🇨🇦 Canada · Government procurement
How to find and win Canadian government contracts.
CanadaBuys (canadabuys.canada.ca) is the Canadian federal government's central platform for publishing tender notices, pre-qualified supplier lists, and contract award data. This guide explains how to register, discover opportunities, bid correctly, and stay on top of awards.
Four steps to your first Canadian federal government contract.
1
Register as a supplier on CanadaBuys
Create a supplier profile on canadabuys.canada.ca and obtain your Procurement Business Number (PBN) through the Supplier Registration Information system. This registration is required to receive electronic bid invitations and submit offers on federal tenders.
2
Search for open bid opportunities
Use CanadaBuys to browse tender notices filtered by commodity code, department, region, or closing date. You can also subscribe to email alerts for specific commodity categories directly on the platform.
3
Submit a bid that meets all requirements
Download the Request for Proposal or Invitation to Tender, address every mandatory requirement, and submit through the designated channel — CanadaBuys, BuyAndSell tender portal, or the method stated in the solicitation — before the closing time.
4
Track contract award notices
Contract award notices are published on CanadaBuys and in the Contracts Database (Open Government). Monitor awards in your commodity area to benchmark win rates and identify high-activity federal buyers.
🇨🇦 Live data
Search Canada government tenders
CanadaBuys is Public Services and Procurement Canada's (PSPC) successor to MERX and BuyAndSell.gc.ca. It serves as the primary channel for federal procurement notices, standing offer and supply arrangement calls, and contract disclosures. Provincial and municipal tenders publish on separate platforms — CanadaBuys covers federal government business only.
Canadian federal procurement is open to domestic and international suppliers under the terms of CUSMA (formerly NAFTA), CETA, and CPTPP. Suppliers from trade-agreement countries have access to most federal procurements above defined thresholds; some categories (e.g., shipbuilding, certain defence) carry exceptions. Individual solicitations state applicable trade agreement coverage.
The volume of federal notices across dozens of departments can be hard to track manually. Sell to State indexes Canadian federal procurement data, with plain-English search and saved tender searches with a daily email alert.
Frequently asked questions
What is CanadaBuys?
CanadaBuys (canadabuys.canada.ca) is the federal government of Canada's official procurement portal. It replaced the older BuyAndSell.gc.ca system and is the main place where federal departments publish tender notices, pre-qualification lists, and contract award data.
Can international companies bid on Canadian federal contracts?
Yes. Suppliers from countries covered by Canada's trade agreements — including the US, EU, and CPTPP member states — have access to most federal tenders above the applicable thresholds. Some categories, such as certain defence acquisitions, may have restrictions; check the solicitation for details.
Is CanadaBuys free to access?
Supplier registration and tender notice browsing on CanadaBuys are free. Some legacy tender notice delivery methods charged fees, but the main CanadaBuys platform does not.
How do I get alerts for Canadian tenders through Sell to State?
Search Canadian federal tenders on Sell to State by keyword, commodity, or department, then save the search. Turn on the alert for the saved tender search: once a day, we email you the number of new open and awarded tenders that match it.
What Canadian procurement data does Sell to State cover?
Sell to State indexes federal solicitations and contract award disclosures from CanadaBuys, making them searchable in plain English as part of a cross-country database spanning more than 190 nations.
Glossary
Key procurement terms
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