How Trump's tariffs are threatening to spoil the success of Canadian cheese

In recent years, Canadian cheese has been having a bit of a moment south of the border, taking home some of the biggest awards in the Western hemisphere. But Trump's 50 per cent tariffs on certain dairy products, including Canadian cheese, are threatening to spoil this success.

Heavy tariffs put the squeeze on award-winning products

Sarah Petz · CBC News

· Posted: Nov 08, 2026 4:00 AM EST | Last Updated: 15 minutes ago

Listen to this article

Estimated 4 minutes

The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.

In recent years, Canadian cheese has been having a bit of a moment south of the border, taking home some of the biggest awards in the Western hemisphere.

The turning point may have been in 2024, when Quebec's Fromagerie la Station won best in show at the American Cheese Society's annual competition out of hundreds of entries from both North and South America — and repeated the feat a year later. 

Canadian cheeses were featured heavily among the winners at this year's awards as well. 

"It just makes American consumers and people in the industry pay attention to something that they didn't realise was there before," said James Hanly, a sales director for Provisions International in Vermont, and one of the importers of Fromagerie la Station. 

The string of awards got importers eager to bring in new, artisanal cheese from Canada that customers hadn't seen before, Hanly says.

"You know, people get excited about something new that is also shown to be high quality and delicious," he said in an interview with The Current. 

But Trump's 50 per cent tariffs on certain dairy products, including Canadian cheese, are threatening to spoil this success. 

LISTEN | Tariffs hurting Canadian cheese makers:

The Current21:27Trump’s 50% tariff is putting the squeeze on Canadian cheese

Canadian cheese has been winning big prizes and flying off American store shelves, but a 50 percent tariff is threatening that momentum. American cheese importer James Hanly and Ontario goat cheese maker Mark Anderson on how the trade war is hurting them – and the farmers who supply the milk.

Since the tariffs went into effect this August, Hanly says demand for Canadian cheese has trailed off because of the increase in price. 

"If the price becomes too expensive and customers stop buying it, and so the cheese shop or market stops bringing it in as well, you basically lose placement," he said. 

Trump has repeatedly attacked Canada's dairy industry and its decades-old supply management system as being unfair to American dairy farmers, alleging Canada locks out U.S. dairy from its market. 

But Hanly says the way Canada's dairy industry operates is part of what makes its cheese so great.

Canada operates on a dairy quota system, meaning producers will not be paid if they overproduce an abundance of milk.

Following their sweep of the midterm elections, Democrats say they'll work to revoke Trump's tariffs against Canada, which include a 50 per cent levy on certain dairy products. (Shane Hennessey/CBC)

"In the U.S, it's been a race to the bottom, trying to get the maximum amount of milk at the least amount of cost, which ends up producing lower quality milk that you can't use for cheese production," he said.

"Whereas in Canada with that closed circuit, you don't see that. You see, like, family farms thriving and succeeding and knowing what they're going to make. And so I think that stability and the quality of milk is what goes into that."

No other markets

The tariffs are weighing heavily on Mark Anderson, CEO of Mariposa Dairy in Lindsay, Ont., which has produced several cheeses that have earned top awards from the American Cheese Society in recent years.

With close to 80 per cent of their product exported to the U.S., the levies are posing a major threat to his business, and the 200 dairy goat farmers they purchase milk from. 

"We haven't got the ability to turn that off. I mean those farmers count on us to take their milk, turn it into cheese, and get it to market. We don't really have any other markets that are like the U.S. that can take that kind of volume," Anderson told The Current. 

• Facing a potential $40M US tariff bill, this American importer is suing Trump to end some tariffs on Canada

• Trump to swap some tariffs on Canadian goods amid midterm pressure

"So we're kind of forced to continue to keep our product on the shelf and find a way to work through these tariffs."

To avoid passing along additional costs to consumers, they've had to find a way to absorb them by working with their farmers, and distributor, the Gellert Global Group.

WATCH | U.S. importer suing Trump administration:

This U.S. company says it will fight Trump’s tariffs in court

October 31|

Duration

2:05

A U.S. food importer facing a tariff bill for possibly as much as $40 million U.S. for the year on some Canadian dairy products is fighting back. After losing faith a trade deal could be reached, Thomas Gellert, CEO of Gellert Global Group, says the company has decided to sue the U.S. government to try to end the tariffs and get refunds.

"We're spreading it out so we could all take a little bit of the pain so we can last a little longer until this gets resolved," Anderson said. 

Facing nearly $40 million in tariffs on the close to $80 million US worth of Canadian cheese it imports every year, the Gellar Global Group is currently suing the Trump administration to try to end some tariffs on Canadian products. 

Anderson said the amount the tariffs could cost his business is "not too far off" that $40 million figure as well. 

"It's phenomenal. It's not sustainable," he said. 

However, with the Democrats sweeping the House and Senate in midterm elections earlier this week, both Hanly and Anderson say they're optimistic that the tide could be turning. 

Senior Democrats have said the party will work to end Trump's tariffs on allies, including Canada, when the party takes control of Congress next year.  

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sarah Petz is a Toronto-based senior writer with the CBC News live pages team. Born and raised in Manitoba, her career has taken her across three provinces, multiple cities and to northern Uganda.