What the Government of Canada is posting — and what it means for us
A plain-language read on federal procurement opportunities: how many, what kind, how open the bidding is, and what's happening right now. Five fiscal years, April 2022 to mid-May 2026.
The bottom line, in one paragraph
The federal government is posting about the same number of new opportunities it has for four years — roughly 7,105 a year. It is not at a record low overall, and professional-services work is steady at about 29% of everything posted. The mix barely changes year to year: most of it is openly competed, about a fifth is invite-only, and a small slice is sole-source.
The one real soft spot is right now. This spring (April to mid-May 2026) is running about 24% lighter than the same weeks in 2022–2024, and the fully-open "anyone can bid" RFPs are at their lowest for this time of year in five years. It is early in the fiscal year, so this may be timing rather than a lasting drop — worth watching, not yet alarming.
Why we stay busy through standing offers anyway
The ~7,105 posted notices a year are only the visible tip. Most of the government's roughly $6 billion a year in professional services never shows up as a new posting at all — it flows as call-ups against standing offers and supply arrangements: we're already on the approved list, we get invited directly, and no public notice is issued.
On top of that, about 25% of the notices that are posted are invite-only (only pre-qualified suppliers can bid). So a large share of the real action is invitation-based — which is exactly why being on the right vehicles keeps us busy even when open postings feel quiet.
1. How many opportunities is the government posting?
About 7,105 a year — flat for four years. Not a record low.
Total notices posted each fiscal year, and the professional-services share. FY2026-27 is a partial year (only April + half of May so far) and shouldn't be compared to a full year.
2. What kinds of things does it buy?
Services is the biggest bucket — about 3,116 a year — ahead of goods (3,024) and construction (849).
Every notice falls into one of three buckets. "Services" includes all professional services plus operational services (cleaning, maintenance, security, transport). This split has been stable for four years.
3. Within services, what kind of professional work?
IT & Software Services and Management are the two biggest disciplines, every year.
The professional-services notices split into specific disciplines. (Classified by AI from each notice's title and procurement code.) FY2026-27 partial.
4. How open is the bidding?
About 70% fully open, 25% invite-only, 5% sole-source — and that mix has barely moved in four years.
How suppliers are allowed to compete for each posted notice. "Fully open" = anyone qualified can bid. "Invite-only" = only pre-qualified / standing-offer suppliers. "Sole-source" = the government already intends one supplier.
5. What's happening right now, vs prior years?
This spring is the soft spot: 537 notices so far, flat vs last year but the open-RFP count (285) is a five-year low for the window.
Notices posted April 1 to May 15 of each year — the same calendar window, so it's a fair comparison. "Open RFP" is the fully-open, anyone-can-bid request for proposal.
| April 1 – May 15 | All notices | Prof. services | Open RFPs | Invite-only |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2022-23 | 661 | 213 | 528 | 9 |
| FY2023-24 | 750 | 228 | 422 | 76 |
| FY2024-25 | 717 | 209 | 413 | 69 |
| FY2025-26 | 533 | 165 | 314 | 70 |
| FY2026-27 this year, so far | 537 | 181 | 285 | 76 |
6. The month-by-month picture
Volume rises and falls with the seasons; spring and late-summer are naturally quieter.
Notices posted each month. The dip at the far right is the in-progress month (May 2026 is only half-reported), not a real collapse.
How to read this. Numbers count opportunities posted publicly — the federal open-tender universe across 412 contracting departments and agencies. They do not include standing-offer call-ups or contract dollars, which is why the totals look small next to headline spending figures. FY2026-27 is partial (April + about half of May 2026). One caution on history: the CanadaBuys system changed in 2023, so FY2022-23's "invite-only" count is understated and isn't a clean comparison — trust the trend from FY2023-24 onward. Source: CanadaBuys open tender notices; professional-services categories classified with Google Gemini. Detailed spreadsheets accompany this report.