Proactive publication of contracts

Federal government entities must proactively publish information on contracts valued over $10,000 — no access-to-information request needed. For suppliers, this is a free, public record of who buys what from whom, at what value, across the Government of Canada.

What must be published

Per the Treasury Board Guide to the Proactive Publication of Contracts and Appendix C of the Directive on the Management of Procurement, departments publish quarterly: any contract valued over $10,000, positive or negative amendments valued over $10,000, and any positive amendment that modifies a contract's initial value to an amended value over $10,000. The obligation flows from sections 77 and 86 of Part 2 of the Access to Information Act. Contracts and amendments of $10,000 and under are not published individually — departments publish them annually as aggregate totals, along with acquisition card transactions regardless of value.

Where and when it appears

Published contract data is reported on the Open Government portal, which hosts a searchable database of government contracts over $10,000. Publication is quarterly — within 30 days after the end of the first three fiscal quarters (April–June, July–September, October–December) and within 60 days after the fourth quarter — so a contract awarded in January may not appear until late May. Note that published values generally represent the maximum potential total value at award (including applicable taxes), and for contracts with task authorizations or unexercised options the published figure may exceed actual spending. Departments may withhold or sever information for reasons consistent with Part 1 of the Access to Information Act.

What it means for vendors

Treat the contract database as market intelligence: search by buyer organization to see buying patterns and contract expiry timing, by supplier name to size competitors, and by commodity description to find recurring requirements worth positioning for. The Guide was updated and renamed effective June 30, 2023 (replacing the earlier Guidelines on the Proactive Disclosure of Contracts), and since calendar year 2017 departments report their contracting data on the Open Government portal rather than their own websites.

Common questions

Are provincial and municipal contracts in this database?

No. The database covers Government of Canada entities. Provinces and municipalities run their own disclosure regimes; BC, for example, publishes awards on BC Bid.

Why does a value sometimes differ from the final spend?

Because the published figure is the maximum potential value at award. Amendments valued over $10,000 are published separately, so the amended total is reconstructed by combining the original entry with later amendment entries.

Related definitions

Contract award notice · Contract identification number · Sole-source justification