The study, conducted by EcoRessources "Update on the Economic Impacts of the Dairy Industry in 2015", is the fourth update tracking the economic impact of the sector, which since 2009, has been conducted every two years.

In 2015, the Canadian dairy industry contributed $3.8 billion in local, provincial and federal taxes.

The sector's contribution to Canada's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has increased from $15.2 billion in 2009 to $19.9 billion in 2015.

In 2015, the sector sustained approximately 221,000 full-time equivalent jobs – an increase of approximately 3% since 2009. The types of jobs have also changed, with the number of jobs at the farm level decreasing, and the number of jobs at the value-added processing level increasing.

Canada's overall milk production increased 6.71% between 2009 and 2015.

The economic activity related to milk production and processing is spread across every province.

While Ontario and Quebec have the bulk of milk production, processing and population of Canada, dairy farming remains one of the top two agricultural sectors of importance in seven out of 10 provinces. ■