How to Register to Bid on Government Contracts in Canada (2026)
There is no single portal. Here is the order to do things in, what each step costs, and which ones take weeks.
At a glance
- Cost
- Free on most government portals. SEAO charges per document, and bids&tenders, Biddingo and MERX have paid plans.
- Time
- A day for the federal and most provincial portals. One to three weeks if you need a Business BCeID or a Quebec NEQ, about 50 days for AMP authorization, and months for security clearance.
- What you need
- Your legal business name and address
- A CRA business number
- Names of owners and directors
- A work email address (SEAO rejects personal addresses)
- The commodity codes for what you sell
Step by step
Decide which governments you want to sell to
Federal departments post on CanadaBuys. Provinces, cities, school boards and hospitals each use their own systems, and many of their notices never reach CanadaBuys. On September 23, 2026, Cothon found that 1,076 of 2,623 open provincial and municipal notices were not republished there.
Start with a list of the places and buyer types you can realistically serve. The portal checklist turns that list into the exact registrations you need.
Get a CRA business number
Every portal asks for it. Canadian businesses register through Business Registration Online, which since July 14, 2026 requires signing in to a CRA account. Businesses outside Canada apply for a non-resident business number online or with form RC1.
You can submit a federal bid without one, but CanadaBuys needs a valid business number before a contract is awarded.
Register on CanadaBuys through SAP Business Network
Federal registration changed on July 6, 2026: the old Supplier Registration Information system and its Procurement Business Number are gone. You now need an SAP Business Network account with a completed profile, started from the CanadaBuys registration page. It is free and takes under an hour.
Full walkthrough: How to register on CanadaBuys.
Register on the provincial portals where you sell
- Quebec: SEAO, for the provincial government, municipalities, schools and health institutions
- Ontario: the Ontario Tenders Portal for ministries and many broader public sector bodies
- British Columbia: BC Bid, which needs a Business BCeID for every user
- Alberta: Alberta Purchasing Connection
- Other provinces: SaskTenders and GEM, MERX (Manitoba and Newfoundland and Labrador), NBON, the Nova Scotia Procurement Portal and PEI’s Euna Procurement portal
Start any BCeID, NEQ or AMP application before you find a tender you want. They take days to weeks, and tenders often close in 15 to 30 days.
Add the municipal, school and hospital portals
Most cities in Ontario, and many in BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia, take bids on bids&tenders. Hospital buying groups such as Mohawk Medbuy and HealthPRO post on Biddingo. Group purchasing organizations such as Kinetic GPO and OECM run their own solicitations on Euna Procurement, which needs a separate registration for each group.
These are the portals that cost money, so register as tenders come up rather than buying every plan on day one.
Pick your commodity codes and turn on alerts
Portals send alerts by UNSPSC code. Use the code finder to find the codes for what you sell, in English or French. Set alerts on 4-digit families or 6-digit classes, not a single 8-digit commodity, because buyers are inconsistent about which code they choose.
Line up the requirements that take longest
- Quebec: register with the Registraire des entreprises (NEQ) if you will carry on activities there, get an Attestation de Revenu Québec for contracts of $25,000 or more, and apply for AMP authorization if you will bid on services of $1 million or more or construction of $5 million or more.
- Federal security work: you cannot apply for clearance yourself. A federal contracting officer or a cleared prime contractor must sponsor you, and it takes 4 to 6 months or more.
- Indigenous businesses: register in the Indigenous Business Directory to bid on federal set-asides.
The mistakes that cost bids
- Registering too late. A tender with a 20-day window does not leave time for a BCeID letter to arrive or an AMP file to be processed.
- Missing addenda. On bids&tenders you only get amendments if you registered as a plan taker; on Alberta Purchasing Connection, if you clicked Express Interest. An answer to a bidder question can change what a compliant bid looks like.
- Duplicate accounts. CanadaBuys allows one SAP account per business number, and Saskatchewan warns that duplicate GEM accounts delay registration. Check whether a colleague already signed up.
- Reading the wrong closing time. Federal solicitations set their own time zone, and some close in Pacific time.
- Alerts on one narrow code. You will miss notices a buyer filed under the neighbouring code.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to register to see government tenders?
Usually not to browse. Most portals, including CanadaBuys, SEAO, BC Bid and Alberta Purchasing Connection, show notices publicly. You need an account to download documents, receive addenda and submit a bid.
Is it free to register as a government supplier in Canada?
Registration is free on CanadaBuys, SEAO, the Ontario Tenders Portal, NBON, the Nova Scotia portal and most provincial systems. SEAO charges for documents, and bids&tenders, Biddingo and MERX charge for access to many buyers.
Can a company outside Canada bid on Canadian government contracts?
Yes, for procurements covered by a trade agreement with its country, such as the WTO-GPA for US companies or CETA for EU companies. Since July 14, 2025, non-defence federal procurements of $10,000 or more exclude suppliers from countries without a procurement agreement with Canada. Check the threshold checker.
How long does registration take?
The federal and most provincial portals take under an hour. A Business BCeID can take one to three weeks for out-of-province firms, AMP authorization averages about 50 days, and federal security screening takes up to 4 months for Designated Organization Screening and 6 months or more for Facility Security Clearance.
Sources
Registered? Now find the tenders.
Cothon watches every portal in this guide, and the ones it does not cover, in one feed in English and French, and shows who wins and at what price.