The Canadian government should think about ending supply management in light of increasing globalization and burgeoning international trade, former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney told farmers and other agricultural stakeholders Wednesday.

“When governments try to manage any form of trade, they undermine both efficiencies and productivity that healthy competition can inspire. There needs to be more balance – one that ensures a measure of stability without stifling innovation,” Mulroney said in a keynote speech at the Grow Canada conference in Ottawa.

“That is why in anticipation of either a regional or multi-lateral consensus on serious reductions of practices that distort agricultural trade, I believe we should give some thought to the consideration to the careful, innovative and generous phase-out of our supply managed programs for dairy and poultry.”

Mulroney’s comments were met with cautious applause, prompting Canada’s eighteenth prime minister to joke, “I can tell there are not many Quebecers here.”

Mulroney acknowledged that the idea of getting rid of Canada’s supply management system is a politically perilous idea in Canada – one which many politicians strive to avoid discussing.

“I recognize the political allergies on the issue in Canada, especially in an election, but cannot help but think we tend to ignore both the benefits for Canadians and the enormous export potential that could be derived if we were to unshackle these sectors in a sensible manner,” Mulroney said.

It’s not the first time a politician has called for the end of supply management. Former Liberal MP Martha Hall Findlay, a Canadian businesswoman who ran for Liberal leadership in 2006 and 2013, has also called on the federal government to scrap the protectionist program.

In a policy paper published by the University of Calgary in 2012, Hall Findlay argued Canada’s steadfast defence of supply management has resulted in inflated milk prices for consumers, and has undermined the country’s ability to access new markets.

Supporters of supply management, including the Dairy Farmers of Canada and the Chicken Farmers of Canada, have long argued the system maintains stable prices for diary and poultry producers, while ensuring viable supply and demand for their products.

In an email Wednesday afternoon, a spokesperson for Dairy Farmers of Canada – the industry group which represents the country’s 12,500 dairy farmers – stood by supply management. The dairy industry is a economic leader in seven of the ten provinces according to data from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, the organization said, an achievement reached thanks to supply management.

“Dairy farmers are proud to be a source of jobs and economic activity across the country, and have no hesitation in recognizing the role of supply management in this,” the statement reads.

The Quebec dairy lobby is seen as one of the sector’s most powerful sources of political influence, particularly in Quebec. With Quebec shaping up as a battleground in the next election, few politicians are likely to be keen on ruffling feathers there.

The future of supply management hasn’t dropped out of the recent political conversation entirely, though. The issue dominated much of the media and political discourse during negotiations on the recently finalized Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (CETA) between Canada and Europe.

While the federal government has said repeatedly that none of the supply management programs were compromised during the negotiations, dairy farmers and cheese producers are livid that Canada allowed limited access to European fine cheeses. Under the agreement, which has yet to be ratified, European cheese makers will have Canadian access for 16,000 tonnes of additional fine cheese and 1,700 tonnes of industrial cheese.

The government expects rising demand from the domestic market will absorb most of the changes. Still, Prime Minister Stephen Harper has pledged compensation for dairy farmers should the new access hurt their industry. Few details have been given out on who would be eligible for that compensation, or how it would be shared out.