Vendor Performance Management (VPM)

Vendor Performance Management is Public Services and Procurement Canada's (PSPC) policy approach for documenting and assessing how vendors actually perform on federal contracts — and, progressively, for feeding those past-performance ratings into the evaluation of their bids on future solicitations. It exists as a formal policy in the CanadaBuys Buyer's Portal, with a separate policy governing corrective measures.

What it is

Per the Buyer's Portal policy, VPM establishes a consistent approach for assessing vendor performance on each contract it covers and for using vendors' past performance when evaluating bids in future solicitations. Performance is assessed at regular intervals during the contract using standard scorecards organized around four categories — cost, quality, schedule and management — with separate scorecards carrying additional categories for architecture and engineering and for construction. VPM ratings are calculated with a weighted formula that aggregates evaluation scores from the most recent five years, placing greater emphasis on more recent contracts.

Rollout and current status

The program started small and is expanding in phases. Per CanadaBuys, VPM was introduced in November 2024 for select professional services procurements and expanded to goods and services requirements on September 1, 2025 — the first phase applying to PSPC-administered contracts valued at more than $100,000, excluding those using standing offers or supply arrangements — with phased implementation for requirements managed on behalf of other government departments since May 2026. As of the September 18, 2026 CanadaBuys update, performance scores were being collected to test and improve the program and were not yet retained to make procurement decisions; PSPC committed to giving suppliers a 90-day notice period before scores count in procurement decisions.

How ratings get used

When VPM ratings are used in a bid evaluation, they occupy a defined share of the scoring: the policy contemplates VPM representing about 3% of total evaluation criteria by default, with any deviation requiring approval by the ADM of PSPC's Procurement Branch. Contracting authorities are responsible for incorporating VPM clauses into solicitation documents — including how ratings will figure in the selection methodology — so a supplier can always see from the solicitation itself whether and how past performance will be scored.

Review and corrective measures

Vendors are not scored without recourse: the policy gives them access to a review process to challenge the results of performance evaluations, with a defined timeline and a Review Process Coordinator providing advisory support. Corrective consequences live in a separate instrument — the Vendor Performance Corrective Measures Policy, triggered for contracts that are conditionally amended or terminated for default. PSPC has also stated that VPM by itself will not lead to contract termination or vendor ineligibility; suspending a vendor from bidding remains governed by the separate federal Ineligibility and Suspension Policy.

Common questions

Does a weak performance score suspend my company from bidding?

No. A poor rating may weigh against you in future evaluations once the program's scores are in active use, but suspension and ineligibility run under the separate Ineligibility and Suspension Policy, and terminations for default trigger the corrective-measures policy — not VPM itself.

Do provincial and municipal buyers score vendors too?

Many public buyers keep their own vendor or contractor performance records, but "VPM" as defined here is the PSPC policy. Always check the solicitation for the evaluation scheme that actually applies to the bid in front of you.

Related definitions

Supplier suspension and debarment · Supplier debriefing · Evaluation criteria weighting · Contract close-out