Contracting Policy Notice (CPN)

A Contracting Policy Notice (CPN) is an official communication issued by the Office of the Comptroller General within the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat. It provides updates, interpretation and guidance on federal procurement, including applicable regulations, Treasury Board policy instruments and trade agreements. The Secretariat publishes them on its policy notice page.

CPNs are directed mainly at federal departments and agencies. They tell procurement officials what has changed and what they must apply when they buy goods and services. They are a Government of Canada procurement-policy tool, and each notice carries a year and a sequence number, such as CPN 2025-8.

What a CPN Communicates and to Whom

A CPN supports departments and agencies in complying with the rules that govern procurement. Those rules include regulations, Treasury Board policy instruments and the trade agreements Canada has signed. A notice may announce a new policy, explain how an existing requirement applies, or update a figure that buyers rely on.

CPNs generally address how government institutions conduct procurement. They do not usually impose a standalone requirement directly on suppliers. The Secretariat also lists the policy instruments that CPNs relate to on its procurement policy topic page.

Trade-Agreement Notices: CPN 2014-2, 2023-6 and 2025-8

Several CPNs deal with trade agreements. CPN 2014-2 informed departments and agencies about the revised WTO Agreement on Government Procurement. It highlighted obligations on notice periods, the content of tender documents and limited tendering.

CPN 2023-6 stated that notices of intended procurement, also called tender notices, must be published for procurements subject to applicable free-trade agreements.

CPN 2025-8 set the thresholds for procurements subject to federal free-trade agreements for the period January 1, 2026, to December 31, 2027. Buyers use these thresholds to decide whether a procurement falls under trade-agreement obligations.

Policy-Instrument, Reporting and Purchase-Specific Notices

Other CPNs announce changes to the policy framework itself. CPN 2021-3 announced the new Directive on the Management of Procurement. That directive replaced the former Contracting Policy and the Policy on Decision Making in Limiting Contractor Liability in Crown Procurement Contracts.

Reporting is covered too. CPN 2023-3 updated the federal guide departments use to identify, collect, report and publish contract information.

Some notices address a specific type of purchase or program. CPN 2008-2 covered low-dollar-value purchases of commercial off-the-shelf "shrink-wrap" proprietary software and related maintenance and support. It included purchases made with departmental acquisition cards in specified circumstances. CPN 96-6 relates to the Aboriginal Business Procurement Policy.

What a CPN Means for a Supplier

For a supplier, a CPN matters indirectly. It can shape the buyer's procurement method, the trade-agreement coverage that applies, the notice and tender-document requirements, reporting, and how contract policy is applied.

• Take your obligations from the solicitation and the resulting contract, not from the notice alone.
• Read a CPN to understand why a buyer is using a particular process, such as a published tender notice for a trade-agreement procurement.
• Watch for new notices on threshold changes and policy-instrument updates, because they change the rules buyers work under.

A reference to a CPN in a procurement does not by itself create a universal action for suppliers. The bid documents remain the authority on what you must submit and do.