Defence Procurement Strategy (DPS)

The Defence Procurement Strategy (DPS) is the Government of Canada's government-wide approach to buying defence equipment and services. It is intended to deliver the right equipment to the Canadian Armed Forces and the Canadian Coast Guard in a timely way, generate Canadian jobs and economic growth, and streamline defence-procurement processes. The federal procurement portal describes it on its Defence Procurement Strategy page.

The DPS was launched in 2014 as a whole-of-government approach, according to a Department of National Defence audit of contract amendments. It is a Canadian federal initiative. It is not a single contract vehicle, a supplier list or a form that bidders submit.

The three objectives of the Defence Procurement Strategy

The DPS sets out three stated objectives:

• deliver the right equipment to the Canadian Armed Forces and the Canadian Coast Guard in a timely manner;
• leverage defence purchases to create jobs and economic growth in Canada; and
• streamline defence-procurement processes.

Federal material on ISED programs for the Canadian space industry restates these objectives. Together they explain why defence purchases are treated as both a military supply task and an economic one.

The four departments behind the DPS

Four federal organizations are identified as core participants: the Department of National Defence (DND), the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG), Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) and Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED). The CanadaBuys defence procurement page states that these departments have distinct responsibilities and work together to make defence procurement more efficient, timely and streamlined.

• DND and the Canadian Armed Forces are the military customer and hold contracting authorities.
• PSPC conducts federal procurement and contracting activities.
• ISED administers the Industrial and Technological Benefits (ITB) Policy.
• The Canadian Coast Guard has its defence-related procurements included in the DPS framework.

The DPS also includes initiatives to increase DND and CAF contracting authorities, so that Defence can manage a greater share of its procurement contracts. This is covered in the readiness assessment of the Defence Procurement Strategy.

Where the DPS applies: the $20 million threshold and governance

Government material describes the DPS as applying to defence procurements valued at $20 million or more, as set out in the evaluation of the Sustainment Initiative. The same document says the DPS is guided by whole-of-government collaboration, early and regular engagement with stakeholders and industry, and timely and effective decision-making.

That evaluation also notes that DPS governance can include review of sustainment requirements, approval of the sustainment and procurement strategies, and approval to issue the proposed solicitation document. For a supplier, this means major defence procurements pass through defined approval steps before a solicitation reaches the market.

The DPS and the Industrial and Technological Benefits Policy

The DPS is closely associated with Canada's Industrial and Technological Benefits (ITB) Policy. ISED administers the policy in coordination with its partner departments, as described on the ISED ITB page. The ITB Policy is the main way the second DPS objective, jobs and economic growth in Canada, is carried into individual procurements.

What the DPS means for a supplier bidding on Canadian contracts

The DPS does not create a standalone form or a universal requirement for every bidder. What a supplier must provide depends on the specific procurement and its solicitation documents. Where a procurement invokes the ITB Policy, the request for proposal and contract clauses set out the Canadian industrial and technological benefit requirements, including any value proposition. Read those documents closely.

Suppliers pursuing large defence work should expect early industry engagement, multi-step internal approvals before solicitation, and a federal team spanning DND, PSPC, ISED and the Canadian Coast Guard. Watching the CanadaBuys defence procurement page and the tender notices it links to is the practical starting point.