Wellllll....it is more than just Quebec that makes maple syrup...
the Eastern provinces and Ontario have Sugar Maple trees... and there are plenty of individual farms that make their own and sell it as well...
But yeah... maple syrup is worth it's weight...literally ...
as far as price fixing...or cartels go...
a marketing board for wheat, milk, syrup , whatever...
isn't there to "keep the prices up" ...
it is there to make sure that fair pricing is in effect and to protect the livelihood of the farmers...
when that protection disappears...
the legitimate farmers do too...
plain and simple...
dropping the price of food is good for the consumer...
but frankly the cost is borne completely by the farmers..
so the fact is...pay what it costs to safely grow it...
you'll get good value and a product that hasn't had corners cut or unknown sprays, herbicides or pesticides used.
protect the farmers...
they feed everyone.
That is my view (having grown up a farm boy) on "cartels"...

Ice wine is tasty... but it is pure hype frankly...
we grow some of the finest wines in the world now...
and as far as other addictives go...
our cigarettes are amoungst the smoothest.
As far as "cheapest" goes... well I am sure there are plenty of things elsewhere... that are cheaper than here...
hardly relevant in my opinion...
things are more or less expensive depending on the value of the currency of where one is from in compare to Canada's....
so it is purely relative ..