Canadian federal tenders this week: Oct 12–18, 2026 — 130 new notices in a Thanksgiving week
By Canada Bid Intel research team · Published · Data cutoff 2026-10-19 09:29 PDT · Period: Oct 12–18, 2026 · 4 min read
Federal departments and agencies posted 130 new tender notices on CanadaBuys in the week of Oct 12–18, 2026, −15.0% from 153 the week before. The drop is mostly the calendar: Monday, October 12 was Thanksgiving and nothing was published, so the week had 4 publishing days instead of 5. Per weekday, the flow was 32.5 notices against 30.4. Award notices dated in the same week number 50 so far, worth $24.8 million.
Key findings
- 130 new federal tender notices (Oct 12–18) against 153 (Oct 5–11), −15.0%. Per publishing weekday the rate rose to 32.5 from 30.4 (4 days this week because of Thanksgiving, 5 the week before).
- National Defence posted 34 notices, up from 25, or 26.2% of the week. Public Services and Procurement Canada posted 43, down from 62.
- The Prairie provinces gained: Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba had 17 notices with delivery there, against 10. Atlantic Canada slipped to 11 from 20.
- Construction & facility maintenance services was the largest category with 16 notices (22 the week before), followed by management & business professional services (14) and vehicles & vehicle parts (incl. military) (13).
- Award notices dated Oct 12–18: 50, 42 with a value, totalling $24.8 million. The largest was $4.8 million to Brawn Construction Ltd for “131 Queen Office Space Fit-Up and Modernisation”.
New federal tenders, Oct 12–18, 2026
We count a tender notice once, on its CanadaBuys publication date. 130 federal notices were published between 2026-10-12 and 2026-10-18, by 27 buying organizations (the week before: 34). The busiest day was Wed with 43 notices. All 130 were still open for bids on 2026-10-19; the median notice gives bidders 21 days between publication and closing (week before: 21).
Open bidding remained the norm: 90 notices (69.2%) were open competitions, 22 used selective tendering (invitations to pre-qualified suppliers, often from a supply arrangement) and 14 were traditional competitive notices. There were 4 advance contract award notices (ACANs), where the government intends to award to one named supplier unless another company proves it can meet the requirement, down from 10. Browse every open notice in the federal tenders search or set a free tender alert.
Week over week: Oct 12–18 vs Oct 5–11
| Measure | Oct 5–11 | Oct 12–18 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| New tender notices | 153 | 130 | −15.0% |
| Publishing days (Mon–Fri) | 5 | 4 | |
| Notices per weekday | 30.4 | 32.5 | +6.9% |
| Buying organizations | 34 | 27 | −20.6% |
| Open-bidding notices | 109 | 90 | −17.4% |
| Advance contract award notices | 10 | 4 | −60.0% |
| Median days to close | 21 | 21 | |
| Award notices (by award date) | 89 | 50 | −43.8% |
| Award value (notices above $1) | $97.5 million | $24.8 million | −74.5% |
| Median award | $204,225 | $248,145 | +21.5% |
Where the work is: regions and provinces
By first region of delivery listed on the notice: Canada-wide 29 (38); National Capital Region 22 (21); Quebec 16 (16); Ontario 15 (17); Alberta 10 (8); British Columbia 9 (11) (week before in brackets). 8 notices gave no delivery region. National Capital Region notices are mostly services delivered in Ottawa–Gatineau; “Canada-wide” notices accept suppliers anywhere, which makes them the most open to small firms outside Ontario and Quebec.
Alberta stood out with 10 notices (8 the week before; see open tenders in Alberta). For provincial and municipal opportunities, which CanadaBuys does not carry, see our Québec public tenders and provincial and municipal hub.
Which departments posted tenders
Two organizations accounted for 59.2% of the week: PSPC, the central purchasing agency that buys on behalf of other departments (43 notices), and National Defence (34). Next came National Research Council Canada (7), Parks Canada (7), Correctional Service of Canada (5), Fisheries and Oceans Canada (4), Royal Canadian Mounted Police (3).
What the government is buying
Grouped by the first two digits of the UNSPSC code on each notice, the top segments were Construction & facility maintenance services (72) 16; Management & business professional services (80) 14; Vehicles & vehicle parts (incl. military) (25) 13; Lab, measuring & testing equipment (41) 12; Engineering, research & IT services (81) 7. Vehicles and parts fell to 13 from 21, and engineering, research and IT services to 7 from 13. Browse detailed codes on the categories page.
