The federal government says it will dedicate nearly $186 million toward fully implementing a “Buy Canadian Policy” as part of the 2025 budget.
The policy was initially announced in September as part of a set of measures to support Canadian businesses through the impacts of U.S. tariffs and trade disputes. It will take effect later this month.
The aim is “building capacity and increasing competition at home, streamlining processes, and better supporting small and medium Canadian businesses to help them access opportunities more easily,” Agriculture Agri-Food Canada said.
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This will include funding for Public Services and Procurement Canada and the Treasury Board Secretariat to implement “Buy Canadian” across government departments and Crown corporations.
“When domestic suppliers are not available, contracts will still be required to include Canadian content and be sourced from trusted trading partners,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a Nov. 10 statement.
Nearly $80 million will go toward a program to provide support to small and medium-sized businesses seeking to break into the federal market — e.g. to compete for federal contracts.
”Buy Canadian” will also apply to things like infrastructure spending and the Major Projects Office.”
The policy will be fully implemented next spring according to a Nov. 12 Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada news release. It will initially focus on steel, lumber and aluminum with the flexibility to add more commodities over time.
