Unlock Significant Opportunity in the Canadian Public Sector Market

By Brynn Bruder, Sr. Research Analyst, Deltek

For suppliers looking to break into a new market or expand their business, the Canadian government contracting market is full of opportunity. Public sector procurement spending in Canada is estimated to be worth at least $200 billion Canadian Dollars (CAD) annually. This figure includes the cost of social benefits and fixed capital, two significant areas of spending that do not fall under traditional procurement methods. As such, the market value of Canadian purchasing is more realistically estimated between $65 and $70 billion CAD. When breaking down this estimate, it is clear that numerous and varied procurement opportunities exist at all levels of government in Canada. This includes federal procurement spending of $20 to $22 billion CAD per year, provincial and territorial spending of $30 billion CAD, and MASH sector (municipalities, academic institutions, schools, and hospitals) spending of $15 to $18 billion CAD. Let’s take a look at how this spending happens each year and the role of cooperative purchasing.

Governments across Canada have begun diversifying how they procure critical goods and services, from releasing more requests for information to using more pre-qualified supplier lists. Similarly, the use of cooperative purchasing as a buying method has increased significantly over the past few years in Canada. While cooperative purchasing is not new to the Canadian government contracting space, it became widely adopted during the coronavirus pandemic and shows no signs of slowing down. Co-op activity occurs primarily at the provincial, territorial, and MASH sector levels and covers a wide variety of industries and purchases. Traditionally used to buy well-defined commodities, co-ops are now used to purchase a broader range of goods and services, such as professional services and software. Indeed, in the past few years, co-op groups across Canada, ranging from large to small, have offered nearly 800 different types of goods and services. However, commodities still dominate the co-op market.

Highlights from our Cooperative Partners

Kinetic GPO: Consolidate and Maximize your Spend with Group Purchasing



Public procurement is a time-consuming process. Many entities have anywhere from 300 to over 1,000 contracts to manage. When you look at that from a sheer manpower and bandwidth perspective, that is a lot of work -- and there are only so many hours in a day. Whether you are talking about equipment such as lawnmowers, the purchase and maintenance of air purification systems in a school district, or more routine needs like technology or office supplies, no one wants to wait months for what is needed.

That is why efficiency is one of the top reasons to work with a Cooperative Procurement Organization, commonly referred to as a Group Purchasing Organization (GPO). Why spend the time and resources soliciting suppliers and updating terms of contracts when there is a solution you can pull off the shelf that can cover thousands of items?

Read the full article.

Navigating Supply Chain Challenges with OECM’s Supplier Partner Insights

Supply chain issues continue to impact institutions, organizations and other entities across sectors. For a collaborative sourcing partner like OECM, it’s critical that customers and their procurement teams are in the loop on the latest supply chain news and industry updates. OECM’s dedicated Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) team consistently gathers, analyzes and shares supplier partner insights, industry news and market data to keep customers informed and equipped to mitigate impacts and navigate disruptions. Read the first installment of the Industry Spotlight for insights from OECM’s SRM team on the Paper and Multi-Function Devices (MFD) industries.

New Agreements from OECM 

Last month, OECM introduced our newly re-tendered and improved Real Time Utilities Monitoring Services Agreements to our Marketplace of Products and Services! These agreements provide access to a Vendor of Record (VOR) arrangement offering monitoring services for a variety of utilities (e.g., electricity, natural gas, water, propane, heating and cooling fluids).

Coming Soon! Find the latest details on upcoming new and re-tendered agreements, with anticipated award dates, and project leads, here. Contact OECM Customer Support to learn more about OECM’s agreements or to gain access to the Marketplace.