Procurement patterns
Fixed statistical patterns applied equally to every contract in the official data. Each pattern has innocent explanations and is a starting point for questions, not a finding of wrongdoing.
$4.0B
awarded without competition
4,425
contracts between $24,000 and $25,000
1,135
contracts between $25,000 and $26,000
13.3%
of contract dollars dated March — the fiscal year-end
Clustered just under $25,000
$25,000 has long been a key approval threshold. Many more contracts just under it than just over it can indicate contract splitting — or simply pricing habits. Departments with the highest under/over ratio:
| Organization | $24.0–25.0k | $25.0–26.0k | Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Administrative Tribunals Support Service of Canada | 71 | 8 | 8.9× |
| Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada | 1,064 | 179 | 5.9× |
| Canadian Human Rights Commission | 68 | 14 | 4.9× |
| Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission | 109 | 25 | 4.4× |
| Canadian Heritage | 780 | 188 | 4.1× |
| Canadian Institutes of Health Research | 95 | 23 | 4.1× |
| Canadian Food Inspection Agency | 246 | 60 | 4.1× |
| Canada School of Public Service | 42 | 11 | 3.8× |
| Canada Border Services Agency | 309 | 83 | 3.7× |
| Canada Energy Regulator | 120 | 33 | 3.6× |
The March rush
Unspent budgets lapse at fiscal year-end, so March contracting spikes are a known pattern. Departments with the largest share of contract dollars dated March:
| Canada School of Public Service | 85.4% | $748,347,145 |
| Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission | 40.4% | $130,912,612 |
| Canadian Institutes of Health Research | 21.3% | $22,799,105 |
| Canada Energy Regulator | 18.8% | $64,279,550 |
| Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety | 18.4% | $2,182,287 |
| Canada Revenue Agency | 17.4% | $2,778,724,462 |
| Canadian Intergovernmental Conference Secretariat | 13.8% | $983,418 |
| Accessibility Standards Canada | 13.4% | $3,281,589 |
| Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency | 13.4% | $14,226,208 |
| Canadian Grain Commission | 12.1% | $11,562,819 |
Vendor concentration
Organizations where a single vendor holds 25% or more of all contract dollars (minimum $10M in contracts):
| Canada School of Public Service | DESIRE2LEARN INCORPORATED | 80.4% | $704,761,700 |
| Canada Border Services Agency | DELOITTE Inc | 30.6% | $4,674,481,614 |
| Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission | MICROSOFT CANADA INC. | 28.5% | $92,253,183 |
Possible duplicate records
The same recipient, amount, and date appearing more than once. Often legitimate (multiple identical agreements, batch entries) — occasionally a data error worth reporting.
| Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis & Malaria | $930,400,000.00 | 2020-12-16 | ×2 |
| City of Ottawa | $600,000,000.00 | 2012-12-19 | ×2 |
| IDB - Inter-American Development Bank | $500,000,000.00 | 2024-03-08 | ×2 |
| Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance | $500,000,000.00 | 2015-09-17 | ×2 |
| LITTLE RED RIVER CREE NATION | $239,422,052.00 | 2019-03-01 | ×2 |
| Green Climate Fund | $234,000,000.00 | 2024-02-29 | ×2 |
| IDB - Inter-American Development Bank | $223,500,000.00 | 2019-03-19 | ×2 |
| Grand Challenges Canada | $200,000,000.00 | 2026-03-26 | ×2 |
| IFAD - International Fund for Agricultural Development | $190,000,000.00 | 2021-03-31 | ×2 |
| Green Climate Fund | $180,000,000.00 | 2024-02-29 | ×2 |
| United Way of Canada - Centraide Canada | $156,950,000.00 | 2020-04-01 | ×2 |
| Terry Fox Research Institute | $150,000,000.00 | 2021-03-12 | ×2 |
| IFAD - International Fund for Agricultural Development | $150,000,000.00 | 2019-12-19 | ×2 |
| PASQUA FIRST NATION #79 | $145,000,000.00 | 2018-11-06 | ×2 |
| Canadian Foodgrains Bank | $125,000,000.00 | 2016-07-14 | ×2 |
Thresholds and formulas are fixed and applied to every organization identically; nothing here is curated by hand. Every underlying record links to its official source. Figures as of August 24, 2026.