Government Procurement

Foreign government procurement markets are worth hundreds of billions of dollars annually and offer significant potential opportunities for Canadian exporters. Government procurement obligations in international trade agreements help to ensure that Canadian suppliers of goods and services are treated in an open, transparent and non-discriminatory manner when they sell to governments outside of Canada. In addition to suppliers, open procurement markets benefit governments and taxpayers by increasing competition, widening the choice of goods and services available and, importantly, lowering costs.

Government Procurement Agreements

Canada is working on a number of fronts to improve and secure government procurement market access for Canadian suppliers. Several agreements are already in place that benefit Canadian suppliers. These include:

• The Revised WTO Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA): The primary plurilateral instrument guaranteeing access for Canadian suppliers to a number of important government procurement markets. Access the text of the agreement, the latest list of Parties and background information.
• e-GPA Portal: A single point of access to the market access information under the Revised Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA), together with related information that the GPA Parties are committed to provide.
• North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) Chapter 10 - Government Procurement
• Canada - Chile Free Trade Agreement, Chapter K bis - Government Procurement
• Canada - Peru Free Trade Agreement, Chapter 14 - Government Procurement
• Canada - Colombia Free Trade Agreement, Chapter 14 - Government Procurement
• Canada - U.S. Agreement on Government Procurement (most provisions of this Agreement have either sunset or been subsumed by the Revised WTO GPA)
• Canada - Panama Free Trade Agreement, Chapter 16 - Government Procurement
• Canada - Honduras Free Trade Agreement, Chapter 17 - Government Procurement
• Canada - Korea Free Trade Agreement, Chapter 14 – Government Procurement

Canada is also working to bring the Canada - European Union (EU) Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) into force. Click here for an overview of the government procurement section, and here for the text of the chapter on government procurement with Canada’s market access offer and the EU’s market access offer.*

*Please note that the text of the CETA agreement is presented here for information purposes. The text presented in this document is as it stands at the end of the negotiations between Canada and the EU. It will be subject to legal review, a process that will also involve formatting. Subsequent to the legal review and formatting the complete text will become binding upon the completion of the ratification process by both Canada and the EU.

For information on the government procurement provisions contained in the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP), please visit the Department’s TPP website.  

Resources

• Public Works and Government Services of Canada (PWGSC) - Buying and Selling: Information and resources on Canada’s government procurement process
• MARCAN - Procurement information on Provinces, Territories and the Federal Government
• Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat - Contracting Policies and Guidelines
• International Trade Agreements and Local Governments: A Guide for Canadian Municipalities: Information on municipal government obligations as it relates to government procurement provisions in international trade agreements

Contact Point

If you have questions or comments, we would like to hear from you. Please contact the Global Affairs Canada at the following address:

Government Procurement, Trade and Environment Negotiation Division (TPZ) 
Global Affairs Canada
Lester B. Pearson Building 
125 promenade Sussex Drive 
Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0G2 
Fax: 613-944-3489
E-mail: consultations@international.gc.ca