The Walrus: Eggs Are Still Affordable in Canada. Thank Supply Management

Credit: The Walrus Illustration (iStock / Tim Mossholder, Frances Gunn (Unsplash) / Ana Luisa O. J.)

More than 168 million birds have been lost or culled since the latest strain of avian flu hit US farms in 2022. It’s a mind-boggling figure that helped send egg prices in American supermarkets to historic highs this year—so high that some people were instead decorating potatoes and marshmallows over Easter. Canadian farmers—and Canadians in general—have been lucky, thanks in part to a supply management system for eggs, poultry, and dairy that was put in place more than half a century ago.

I never thought reporting on *supply management* could be this interesting, but if you've ever wondered how Canada's egg and dairy industries work, why our egg prices didn't soar, grumbled about the price of milk, and what's making Trump cranky about CUSMA, my explainer attempts to break it all down. Read it at The Walrus.