How procurement works

Get an overview of how the Government of Canada procurement process works, including information on what we buy, and relevant policies and guidelines.


Policies and guidelines

We follow many policies, regulations and directives that ensure our procurement process is transparent and carried out with integrity.

See the list of all our policies and guidelines or check out some highlights below.

Supply Manual

Learn more about the policies and procedures that guide contracting officers in offering procurement services.

Consult the supply manual


See a list of all the trade agreements that Canada must follow when doing procurement.

Find all procurement clauses and general conditions, with instructions on how they are used.

Procurement process

Get an overview of our procurement process, starting from planning to contracting, to managing contracts and close out.

View the full procurement process or check out some highlights below.

This is when the buyer defines requirements, drafts a procurement strategy and completes other planning activities.

At this stage the bidding begins! This includes bid solicitation and evaluation, contract award and debriefing.

Final activities happen here, such as progress monitoring, delivery follow-up, payment action, monitoring and file close out.

Programs and initiatives

Need some extra guidance to make the government procurement process as simple as possible? We offer a variety of programs and initiatives that can help.

Refer to all our programs and initiatives or check out some highlights below.

The Government of Canada's strategy to support Indigenous businesses with procurement opportunities.

This program includes policies and procedures to minimize the environmental impact of procurement

Helping eligible organizations increase their buying power and generate economic benefits for suppliers.

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