Dairy Direct Payment Program: 1. What this program offers

1. What this program offers

Closed to applications

Intake period: Closed

The program ends on March 31, 2029.

Program objective

The objective of the program is to support dairy producers as a result of market access commitments made under recent international trade agreements.

Funding

Under the program, eligible dairy producers receive payments on the basis of their milk quota. From 2023-24 to 2028-29, the program will make available a total of $1.2 billion in compensation for the impacts of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA).

Current and upcoming payments

In 2025-26, $250 million was made available up to March 31, 2026 in the form of direct payments to eligible supply-managed cow’s milk producers. For example, an eligible producer with 80 cows could receive around $22,090 in 2025-26. To receive a payment, registrations must be signed and received no later than March 31, 2026.

In the next 3 years:

  • $150 million will be made available in 2026-27
  • $150 million will be made available in 2027-28
  • $100 million will be made available in 2028-29

Eligible producers must register each year of the program to receive a payment.

National allocation of funds on a provincial basis for year 2025-26

National allocation of funds on a provincial basisAllocated Quota
(% of the P10 Rounded)
Provincial share $
(Rounded)
Newfoundland and Labrador

0.64

1,586,189

Prince Edward Island

1.26

3,156,699

Nova Scotia

2.16

5,388,099

New Brunswick

1.68

4,199,240

Quebec

36.75

91,870,344

Ontario

31.88

79,706,597

Manitoba

4.39

10,971,006

Saskatchewan

3.14

7,860,565

Alberta

9.02

22,557,371

British Columbia

9.08

22,703,890

Total

100.00

250,000,000

Past direct payments

From 2023-24 to 2024-25, the program made available $550 million out of the $1.2 billion in compensation for the impacts of the CUSMA.

From 2019-20 to 2022-23, the program made available $1.75 billion in compensation for the impacts of the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). Up to $345 million, $468 million, $469 million, and $468 million in direct payments were made available in 2019-20, 2020-21, 2021-22, and 2022-23, respectively.

How the program is delivered

The Canadian Dairy Commission (CDC) delivers the program. The CDC:

  • collects information from provincial milk marketing boards on the licensed quota holders
  • calculates individual payments based on the percentage of each producer's provincial quota holdings
  • works closely with each of the provincial milk marketing boards to deliver funding