October 15, 2025
The Canadian Dairy Commission (CDC) is seeking a dedicated, national-level organization to represent the voice of Canadian consumers during its annual consultations on the farmgate price of milk.
This is a unique opportunity to play a meaningful role in shaping the future of Canada’s dairy sector by ensuring that consumer perspectives are heard and reflected in the price-setting process.
To prevent any perception of a conflict of interest, no remuneration is provided for this participation.
The organization must:
- Demonstrate activities at the national level that advocate for Canadian consumer interests;
- Have been operating for 5 years or more;
- Be a non-profit and registered; and
- Be equipped with the necessary resources and have time to participate in meetings with the CDC or other industry stakeholders for consultations purposes.
The following will be considered as assets:
- Knowledge of the agricultural sector
- Work experience with similar organizations providing feedback
To further analyse your expression of interest, please provide an answer to the following questions:
- Could you share an example of a time when you had to quickly learn about a new industry, one in which you had no prior knowledge or experience, in order to advocate for consumer interests?
- Can you give an example of a project you led that had a national impact?
- How do you arrive at a position on behalf of Canadian consumers?
- What is your consultation and decision-making process?
- Who are your stakeholders?
- Please describe your organization’s governance structure and tell us about the experience of the person who will be working on this file (CDC file)?
- Could you please provide two (2) references as part of your submission?
If you are interested in representing the consumer voice during the CDC’s pricing consultations, please submit a statement of interest in writing (5 pages maximum) by December 31, 2025, to Ms. Revolus and Mr. Charlebois via email. The statement of interest should explain how you meet the criteria and answer the questions listed above. If you would like more information about this process, please contact Priscilla Revolus at priscilla.revolus@cdc-ccl.gc.ca or Philippe Charlebois at philippe.charlebois@cdc-ccl.gc.ca.
Context
The mandate of the CDC is to provide efficient producers of milk and cream with the opportunity to obtain a fair return for their labour and investment, and to provide consumers of dairy products with a continuous and adequate supply of dairy products of high quality. Since the introduction of supply management in the dairy sector, the CDC has administered the national marketing quota. Each year, the CDC sets the farmgate price of milk and the support price for butter. These prices provide a benchmark and are used by provincial marketing boards to set the price of milk components in each province.
As part of its ongoing approach to ensure transparency in the process of establishing the price of milk at the farm, the CDC holds consultations on milk prices with dairy producers, processors, retailers, restauranteurs and consumers. Through an established process, the consultations are scheduled in October, once the final data from the survey on the cost of production and results of the national pricing formula are known. CDC Board members, Executive Directors, and other support staff from the CDC attend the consultations. Following these consultations and review of data, the CDC Board takes a decision on the farmgate price of milk and the support price, which are usually announced on November 1 and become effective on February 1st of the following year.
In 2024, the Consumer Association of Canada (CAC), which formerly represented consumer interests during these consultations ceased its activities. The CDC is now seeking a new organization to take over the CAC’s role in being the consumer’s voice during pricing consultations.
Jennifer Hayes
Chair