Period of the Proposed Contract

Period of the Proposed Contract is the period during which a proposed contract would be in effect. It is a standard field in the Government of Canada's Advance Contract Award Notice (ACAN). The contracting officer must use it to state the contract period or the required delivery date, including any renewal or option years.

An ACAN tells suppliers that a department intends to award a contract to a pre-identified supplier without a full competitive process. The period field tells the market when the work or delivery would happen and how long the arrangement could last. The field can describe a time-based contract, one or more delivery dates, or deliverable deadlines. Where they apply, it also identifies option periods.

What the Supply Manual tells contracting officers to include

The Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) Supply Manual sets out the model ACAN. Its instruction is to provide the period of the proposed contract or the required delivery, including potential renewal or option years. The guidance is in the Supply Manual chapter 3 annexes on CanadaBuys.

The model gives an example of a contract period running from an estimated start date to an estimated completion date. It also says an extension option should be identified, for instance two additional one-year periods. A notice that follows the model therefore gives suppliers a start point, an end point and any extensions the department can exercise.

How the period appears in published ACANs

Notices on CanadaBuys show the field in several formats. Some state a fixed term with calendar dates. An ACAN for IT service management stated that the contract would run for three years, from March 7, 2025, to February 29, 2028. The notice is available as a CanadaBuys PDF.

Others tie the period to the award itself. An ACAN for repair services stated that the proposed contract would run from contract award to August 31, 2025, as shown in the CanadaBuys tender notice.

Some notices describe delivery instead of a calendar term. An ACAN from Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada described delivery by a date agreed with the department and completion within 135 hours. The wording is in the published notice.

Others set out option periods. One ACAN stated a one-year initial period with an irrevocable option for up to two additional one-year periods, in a CanadaBuys notice. Department of National Defence notices, such as this ACAN and this one, use the same field.

How it differs from NATO's period of performance

NATO procurement material does not use the Canadian heading. NATO Allied Command Transformation contracting notices label the corresponding execution interval Period of Performance. That term identifies the period during which contracted work is to be performed, and it can separate a base period from option periods. See the NATO ACT contracting page.

Suppliers who bid on both Canadian and NATO opportunities will see the same idea under two labels. In a Canadian ACAN, look for Period of the Proposed Contract. In NATO notices, look for Period of Performance.

What it means for a supplier bidding on Canadian contracts

Read this field first when an ACAN is published. Check the proposed start and end dates, any delivery deadlines and every option period. Then decide whether your firm has the capacity and availability to meet the requirement across the full term, including options the department can exercise.

The Supply Manual guidance does not prescribe a separate supplier form or response for this field. The period is part of the information the department must disclose in the notice, and your assessment of it feeds into any statement of capabilities you submit in response to the ACAN.