New regulations for province purchasing Ontario made goods or services

The provincial government is allowing more small businesses the opportunity to compete for government contracts, as part of new regulations under the Building Ontario Businesses Initiative Act, 2022. 

On Friday morning, Nina Tangri, associate minister of small business, joined Burlington MPP Natalie Pierre, and Oakville North-Burlington MPP Effie Triantafilopoulos at the Canadian Hospital Specialties warehouse in Burlington to share the announcement. 

“We are here to celebrate a significant milestone in Ontario's journey towards economic resilience and economic growth,” Triantafilopoulos said. “Today marks a pivotal moment for us. Our government’s Building Ontario Businesses Initiative Act, 2022 will provide a competitive edge for Ontario businesses in the procurement processes of public sector entities.” 

The new regulation requires public sector entities to give preference to Ontario businesses when conducting procurements – under certain thresholds – including procurements below a threshold of $121,200 for goods or services in the Broader Public Sector. Additionally, for the Ontario Public Service, the threshold is $30,300 for goods, and $121,200 for services. 

The province is anticipating approximately $3 billion worth of contracts will be awarded to businesses in Ontario by the end of 2026. 

“There are many companies that have felt they’ve not had the ability to procure with the province, and we’re opening that ip and giving them a level playing field, which they’ve been asking for for a long time,” Tangri said. 

The announcement was made in the warehouse of Canadian Hospital Specialties, which opened its space in September 2023. CHS produces a range of medical devices, and is expecting the new announcement to help the company sell more goods locally, and create jobs. 

“Prior to 2020, the Ontario government purchased very little PPE domestically,” Jamie Wallace, CEO of Supply Ontario said. “We spent more than $1 billion on Ontario made PPE since then, and that’s easily 8,000 jobs or more. This regulation, and more broadly BOBIA, is designed to help companies and businesses like CHS sell more goods and services to the government, and create jobs.”

The provincial government is also investing an additional $6.8 million over the next two years to help more small businesses access services, and providing $5,000 grants to an additional 500 entrepreneurs in Ontario. 

The Ontario Public Service and Broader Public Sector spend approximately $30 billion on goods and services annually.