Canadian Government Procurement Glossary
Public procurement runs on vocabulary that is rarely explained to the suppliers expected to use it. A tender notice will tell you a bid is non-compliant without saying what compliance means, or weight rated criteria without explaining how they differ from mandatory ones. That gap costs small suppliers real contracts.
These 36 definitions cover the terms that actually change bidding decisions, written in plain English with examples. They describe Canadian federal practice; provincial and municipal buyers use much of the same language, though details vary.
Solicitation types
- Advance Contract Award Noticealso ACAN
- A notice that a buyer intends to award to one pre-identified supplier, allowing others to challenge that intention.
- Invitation to Tenderalso ITT, Invitation for Bid, IFB
- A solicitation for a precisely specified requirement, normally awarded to the lowest compliant bid.
- Request for Informationalso RFI
- A market-research notice that gathers supplier input before a real solicitation. No contract is awarded.
- Request for Proposalalso RFP
- A solicitation inviting suppliers to propose how they would meet a stated need, evaluated on both technical merit and price.
- Request for Quotationalso RFQ
- A short-form solicitation for straightforward, usually lower-value goods or services, decided largely on price.
Evaluation
- Best Value
- An award method that combines technical merit and price rather than selecting on price alone.
- Evaluation Criteria
- The published basis on which bids will be assessed and compared, including how technical merit and price are combined.
- Lowest Compliant Bid
- An award method selecting the cheapest bid that meets every mandatory requirement.
- Mandatory Requirementalso Mandatory criteria, Pass/fail criteria
- A condition a bid must satisfy to remain in the competition. Failing even one normally eliminates the bid.
- Rated Criteriaalso Point-rated criteria
- Scored criteria that measure the relative quality of compliant bids, usually on a points scale.
Contract vehicles
- Call-Up
- An order placed against an existing standing offer, forming a contract on the terms already agreed.
- Standing Offer
- A pre-arranged offer to supply goods or services at set prices over a period, drawn against by call-ups as needs arise.
- Supply Arrangement
- A pre-qualified pool of suppliers who may be invited to bid on individual requirements as they arise.
Classification
Compliance
- Bid Bond
- Security submitted with a bid guaranteeing the bidder will enter the contract if selected.
- Compliancealso Responsiveness
- Whether a bid meets every mandatory requirement and submission instruction. Non-compliant bids are set aside.
- Indigenous Procurementalso PSIB, Procurement Strategy for Indigenous Business
- Federal measures directing a share of contracting to Indigenous-owned businesses, including set-asides.
- Performance Bond
- Security provided after award guaranteeing the contractor will complete the work as agreed.
- Security Clearance
- Screening required for contracts involving sensitive information, sites or assets.
- Set-Aside
- A competition restricted to a defined category of supplier, such as qualifying Indigenous businesses.
- Trade Agreementsalso CFTA, CETA, CPTPP
- Domestic and international agreements that govern how public procurement above certain values must be conducted.
Process
- Addendumalso Amendment
- A formal change to a published solicitation, which bidders must acknowledge and incorporate.
- Award Notice
- A published record of a contract award, typically naming the supplier, buyer and value.
- Closing Date
- The deadline for bid submission, enforced strictly and specified with a time and time zone.
- Competitive Process
- Procurement open to multiple suppliers, publicly advertised and awarded on published criteria.
- Debriefing
- A post-award explanation to an unsuccessful bidder of how its bid was evaluated.
- Incumbent
- The supplier currently holding a contract that is being re-competed.
- Prime Contractor
- The supplier holding the contract with the buyer and accountable for the whole scope, including subcontracted work.
- Proactive Disclosure
- The routine publication of government contract data as an open transparency obligation.
- Sole Sourcealso Non-competitive contract, Directed contract
- Awarding a contract without competition, permitted only in defined circumstances.
- Solicitation
- The complete package of documents inviting bids, including the requirement, terms and evaluation method.
- Statement of Workalso SOW, Statement of Requirement
- The section of a solicitation defining the work to be performed, deliverables and standards.
- Subcontractor
- A supplier engaged by the prime contractor to deliver part of the scope, with no direct contract with the buyer.
Organisations
- CanadaBuys
- The Government of Canada's official portal for federal tender notices and awards.
- PSPCalso Public Services and Procurement Canada, PWGSC
- The federal department acting as the central purchasing agent for the Government of Canada.
Put the vocabulary to work
Search current federal opportunities, then read the notice with the evaluation criteria in mind rather than the scope description.
Definitions describe general Canadian federal practice and are not legal advice. Requirements, thresholds and programme criteria change — confirm details against the official solicitation and the relevant government source before relying on them.