Agriculture minister defends supply management ahead of meeting with U.S. counterpart

A P.E.I. dairy farm will be the backdrop for a bilateral meeting today between federal Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay and his U.S. counterpart.

MacAulay is hosting Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue at his family's farm to discuss Canada's system for controlling the price and supply of dairy, eggs and chicken.

The U.S. wants the system abolished, with President Donald Trump blasting Ottawa for charging a 270 per cent tariff on imported dairy products.

MacAulay says supply management has proven "an excellent system" for Canada and the government intends "to make sure that it remains strong."

The meeting in Midgell, P.E.I., where MacAulay was born, raised and worked as a farmer, is a chance for the agriculture counterparts to discuss thorny trade issues in a potentially more amicable setting.

MacAulay says he shares an excellent rapport with Trump's agriculture secretary and that Perdue is a "free trader."