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<\/p>\nAnd Gobeil said he spoke with Dominic LeBlanc, the minister responsible for Canada-U.S. trade, as Washington pressed Canada over its supply-management system, particularly in the dairy sector.<\/p>\n
\t<\/p>\n
Canada\u2019s supply-management system regulates production and prices for dairy, poultry and eggs and uses import quotas and tariffs to protect domestic producers.<\/p>\n
A federal law adopted last year, which originated as a Bloc Qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois bill, prevents Ottawa from making trade commitments that would increase import quotas or lower tariffs protecting supply-managed dairy, poultry and egg sectors.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were discussions,\u201d Gobeil said of his exchanges with LeBlanc, adding, \u201cI knew what was going on \u2014 not all of the demands, but certainly those within my area of expertise, the dairy sector.\u201d<\/p>\n
Protecting supply management became a major issue during Gobeil\u2019s byelection campaign. A Canada-U.S. trade agreement appeared within reach for several days, with reports suggesting Canada was considering changes to how it administers dairy import quotas.<\/p>\n
But Carney suspended the talks and ordered Canada\u2019s negotiating team home, saying Washington had introduced last-minute demands Canada could not accept.<\/p>\n
Gobeil said that decision was a \u201cgame changer\u201d for his campaign.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt happened on a Friday night,\u201d he said. \u201cSaturday morning, we saw Carney\u2019s polling, he was at 85 per cent in Quebec. People were behind that \u2018Ma\u00eetres chez nous\u2019 position.\u201d<\/p>\n
The phrase, which translates roughly as \u201cMasters in our own house,\u201d was popularized by former Quebec premier Jean Lesage during the Quiet Revolution of the 1960s and has recently been invoked by Carney.<\/p>\n
The win flipped a seat previously held by the Conservatives and was part of a three-byelection sweep for Carney\u2019s Liberals on Aug. 31.<\/p>\n
Gobeil repeatedly said he had been reassured that Ottawa was not considering concessions that would undermine the supply-management system.<\/p>\n
Asked whether he had played a role in the negotiations, Gobeil said his influence was more limited, with LeBlanc, Canada\u2019s chief trade negotiator Janice Charette and Carney\u2019s inner circle leading the talks.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would say perhaps more of a role in their position, but I wouldn\u2019t go so far as to say I had a role in the negotiations,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Gobeil heads to Ottawa at a difficult time for Saguenay\u2014Lac-Saint-Jean, about 200 kilometres north of Quebec City, where the aluminum and forestry industries have been hit by U.S. tariffs.<\/p>\n
The region is also home to Canadian Forces Base Bagotville, which is hoping to benefit from increased federal defence spending.<\/p>\n
With speculation circulating about a possible cabinet shuffle, Gobeil said he would be willing to take on a larger role.<\/p>\n
\u201cClearly, if the prime minister sees an additional role for me on the team, I\u2019ll be there,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
But Gobeil said he is also happy to begin his work as an MP and bring a regional perspective to the Liberal caucus.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have a lot of people, friends of mine, who work in forestry and are facing challenges, and people in aluminum,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Back home in La Baie, Gobeil has begun handing over more responsibility for Ferme du Fjord, his family\u2019s dairy and grain farm, to his son, daughter and nephew.<\/p>\n
Their help, he said, allowed him to take on other roles over the years and eventually make the jump into federal politics.<\/p>\n
For Gobeil, farming also prepared him for the demands of a political campaign.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn the farm, the days are long,\u201d he said. \u201cThe days are long in a campaign, too. That\u2019s part of my everyday life. And I think people recognized that we work hard. That\u2019s part of the values we carry with us.\u201d<\/p>\n
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 5, 2026.<\/p>\n
\u00c9milie Bergeron, The Canadian Press<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"And Gobeil said he spoke with Dominic LeBlanc, the minister responsible for Canada-U.S. trade, as Washington pressed Canada…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":197510,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[98],"tags":[214,286,111,280,287,279,281,282,116,283,284,285,49],"class_list":["post-197509","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mark-carney","tag-breaking-news","tag-central-vancouver-island","tag-mark-carney","tag-nanaimo","tag-nanaimo-breaking-news","tag-nanaimo-news","tag-nanaimo-news-now","tag-nanaimonewsnow","tag-news","tag-oceanside","tag-parksville","tag-qualicum","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/197509","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=197509"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/197509\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/197510"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=197509"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=197509"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=197509"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}