Canadian Content Certification

Canadian Content Certification is the declaration a supplier submits to confirm that the goods, services, or both in its offer qualify as Canadian under the applicable definition. In federal procurement it is tied to the Canadian Content Policy and to the standard clause A3050T, which sets out the definition of the Canadian good or service for the solicitation.

The offeror is responsible for demonstrating that its offer meets that definition and for submitting a completed certification. In some contracts, clause A3060C, titled Canadian Content Certification, goes further and requires the contractor to warrant that the certification is accurate and complete. The requirements are set out on CanadaBuys.

How the Canadian Content Policy uses the certification

Under the Canadian Content Policy, a buyer decides whether a procurement is limited solely to Canadian goods and/or services, limited conditionally, or open to all suppliers. The decision depends on the number of eligible Canadian suppliers, as described in the CanadaBuys guidance for preparing solicitations.

• Solely limited: when the solicitation requires the certification, only offers with a valid Canadian-content certification are evaluated.
• Conditionally limited: evaluation stays restricted to Canadian offers only while enough qualifying offers remain. If fewer than two qualifying offers from two unaffiliated offerors remain, all responsive offers may become eligible for evaluation.
• Open to all suppliers: no Canadian-content restriction applies.

Clauses A3050T and A3060C

Clause A3050T defines the Canadian good or service in the solicitation, and the supplier's certification is measured against that definition. In goods procurements published on CanadaBuys, including Department of National Defence solicitations, bidders may have to identify which items meet the Canadian-good definition and complete the certification. One example is this request for proposal.

Clause A3060C applies after award. The contractor warrants that its certification is accurate and complete and that the goods or services comply with the A3050T definition. The obligation continues under the resulting contract and does not end at bid closing.

The certification also appears in services buying. A Public Services and Procurement Canada National Master Standing Offer example is limited to Canadian services and requires the offeror to certify under A3050T that the service is Canadian. A Treasury Board Secretariat guide on completing a request for proposal also identifies Canadian content certification for professional services valued over $25,000 but under $76.5 million.

The 80% threshold for multi-item and multi-service offers

Requirements with several items are certified on an aggregate basis. CanadaBuys states that at least 80% of the total offer price must consist of Canadian goods to meet the policy condition. For requirements involving more than one service, at least 80% of the total offer price must be provided by individuals based in Canada. Both rules are set out in the CanadaBuys key considerations.

What happens when the certification is missing

A missing certification has direct consequences. One CanadaBuys solicitation states that failure to provide the required certification with the bid results in the offered items being treated as non-Canadian goods, as shown in these RFP clauses. In a procurement limited to Canadian content, that treatment can make an offer ineligible for evaluation.

What it means for a supplier bidding on Canadian public contracts

Check the solicitation for A3050T and confirm whether it is solely or conditionally limited to Canadian content. Submit the completed certification with the bid, and identify the qualifying items where the solicitation asks for item-level certification. For multi-item or multi-service requirements, confirm the 80% share before certifying. If the contract carries A3060C, keep the certification accurate for the life of the contract.