Canadian registration closed and payments finalizing for second round of dairy compensation

Dairy farmers provide Canadians with a stable supply of high-quality products, and are an essential part of the country’s rural landscape. Supporting them as they adapt to new market realities and consumer demands is vital to ensuring the sector remains well positioned for future growth.

The Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, the Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, today announced that so far 9, 682 dairy farmers have registered under the second year of the Dairy Direct Payment Program. Their payments will total $459.4 million. To receive a payment, registrations needed to be signed and received no later than March 31, 2021. Remaining payments are being delivered in April 2021.

The Government of Canada has now made up to $813 million available to Canada’s dairy producers under the first two years of this $1.75 billion program. These payments are part of the government’s commitment to provide full and fair compensation to supply-managed sectors for market access concessions made under the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). Combined with the $250-million CETA on-farm investment program, these payments make up a total $2 billion compensation package for dairy farmers.

“Our government is getting payments out to dairy producers at twice the speed we had originally announced. With a second round of direct payments now being finalized, our Government is delivering on our promise of full and fair compensation, while ensuring our dairy farmers remain a strong and vibrant part of our rural communities.”

–       The Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food