Usually, companies compete for government work, and the best offer gets the contract. In a contract without competition, the government selects one company and does not ask others for offers. This is also called a sole-source contract.
The rules permit this in some cases, for example for small amounts, in an emergency, or when only one company can do the work. This page also counts contracts for which the government first published the name of the company that it selected, and no other company objected. This page shows where contracts without competition occur most. It does not show that a contract was wrong. Glossary
$164.3B
in contracts without competition
19%
of contract dollars
244,088
contracts, of 808,845 in the data
All figures on this page count only the contracts for which the department reported how it selected the company.
The share of contract dollars without competition in each budget year. One very large contract can change a year a lot.
The share of the contract dollars of each department that went to companies without competition. Departments with fewer than 100 contracts are not in the list.
| Organization | Share | Without competition | Contracts of $25,000 or more |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pacific Economic Development Canada | 91% | $6.1M | 63 |
| Office of the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner of Canada | 79% | $8.9M | 59 |
| Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety | 74% | $9.1M | 66 |
| Canada Water Agency | 67% | $3.0M | 61 |
| Veterans Review and Appeal Board | 62% | $2.4M | 31 |
| The National Battlefields Commission | 60% | $33.0M | 111 |
| Canadian Human Rights Commission | 60% | $21.6M | 270 |
| Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency | 60% | $2.8M | 41 |
| Office of the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs Canada | 59% | $22.3M | 233 |
| Patented Medicine Prices Review Board Canada | 59% | $15.1M | 63 |
| Public Health Agency of Canada | 58% | $7.6B | 2,079 |
| Prairies Economic Development Canada | 57% | $13.3M | 108 |
| Transportation Safety Board of Canada | 56% | $24.2M | 132 |
| Military Grievances External Review Committee | 55% | $2.3M | 18 |
| National Security and Intelligence Review Agency | 54% | $9.3M | 56 |
The companies with the largest total of contracts without competition, across all years.
| Company | Without competition | Contracts | Departments |
|---|---|---|---|
| IBM CANADA LTEE | $27.7B | 707 | 49 |
| L-3 Communications MAS (Canada) Inc. | $15.3B | 6 | 1 |
| MICROSOFT CANADA LTD. | $11.6B | 1,244 | 69 |
| Chantier Davie Canada Incorporated | $7.9B | 11 | 2 |
| GENERAL DYNAMICS | $6.4B | 40 | 1 |
| CAE Military Aviation Training Inc. | $4.5B | 1 | 1 |
| THE BELL TELEPHONE COMPANY OF | $3.8B | 196 | 2 |
| MACDONALD, DETTWILER AND ASSOCIATES INC. | $3.7B | 35 | 2 |
| BELL TEXTRON CANADA LTD | $3.1B | 5 | 2 |
| Telesat LEO ULC | $2.5B | 1 | 1 |
| Federal Fleet Services Inc | $2.5B | 3 | 1 |
| Corporation du Fort Saint-Jean | $2.5B | 6 | 1 |
| KNDS Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG | $2.4B | 2 | 1 |
| TELUS COMMUNICATIONS INC. | $2.3B | 235 | 25 |
| VANCOUVER SHIPYARDS CO LTD | $2.0B | 21 | 3 |
| INMARSAT SOLUTIONS (CANADA) INC./ | $1.7B | 23 | 1 |
| MICROSOFT CORPORATION C/O | $1.4B | 418 | 52 |
| Kongsberg Defence and Aerospace AS | $1.4B | 3 | 1 |
| Irving Shipbuilding Incorporated | $1.3B | 1 | 1 |
| Victoria Shipyards Ltd | $1.2B | 4 | 2 |
Companies that got 90% or more of their federal contract dollars from one department, with $5 million or more in total. This counts all their federal contracts, with and without competition. The data does not show their other customers, and specialized suppliers are often in this position.
| Company | Department | Share | All contracts |
|---|---|---|---|
| BGIS GLOBAL INTEGRATED SOLUTIONS CA | Public Services and Procurement Canada | 100% | $40.3B |
| PARSONS INC | Public Services and Procurement Canada | 100% | $34.3B |
| LOCKHEED MARTIN CANADA INC. | National Defence | 100% | $18.6B |
| Irving Shipbuilding Incorporated | National Defence | 100% | $18.2B |
| BABCOCK CANADA INC. | National Defence | 100% | $17.4B |
| IMP GROUP LTD. | National Defence | 100% | $17.0B |
| MDA SYSTEMS LTD. | Canadian Space Agency | 94% | $16.7B |
| L-3 COMMUNICATIONS MAS (CANADA) INC. | National Defence | 100% | $16.6B |
| MACDONALD, DETTWILER & ASSOCIATES LTD. | Canadian Space Agency | 97% | $16.5B |
| PCL CONSTRUCTORS CANADA INC. | Public Services and Procurement Canada | 98% | $15.9B |
| POMERLEAU INC. | Public Services and Procurement Canada | 95% | $13.9B |
| TELUS COMMUNICATIONS INC. | Shared Services Canada | 98% | $13.6B |
| CALIAN LTD. | National Defence | 90% | $12.1B |
| THE BELL TELEPHONE COMPANY OF | Shared Services Canada | 99% | $11.7B |
| ELLISDON CORPORATION | Public Services and Procurement Canada | 98% | $11.5B |
This contract was omitted from a previous public disclosure. This contract was sole sourced.
This item contains one or more amendments. This contract was sole sourced.
This item contains one or more amendments. This contract was sole sourced.
This item contains one or more amendments. This contract was sole sourced.
This item contains one or more amendments. This contract was sole sourced.
This contract was omitted from a previous public disclosure. This contract was sole sourced.
This item contains one or more amendments. This contract was sole sourced.
This item contains one or more amendments. This contract was sole sourced.
This contract was omitted from a previous public disclosure. This contract was sole sourced.
This contract was omitted from a previous public disclosure. This contract was sole sourced.