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Level of knowledge and perceptions of Canadians on supply management

Author

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  • Maurice Doyon
  • Stéphane Bergeron
  • Bruce Muirhead

Abstract

Supply management (SM) has recently attracted a lot of attention nationally and internationally. A bill (C‐202) to safeguard SM from future international trade negotiations was voted unanimously by the Canadian parliament in 2025. At the international level, tariffs associated with SM have been criticized by the Trump administration. Given that SM is based on a tacit social contract between SM farmers and society at large, as well as its political significance, it appears important to assess the level of knowledge of Canadians regarding this policy, as well as their perception of SM themes raised in the media. This paper reports the literacy score and perceptions on SM of a national survey of over 1200 respondents. To analyze the data, perceptions on SM themes are regressed on respondents’ level of SM literacy, sociodemographic data, as well as on two questions that are of a more ideological nature. Results indicate that Canadians have little knowledge of the working or scope of SM. Furthermore, after providing neutral information on themes related to SM that are or have been in the media, we find that the views toward SM policy are mostly negative, with the most negative perceptions held by respondents with ideologies that we loosely classify as economic conservatism. La gestion de l'offre (GO) a récemment suscité beaucoup d'attention au Canada et à l'étranger. Un projet de loi (C‐202) visant à la protéger des négociations commerciales internationales futures a été voté à l'unanimité par le Parlement canadien en 2025. Au niveau international, les tarifs douaniers associés à la GO ont été critiqués par l'administration Trump. Étant donné que la GO repose sur un contrat social tacite entre les agriculteurs de la GO et la société dans son ensemble, ainsi que son importance politique, il semble important d'évaluer le niveau de connaissance des Canadiens à l'égard de cette politique, ainsi que leur perception des thèmes de la GO soulevés dans les médias. Ce document présente le score de littératie et les perceptions de la GO, suivant un questionnaire national de plus de 1200 répondants. Pour analyser les données, les perceptions des thèmes de la GO sont régressées sur le niveau de littératie de la GO des répondants, les données sociodémographiques, ainsi que sur deux questions de nature plus idéologique. Les résultats indiquent que les Canadiens ont peu de connaissances sur le fonctionnement ou la portée de la GO. De plus, après avoir fourni des informations neutres sur les thèmes liés à la GO qui sont ou ont été dans les médias, nous constatons que les points de vue sur la politique de la GO sont majoritairement négatifs, avec les perceptions les plus négatives détenues par les répondants avec une idéologie est que nous classons de manière informelle comme « conservatisme économique ».

Suggested Citation

  • Maurice Doyon & Stéphane Bergeron & Bruce Muirhead, 2026. "Level of knowledge and perceptions of Canadians on supply management," Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics/Revue canadienne d'agroeconomie, Canadian Agricultural Economics Society/Societe canadienne d'agroeconomie, vol. 74(2), pages 82-98, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:canjag:v:74:y:2026:i:2:p:82-98
    DOI: 10.1111/cjag.70014
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