Tenders in Canada

Public procurement in Canada

Key facts for bidders, checked against official sources (2026-10). General information, not legal advice. Always confirm the rules in the tender documents and on the official portal.

Main procurement law

Government Contracts Regulations (SOR/87-402), under the Financial Administration Act (1987)

Regulator

Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (Directive on the Management of Procurement)

Official portal

CanadaBuys

WTO procurement agreement

Canada is covered by the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA): above set value thresholds, suppliers from other GPA parties must be treated like local ones.

Foreign bidders

Under the Interim Policy on Reciprocal Procurement (in effect since 14 July 2025), a foreign supplier can bid only on federal procurements covered by a trade agreement between Canada and its home country, such as the WTO GPA or CETA. Suppliers from countries with no such agreement are excluded unless an exception applies. Canadian suppliers can access all opportunities, and Buy Canadian policies give them priority.

Notice languages

English, French

Currency

CAD

Good to know

Federal tender and award notices are published on CanadaBuys. Provinces and territories have their own procurement rules and portals.

Trade snapshot

GDP (2025)

US$2.32 trillion

Exports (2025)

US$726.9 billion in goods and services

Imports (2025)

US$746.5 billion in goods and services

Trade share (2025)

64% of GDP

Average tariff (2022)

1.4% (applied, trade-weighted, all products)

Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0).

Canada on FreeTender right now

2,334 open notices; the busiest sectors are construction & infrastructure (727), transport & logistics (219), financial & professional services (159), water & environment (153) and it & telecom (131).

Most active buyers: Ministère des Transports et de la Mobilité durable (Direction générale de la gestion contractuelle) (77), Highways (53), Peel Region (44), Ville de Montréal - Service de l'approvisionnement (36), NL Hydro (30).

Sources: laws-lois.justice.gc.ca · canadabuys.canada.ca · canadabuys.canada.ca · wto.org

About tenders in Canada

Public bodies and private organisations in Canada publish tenders to procure goods, works and services. On FreeTender you can browse open opportunities by sector, read the full notice and key dates, and go to the official source to verify and apply. Set up a free alert to be notified as soon as new Canada tenders that match your keywords are published.

Browse Canada tenders by sector