Government contracts Canada

What is proactive disclosure?

Canada's proactive disclosure regime requires federal departments and many agencies to publish details of contracts, grants, travel and hospitality expenses, and reclassifications without waiting for an Access to Information request. For contracts, the standard threshold is $10,000 or more — anything above that must be published on the Open Government Portal.

Disclosures are typically filed quarterly. Each record includes the vendor name, a brief description of the goods or services, the award date, the contract value, and the awarding department or agency. The policy applies to approximately 130 federal institutions covered by the Financial Administration Act.

Where to find the data

Three main federal sources cover contract transparency:

• Open Government Portal — the canonical dataset for proactive disclosure contracts, searchable by vendor, department, and value range. Updated quarterly by each institution.
• CanadaBuys — the government's procurement portal listing active tenders, standing offers, and awarded contracts with more detail than the proactive disclosure feed.
• Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) — the central purchasing authority for the federal government. Large or complex procurements typically flow through PSPC.

How contract data links to political representatives

Government contracts become a transparency concern when a vendor has a financial relationship with a sitting MP or MPP — for example, through disclosed shareholdings, employment of a spouse, board memberships, or private business interests. The Conflict of Interest Act prohibits public office holders from participating in decisions that could further their private financial interests.

Integrity Index identifies potential contract links by cross-referencing government contract vendors against financial disclosures filed with the Ethics Commissioner. A contract link flag on a profile means a vendor relationship was detected — it does not indicate wrongdoing. The flag is a starting point for further review, with source links to both the contract record and the disclosure filing.

Provincial contract transparency

Provinces operate their own procurement and disclosure regimes. Ontario posts contracts over $10,000 through the Ontario Proactive Disclosure portal and uses the Ontario Vendor of Record system for standing agreements. British Columbia publishes contract awards through BC Bid and its proactive disclosure reporting system.

Coverage and granularity vary significantly by province. Integrity Index data coverage for provincial contracts is tracked on the Data coverage page.

Sole-source contracting and thresholds

Canada's trade agreements (CFTA, CUSMA) set thresholds above which open competitive bidding is generally required. For goods, the federal threshold is $25,300; for services, $101,100; for construction, $101,100. Below these thresholds, departments can use limited tendering or sole-source contracting, which receives heightened scrutiny from the Auditor General and parliamentary committees.

Proactive disclosure does not distinguish between competitively awarded and sole-source contracts — both appear in the same dataset. Contract type information is available through CanadaBuys for individual postings.

Using Integrity Index for contract research

Open any member profile from Browse members and scroll to the Contracts section. Rows are sourced directly from proactive disclosure feeds and linked back to the source record. Filter by jurisdiction to see federal vs. provincial contract exposure.

The Pulse feed shows recent contract activity across all tracked members in a single chronological view. Use it to monitor new disclosures as they are published each quarter.

Frequently asked questions

Are all government contracts publicly disclosed?

No. The $10,000 threshold excludes a large volume of low-value transactions. Contracts classified for national security or other exempted purposes may not appear. Some Crown corporations participate voluntarily and may have different thresholds or timing. The Auditor General periodically reviews compliance with proactive disclosure requirements.

How often is the data updated?

Federal departments are expected to post quarterly, but filing dates vary. Integrity Index syncs from the Open Government Portal feed and marks the sync date on each contract row. Gaps or delays in official filings will appear as gaps in the Integrity Index data for that department.

Can I download the full federal contracts dataset?

Yes. The Open Government Portal hosts the full proactive disclosure dataset in CSV format under an open government licence. You can filter, download, and analyze the data independently. Integrity Index uses the same underlying dataset but normalizes vendor names and links records to individual representatives.