Treasury Board Contracting Policy (TBCP)

The Treasury Board Contracting Policy (TBCP) was the Government of Canada policy that established requirements for federal contracting. Its objective was to acquire goods, services and construction in a way that enhanced access, competition and fairness, while achieving best value or, where appropriate, the optimal balance of benefits for the Crown and Canadians. The objective is set out in the policy text on the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat site.

The policy was issued by the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat and applied to federal contracting and contractual arrangements. It was rescinded on May 13, 2022. Its requirements now sit in the Policy on the Planning and Management of Investments and the Directive on the Management of Procurement, as the rescission record confirms. Suppliers still meet the name in older solicitations, contract templates, audit reports and procurement guidance.

What the Contracting Policy required of federal buyers

The policy told federal contracting authorities how to buy. It covered competitive and non-competitive procurement, contract approvals and the content of contract documents. The Department of Finance identifies the Treasury Board Contracting Policy as the source of the rules and principles governing government contracting.

• Contracting authorities had to publish an invitation to participate in the appropriate publication for procurements, as the policy requirements on invitations describe.
• Contract documents had to contain conditions and clauses that reflected the work or goods being supplied, along with the clauses that applied to all contracts. The related policy guidance covers this.
• Guidelines on contractual arrangements covered arrangements for acquiring goods, services and construction services, including arrangements with other public-sector organizations and international partners. See the guidelines on contractual arrangements.

Legal setting: the Financial Administration Act and the Government Contracts Regulations

The Treasury Board's policy role arose under sections 7 and 41 of the Financial Administration Act. The policy worked alongside the Government Contracts Regulations, Treasury Board contracting limits and the rules of applicable trade agreements. A Treasury Board policy notice on contracting sets out this legal and administrative context.

Treasury Board approval was required when the value payable, including applicable taxes, fees and amendments, exceeded the contracting authority's limit. The Treasury Board policy documentation on contracting limits addresses these approval rules.

Competitive and non-competitive contracting under the policy

Competition was the expected route, but the policy allowed non-competitive awards in defined cases. A sole-source justification had to rely on an approved exception to solicitation. The exception could come from the Government Contracts Regulations, from the former policy, or from the limited-tendering provisions of an applicable trade agreement. A department could not award a non-competitive contract without one of these bases, as the policy notice states.

Rescission in 2022 and the current framework

The current procurement framework is principally the Directive on the Management of Procurement. It requires contracting authorities to obtain necessary goods, services and construction while ensuring best value to the Crown. It also requires Treasury Board approval before a contract or contractual arrangement is entered into or amended when its estimated value exceeds the limits in the directive's contracting-approval schedules. The Directive on the Management of Procurement sets out these requirements.

Later Treasury Board material continues to address contracts that Public Services and Procurement Canada undertakes for the Department of National Defence, including the Canadian Coast Guard. See the 2025 policy notice.

What the TBCP means for a supplier bidding on Canadian public contracts

A supplier never applied for the TBCP or held a TBCP certificate. The policy reached suppliers through the solicitation itself: the procurement method, the evaluation and selection rules, mandatory contract clauses and disclosure requirements. Because the policy was rescinded in 2022, bid teams should read the current solicitation and the Directive on the Management of Procurement as the governing instruments. If a document still cites the Contracting Policy, treat it as a reference to the former rules.