Chicken is loved by Canadians, so growing the right amount every day is important.
Supply Management matches production to what consumers are looking for, so you can be sure that locally grown chicken is available at the grocery store and on your plate.
Supply Management is one of Canada’s agricultural strengths. It is a practical, made-in-Canada system that helps farmers produce the right amount of chicken, eggs, turkey, and dairy to meet Canadian demand and standards — while supporting stable prices, local farms, and a dependable food supply.
It does so much!
Supply Management is Canada’s homegrown agricultural superpower — our uniquely Canadian system that keeps fresh, local chicken on BC tables
In fact, Supply Management had a significant start in BC. Seeing the success of wheat pools in the prairies, BC chicken growers were the first to unite in the early 1960s to safeguard BC’s chicken industry. By the 1970s, a national system was put in place to ensure all Canadians enjoy top-quality, locally-grown, ethically-raised chicken.
Made in Canada
A proven food system built here at home
Matched to demand
Production tracks what British Columbians actually buy
Steady Supply
Fresh, local food for grocery stores and restaurants at a stable price
Strict standards
Among the world's toughest food safety and animal care rules
Supply Management is true to its name — a system that manages the supply of chicken, and regulates the work around growing top-quality food.
Together, these defining pillars create a stable, reliable system for all Canadians — for farmers, the agricultural industry, grocery stores, and families.
Quotas ensure farmers grow a steady and planned supply.
Imports from foreign markets are limited, putting the food our farmers grow first.
Their cost of production informs whether they are paid fairly.
BC chicken farmers are expected to grow what BC residents regularly need. There are chicken farms and processors throughout the province, supporting their communities and stocking grocery stores with fresh, locally grown chicken.
And a chicken farmer can only grow that chicken by following strict food health and safety rules and animal welfare practices — some of the highest in the world!
A predictable supply of quality food is managed in BC and across the country. This makes for a stable market with reliable prices.
It helps prevent the boom-and-bust cycle seen in other markets, where under- or oversupply drives prices up or down for shoppers and farmers.
In less stable markets, pressure to produce at ever-lower prices or below cost contributes to consolidation, harsh competition, and can even force family farms out of business.
Chicken growers get paid based on the real cost of raising chicken to Canadians standards. Farmers are then able to support their families, invest back into their farms, and keep providing high-quality chicken.
Supporting the people who grow your food makes for a resilient food system.
It helps farmers earn a dependable return without relying on government subsidies or bailouts. Common in other countries, those subsidies may not add up at the checkout but are a hidden cost to taxpayers.
Supply Management is national, but it is implemented province by province. In BC, that means chickens are grown and processed all over the province, meeting local demand — most of the fresh chicken in your grocery store is locally grown!
That local capacity is important in an uncertain world. Trade disruptions, disease like avian influenza, extreme weather, and global supply chain challenges affect your food. Our system allows for a coordinated response where provincial boards work together to stabilize local supply and coordinate needs between provinces.
A strong chicken industry here at home helps Canada remain less dependent on other countries for an essential protein.
Supply-managed chicken farmers must meet rigorous food safety, animal care, and biosecurity standards. Farms are inspected and audited regularly to ensure those standards are being followed.
Canada also has clear rules about how chicken is raised, some of the highest in the world. Hormones and steroids have not been permitted in Canadian chicken production for decades. All broiler chicken is grown cage-free and free-range. In competitive or less regulated markets, standards may be skipped to sell more. Not so in Canada.
You can be confident the chicken was raised to standards that protect health, animal welfare, and public trust — grown so well that you’d let your family eat it.
We believe in BC’s chicken growers. And we believe BC families deserve fresh, local chicken raised to some of the highest standards in the world.
Across Canada, supply-managed farms support hundreds of thousands of jobs, contribute billions of dollars to the economy and help feed Canadian families every day. The system works because it puts Canadian food security, fair prices, stable supply, and local production first.
Weakening or eliminating Supply Management would mean more reliance on imported food and less Canadian production under Canadian standards.
In a world where stability can no longer be taken for granted, any system that strengthens Canadian self-sufficiency — especially in food — is worth defending.
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