Contracts awarded, Oct 12–18, 2026
So far 50 award notices carry an award date in this week, and 42 of them state a value, totalling $24.8 million (median $248,145). The week before has 89 notices and $97.5 million, but most of that gap is publication lag rather than a slowdown. 45 of the 50 notices (90.0%) went to suppliers with a Canadian business address. PSPC issued 31 and National Defence 9.
| Contract | Supplier | Buyer | Award date | Value (CAD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 131 Queen Office Space Fit-Up and Modernisation | Brawn Construction Ltd | Public Services and Procurement Canada | 2026-10-13 | $4.8 million |
| EQ754-270372 Office Fit-Up 200 Town Centre (4th Floor) | Urbacon | Public Services and Procurement Canada | 2026-10-14 | $2.2 million |
| Dental laboratory services | Laboratoire Dentaire Morisset | Correctional Service of Canada | 2026-10-13 | $2.0 million |
| PureStore/EverPure Hardware, Software and Maintenance and Support, or equivalent (DND) | DECISIVE GROUP INC. | Shared Services Canada | 2026-10-13 | $1.9 million |
| M7594-264644-Felt Hat | Dorfman Milano Company | Public Services and Procurement Canada | 2026-10-14 | $1.7 million |
| Metering Project – Government of Canada Buildings – Regina, Saskatchewan | Black & McDonald Limited | Royal Canadian Mounted Police | 2026-10-16 | $1.5 million |
What this means for you
- Deadlines come fast. Of this week's 130 notices, 48 close by October 31 and 50 more by November 15. Check each closing date in the tender search and set an alert for your categories.
- Defence demand is broad. 34 National Defence notices in one week cover vehicles, lab equipment and facility work, not only weapons systems. Our National Defence profile shows what it buys and from whom.
- ACANs are a cheap win to watch. 4 advance contract award notices were posted. If you can meet one of those requirements, you can challenge the intended sole-source award before it closes.
- One week is a small sample. At about 130 to 150 notices a week, a few large buyers can move the total. Compare against the Q3 2026 quarterly review and our analysis of how many bids federal contracts receive before changing your bid plan.
Download the data
- canadian-federal-tenders-oct-12-18-2026-aggregates.csv — aggregated weekly figures for both weeks (CSV, OGL–Canada source data)
Frequently asked questions
How many federal tenders were published in Canada the week of Oct 12–18, 2026?
130 new federal tender notices were published on CanadaBuys between 2026-10-12 and 2026-10-18, −15.0% from 153 the week before. Thanksgiving Monday (October 12) had no publications, so the per-weekday rate was 32.5 notices, against 30.4.
Which department posted the most federal tenders this week?
Public Services and Procurement Canada posted 43 notices and National Defence posted 34. Together they account for 59.2% of the week's notices.
Why are award numbers lower for the latest week?
Award notices are often published on CanadaBuys days or weeks after the contract award date. We count awards by award date, so the most recent week is incomplete and will rise as late notices are published.
Can I download these figures?
Yes. The CSV of aggregated figures has both weeks by weekday, delivery region, buying organization, UNSPSC segment and procurement method, plus award totals. It contains aggregates only and is derived from CanadaBuys open data under the Open Government Licence – Canada.
How often is this report published?
Every Monday, covering the previous Monday to Sunday. All editions are listed in the report archive.
Method, sources and data cutoff
- Data: CanadaBuys tender notices (open tender file) and award notices (fiscal-year 2026–27 file), Government of Canada open data under the Open Government Licence – Canada, loaded into the Canada Bid Intel database. Data cutoff: 2026-10-19 09:29 PDT.
- Tenders are counted once each by publication date (federal level only; amendments are not counted again). Notices that opened and closed between two of our loads may be missing. Region = first region of delivery on the notice; towns are mapped to provinces with a fixed, hand-checked table.
- Awards are counted by contract award date. Values are as published (may include options; negative amendment values are excluded from totals; notices with no value count by number only). 4 duplicate rows in our database that differed only in supplier-name spelling were counted once.
- Categories use the first two digits (segment) of the first UNSPSC code on each notice; segment labels are our short form of the official UNSPSC titles.
- Week-over-week changes are simple percentage changes. Nothing here is an estimate or forecast; tender attachment texts are not used or shown.
Explore the data
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Canada Bid Intel is independent and not affiliated with the Government of Canada. Figures are computed from our database; tender attachment texts are never republished — follow the links to the official notices on CanadaBuys.