SHIFTHEADS: The Chinese-Owned Plant Making Canada's Baby Formula and a Secret Export Operation

Canadian baby formula prices are up 70% in five years. There are still shortages. And the only plant producing baby formula in Canada ships most of what it makes to China and the United States. That plant cost $380 million to build. Canadian taxpayers confirmed at least $48 million of that. The company that owns it is Chinese. A heavily redacted 200-page document, pried loose through the Freedom of Information Act, confirmed the exports and raised new questions about how supply-managed Canadian milk ended up in a foreign-owned export operation. With CUSMA talks approaching and the US already accusing Canada of routing dairy through customs loopholes, the dairy file has become one of the messiest corners of Canada-US trade relations. Topics: baby formula Canada, supply management loopholes, Canada-China dairy, CUSMA review, dairy trade GUEST: Sylvain Charlebois | @‌foodprofessor Originally aired on 2026-06-04