Government Contracts Regulations

The Government Contracts Regulations (GCR, SOR/87-402) are the federal regulations behind competitive contracting: section 5 requires bids to be solicited before a contract is entered into on behalf of Canada, and section 6 sets out the only exceptions that let a contracting authority award without soliciting bids.

The general rule — section 5

Under section 5 of the GCR, bids must be solicited before any contract is entered into. Competition is the norm for federal contracting, and the Treasury Board Contracting Policy built its procurement rules on this requirement, including the low-dollar solicitation methods that operationalize it.

The four exceptions — section 6

Notwithstanding section 5, a contracting authority may enter into a contract without soliciting bids where: (a) the need is one of pressing emergency in which delay would be injurious to the public interest; (b) the estimated expenditure does not exceed the prescribed dollar limits — $25,000 for a goods contract, $40,000 for other covered contracts, and $100,000 for certain architectural and engineering services; (c) the nature of the work is such that it would not be in the public interest to solicit bids; or (d) only one person is capable of performing the contract.

Common questions

Do the GCR apply to all federal departments?

The regulations apply to contracts entered into on behalf of Canada by a contracting authority, with a schedule of exempt contracting authorities; Treasury Board contracting policy governs the departments within its scope and echoes the section 6 exceptions.

Are the section 6 limits the same as trade-agreement thresholds?

No. The GCR limits are federal administrative law; the CFTA and international agreement thresholds are separate and generally higher. A purchase under $25,000–$40,000 escapes the GCR solicitation requirement but may still be subject to other policies.

How do ACANs relate to the GCR?

An advance contract award notice is the transparency tool used when a buyer intends to award under a section 6 exception (typically the single-supplier exception) — it invites potential bidders to demonstrate they could meet the requirement before a non-competitive award proceeds.

Official source

Government Contracts Regulations, SOR/87-402, s. 5 (solicitation of bids) and s. 6(a)–(d) (exceptions), Department of Justice Canada; Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, Contracting Policy, ss. 4.1.5, 10.1.1 and 10.2.1 (application of GCR ss. 5–6).

Related definitions

Contracting authority · Sole-source justification · ACAN · Emergency procurement