Province or Territory of Origin

Province or Territory of Origin is a geographic sourcing category used in Canadian federal procurement for shipbuilding, ship repair, refit and mid-life modernization. It is the province or territory associated with the vessel's origin under the Shipbuilding, Repair, Refit and Modernization sourcing strategy. Once it is recognized for a vessel, it identifies the suppliers to whom a competition may be limited.

The term comes from the Shipbuilding, Repair, Refit and Modernization Policy of Public Works and Government Services Canada, now Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC), and from related Supply Manual provisions. PSPC uses it when buying on behalf of federal departments and agencies. The current guidance is published on CanadaBuys.

How the sourcing category is applied to vessels

The category applies to marine work only. It appears in sourcing strategies for shipbuilding, ship repair, refit and mid-life modernization. All Canadian provinces and territories are recognized as possible Provinces or Territories of Origin in the current CanadaBuys guidance, so the category is not tied to any one region.

The vessel is the starting point. The province or territory associated with the vessel's origin sets the geographic boundary for the sourcing strategy, and that boundary determines which suppliers a limited competition can include.

The $25,000 limit on restricted competitions

For procurements valued at $25,000 or less, a competition may be limited to suppliers located in the vessel's Province or Territory of Origin. This threshold is set out in the CanadaBuys shipbuilding and repair guidance and in the federal Supply Manual. The word "may" matters: the policy permits a geographic limit, and the solicitation tells you whether it was used.

Difference between Province or Territory of Origin and Area of Origin

Area of Origin is a related category. It is based on the vessel's operational home port. The policy treats the two together, and solicitations refer to both. A supplier reading a notice should check which geographic reference the buyer has used, because the two categories can point to different supplier pools.

Required wording in notices and solicitations

The notice of proposed procurement or the bid solicitation must state that the sourcing strategy is limited to suppliers in the applicable Province or Territory of Origin or Area of Origin, in accordance with the policy. A CanadaBuys tender notice for refits of the CCGS Pearkes, Alexander and Black used this language. It stated that sourcing would be limited to suppliers in the applicable Province or Territory of Origin or Area of Origin under the policy.

What it means for a supplier

• Read the notice for the geographic limitation statement before you invest in a bid.
• Confirm that your business is located in the applicable province or territory, and meet any geographic eligibility restriction written into the solicitation.
• Check the estimated value. The limit to the Province or Territory of Origin is tied to procurements of $25,000 or less, as set out in the Supply Manual.
• Follow the instructions in each solicitation, since the policy establishes the restriction and the required wording but not a separate supplier registration step.