Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay has pushed back against Maxime Bernier’s suggestion that eliminating supply management would lead to cheaper milk for Canadians.

“The Conservative plan to eliminate supply management would cost billions of dollars. It would cost the closure of many farms and it would not affect the price of the product,” MacAulay told the House of Commons Thursday.

“Our government has continued to work closely with our farmers to protect and defend our farmers, which very much includes our supply management sector.”

Current Conservative party policy is to defend supply management. However, the way Canadian dairy, eggs and poultry products are produced and marketed has become a contentious file within the ongoing Conservative leadership race.

Quebec MP Maxime Bernier, whose riding of Beauce has one of the highest concentrations of dairy farmers in the country, has repeatedly promised to dismantle the “dairy cartel” over several years if he is elected prime minister.

He has insisted phasing out the system would lead to cheaper milk prices at the grocery store – an argument MacAulay disputed Thursday.

Bernier is the only Conservative leadership candidate in the 14-person race actively campaigning to eliminate supply management. Fellow Quebec MP Stephen Blaney, Toronto businessman Kevin O’Leary and Ontario MPs Lisa Raitt, Erin O’Toole and Michael Chong have all repeatedly defended the system.

Canada’s current supply management quota is valued at an estimated $30 billion.