CORCAN

CORCAN is a special operating agency within the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC). It is responsible for employment and employability programs for federally sentenced offenders, both during incarceration and under community supervision. The Government of Canada uses CORCAN as the agency's official name. See the CORCAN program page on canada.ca.

CORCAN operates work sites that provide on-the-job and vocational training in federal correctional institutions and in community locations. It also produces goods and delivers services, including construction. For suppliers, CORCAN matters in two ways: federal departments can buy from it under special rules, and CORCAN itself buys inputs and sometimes appears as the requiring organization in a tender.

What CORCAN does inside the federal correctional system

CORCAN is part of CSC's offender employment and employability programming. Its work supports vocational training, employment skills and reintegration into the community. CSC describes this in its 2026 report against forced and child labour in supply chains.

CORCAN's production and service activities include construction and the manufacture or supply of goods. Revenue from goods and services provided through CORCAN facilities is reinvested in the program. Its products and services page sets out what it offers to government clients.

Special Supplier Status and Stores Transfer Orders

Treasury Board has granted CORCAN Special Supplier Status. This allows federal departments and agencies to acquire goods from CORCAN through a Stores Transfer Order. CSC explains the arrangement in its supply chain reporting page.

CORCAN's ordering guidance states that, because of this status, government departments can procure from CORCAN using a single quote. A department that wants to buy contacts the CORCAN regional sales representative and provides a list of required items or a project description. CORCAN then provides an ordering plan.

How CORCAN appears in CSC procurement

CSC's Financial Directive 350-3 covers internal acquisitions from CORCAN. It states that acquiring goods, construction services or other services from CORCAN contributes to offender reintegration and is treated as a reinvestment in the reintegration program. The directive also states that such an acquisition is not a contract. These acquisitions are facilitated through internal sales orders or Stores Transfer Orders.

CORCAN is also a buyer. Requirements that support the production of goods, such as textile purchases, are processed under CSC's procurement authority. For supply chain reporting, CORCAN's procurement data is combined with CSC's.

CORCAN has a construction business line and enters into construction contracts. CSC has reviewed CORCAN construction contract files for compliance with Treasury Board policies, CSC directives and CORCAN governing principles. The results are in the CORCAN construction contracts review.

CORCAN can also be the requiring organization in an open solicitation. A CanadaBuys tender notice identified a requirement by Correctional Service Canada (CORCAN) for a tandem highway tractor. It limited bidding to suppliers holding the specified supply arrangement.

What CORCAN means for a supplier

Your next step depends on which side of CORCAN you are on.

• Selling to federal departments through CORCAN: contact the CORCAN regional sales representative with your item list or project description, then follow the ordering plan.
• Responding to a published CORCAN tender: meet the eligibility, supply arrangement and technical requirements in the notice. In the highway tractor example, bidders had to hold the relevant supply arrangement.
• Supplying CORCAN construction or production work: comply with the applicable CSC or CORCAN solicitation or contractual arrangement.

Bid teams should also expect CSC to report on supply chain risks, including forced and child labour, across CORCAN purchasing. Watch CanadaBuys for notices that name CORCAN as the requiring organization.