11,000 independently owned and operated franchised real estate offices worldwide and over 129,500 sales professionals. CENTURY 21 provides comprehensive technology, marketing, training, management, and administrative support for its members in 80 countries and territories worldwide. How the information was gathered by CENTURY 21 Canada CENTURY 21 franchisees were asked to help come up with the average price-per-square-foot in their market. Data published by the Canadian Real Estate Association for various MLS boards was also analyzed. However, calculating a precise number is not an exact science as every office and province tracks statistics slightly differently. As a result, most have used the median price and square footage in their market in sales from January 1 - June 30, 2025. Each franchisee has confirmed that that the numbers provided are an accurate representation of the trends market.
