Regret Letter Process

A regret letter is a written notice sent to an unsuccessful bidder, offeror or supplier after a solicitation has been evaluated and awarded to another party. It tells the supplier that it was not selected and should outline the reasons for the unsuccessful result.

The regret letter process is the sequence that surrounds that notice: the buyer informs unsuccessful suppliers, explains the result, and allows or supports a debriefing or other recourse. It sits alongside the award letter sent to the winner, the bid evaluation, and the contract award notice. It is a term of Canadian procurement practice, not an abbreviation.

What a regret letter tells an unsuccessful supplier

The core purpose of a regret letter is explanation. The Transport Canada procurement review states that regret letters should explain the factors in the bid and the evaluation criteria that caused the bid to be unsuccessful. You can read the finding in the Office of the Procurement Ombud's Transport Canada review. The same review recommended standardized templates for later procurement activities.

Content varies by department. At the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), the buyer sends either a regret letter to the unsuccessful bidder or an award letter to the successful bidder once bids are evaluated. The letters the Ombud reviewed included technical evaluation results and the winning bidder's overall score, as described in the CBSA procurement review. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) also uses regret letters to advise unsuccessful bidders and, where provided, includes the technical evaluation results and the successful bidder's overall score, according to the IRCC review.

How federal departments apply the process

• General practice: Following a contract award, or the issuance of a standing offer or supply arrangement, a written debriefing is usually provided to each unsuccessful bidder, offeror or supplier in the form of a regret letter. This is set out in a Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) publication.
• CBSA: A regret letter goes to the unsuccessful bidder and an award letter to the winner after evaluation.
• Transport Canada: Regret letters should state the bid and evaluation factors behind the unsuccessful result.
• Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada: A follow-up review reports that these organizations updated their Bid Evaluation and Regret Letter Suite of Guidance and Templates to support a more standardized and transparent process.

PSPC's model regret letter for Temporary Help Services

PSPC publishes a model regret letter for use with the Temporary Help Services Supply Arrangement, particularly for low-complexity or single-resource solicitations. The model addresses two stated reasons for non-selection. The first is that the bid failed to meet a mandatory requirement. The second is that the bid was responsive but did not offer the lowest total evaluated price among responsive bids.

From regret letter to debriefing and recourse

The Office of the Procurement Ombud describes regret letters as an important means of informing unsuccessful suppliers about the result of a solicitation and the reasons for it. The letter also helps a supplier decide whether to request a more detailed debriefing or to use a recourse mechanism such as the Ombud or the Canadian International Trade Tribunal. The Ombud sets this out in its review results for 2018 to 2023.

A supplier generally does not have to act simply because a regret letter was issued. Requirements and timelines depend on the department, the procurement instrument, the solicitation, any applicable trade agreement and the review body.

What it means for a supplier bidding on Canadian public contracts

Treat the regret letter as information you can use. Read the stated evaluation results and reasons for non-selection, and compare them with your bid. If the letter leaves questions, request a debriefing where one is available. Feed the findings into your next bid, and check the deadlines for any recourse you are considering, including the Office of the Procurement Ombud and the Canadian International Trade Tribunal.