Local goods and services to get public procurement priority through new Buy Ontario Act

If passed, the Act and its related measures would apply to all public sector organizations, including municipalities, contractors, and subcontractors involved in delivering Ontario’s ~$220 billion plan to prioritize Ontario goods and services in construction. In light of economic uncertainty and the US tariffs, this move helps ensure that local tax dollars will support local workers.

The Act’s policies would facilitate the following:

• Require all public sector organizations to prioritize Ontario and then Canadian goods and services
• Establish specific requirements to be followed by public sector organizations on prioritizing local goods and services in vendor contracts
• Evaluate and monitor public sector organizations and vendors’ compliance with the policy, with non-compliance resulting in penalties like holdbacks, fines, vendor performance management, and vendor barring from future procurement

If Ontario or Canadian goods and services cannot be secured within a reasonable cost or timeframe that maintains taxpayer value, goods and services may be procured outside Canada. Nonetheless, the government is shoring up Ontario’s domestic capacity to limit this need; the province is also developing vendor lists of Ontario and Canadian suppliers to facilitate their involvement in provincial infrastructure and procurement processes.

“Ontario’s more than $220 billion plan to build is the largest infrastructure plan in Canadian history, and we’re spending every dollar of that plan that we can right here in Ontario. As we build the transit, highways, hospitals, homes and schools our growing province needs, we’re also helping keep hundreds of thousands of workers on the job in sectors like construction, steelmaking, forestry, agriculture, manufacturing and more,” said Todd McCarthy, acting infrastructure minister, in a statement.

Ontario has partnered with Toronto and the federal government to secure new Line 2 TTC subway cars manufactured by workers at Alstom in Thunder Bay this year.

“We’ve seen our province come together like never before to protect Ontario workers and businesses in the face of tariffs. Many municipalities have already shown leadership in prioritizing Ontario workers and products when it comes to their choices, and I look forward to working together to make sure even more procurement and infrastructure dollars at all levels of government help protect Ontario,” said Rob Flack, minister of municipal affairs and housing.

Stephen Crawford, minister of public and business service delivery and procurement, noted that Ontario spends over $30 billion on goods and services procurement annually.

“In the face of shifting trade dynamics, the advancements in the Buy Ontario/Buy Canada policy directly supports Supply Ontario’s efforts to modernize procurement, support local businesses, and protect Ontario jobs. By strengthening our supply chain and investing in homegrown industries, we’re helping ensure the reliable delivery of critical public services, while driving economic growth across the province” said James Wallace, Supply Ontario CEO.