SEAO (Système électronique d'appel d'offres)

SEAO is Québec's official electronic tendering system. Under Québec contract rules, most public bodies — ministries, municipalities, school service centres, health institutions — must publish their calls for tenders (appel d'offres) on SEAO.

What gets published there

Appels d'offres for goods, services and construction, contract award notices, and sole-source justification notices. Thresholds matter: public contracts above roughly $25,000 (goods/services) and higher construction thresholds carry publication and, for many bodies, open-bidding requirements. Notices are predominantly in French — that is the legal language of Québec public contracting.

Bidding on SEAO as an outside supplier

Suppliers create an account, download the tender documents, and submit per the instructions — increasingly electronically. Businesses from outside Québec (including elsewhere in Canada) can bid, but French documentation requirements for marketing materials and contracts apply to many contracts. Contractors in the construction sector additionally deal with licence requirements from the RBQ.

Common questions

Is SEAO free to use?

Consulting notices and downloading most documents is free; some features and document packages have fees. Beware of third-party resellers charging for documents that are free on the official SEAO site.

Where else are Québec tenders posted?

Municipalities sometimes mirror notices on their own sites, but SEAO publication is the legal baseline. Aggregators — including pubsec.pro's live opportunity feed — index SEAO notices alongside other provinces so suppliers can track them in one place.

Related definitions

Tender notice · Contract award notice · Sole-source procurement · RFP meaning