Change Order (Construction, Canada)

A change order is a written amendment to a construction contract that records an agreed change in the work, along with any adjustment to the contract price and contract time. In Canada the mechanics come mostly from the Canadian Construction Documents Committee's standard forms — chiefly CCDC 2 – 2020, the Stipulated Price Contract used by many public and private owners.

How CCDC 2 – 2020 handles changes

CCDC 2 – 2020's Part 6, "Changes in the Work," gives the owner two instruments. Under GC 6.1 the owner, through the Consultant, may make additions, deletions or revisions to the work by change order or change directive without invalidating the contract — and GC 6.1.2 bars the contractor from performing a change without one of the two, so a verbal instruction on site is not a change the contract recognizes. A change order is defined as a written amendment prepared by the Consultant and signed by the Owner and the Contractor stating their agreement on the change in the work, the method or amount of any price adjustment, and the extent of any time adjustment. Under GC 6.2.2 that agreement is effective immediately and the value of the work performed under the change order goes into the applications for progress payment.

Change order vs change directive

The difference is agreement on price. A change order records a change whose price and time are already settled — both parties sign. A change directive (GC 6.3) is the owner's instruction, issued when the work cannot wait for agreement: the contractor must proceed promptly, and the price is valued afterwards from the contractor's actual expenditures, subject to the cost items and limits set out in the general conditions. GC 6.3 restricts directives to changes within the general scope of the contract documents, and a directive cannot be used to change the contract time alone. Once the value of directed work is agreed, it is recorded in a change order.

What it means for public-sector bidders

Public owners issue CCDC 2 with supplementary conditions that can change how changes are valued and paid, so read them in every RFP for construction work. Because change-order value flows into progress payments, and statutory holdback rules in the lien acts apply to those payments, an agreed change affects both your cash flow and the money withheld at the end.

Common questions

Does a change order invalidate the original contract?

No. GC 6.1 expressly allows changes without invalidating the contract — the change order amends it.

What if we can't agree on the price of a change?

The owner can still issue a change directive to keep the work moving; the contractor proceeds and keeps cost records, and the adjustment is determined under GC 6.3. If the parties later agree, the outcome is documented as a change order.

Related definitions

Retainage vs holdback · Progressive bidding · RFP