Montreal

Tractor convoy passes through Montreal en route to Ottawa dairy protest

Dairy farmers from across Quebec passed through Montreal Wednesday on their way to Ottawa, where they will gather on Parliament Hill to demand supply management in the dairy industry be maintained.

Dairy farmers heading to Ottawa by tractor to press for supply management

A tractor makes its way across the Jacques-Cartier Bridge on Wednesday as part of a dairy protest. (Charles Contant/CBC)

Dairy farmers from across Quebec passed through Montreal Wednesday on their way to Ottawa, where they will gather on Parliament Hill to demand supply management in the dairy industry be maintained.

A dozen farmers driving tractors gathered in Longueuil at 9 a.m. ET and made their way across the Jacques-Cartier Bridge about an hour later. 

Organizers expect more tractors to join them as they head west to Ottawa.

The milk farmers will arrive on Parliament Hill Thursday, where they will be joined by dairy farmers from Ontario.

Quebec dairy farmers say they were promised financial compensation from Conservative and Liberal governments in exchange for signing Trans-Pacific and European trade agreements, but that they have not received anything as of yet.

The farmers are also requesting the government find an alternative to importing diafiltered milk.

Producers say the imported milk bypasses Canadian safety regulations.

Dairy farmers from Ontario and Quebec took part in a similar protest in 2015 prior to the federal election. (Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press)

with files from The Canadian Press