Ontario public procurement · Guide & checker
Buy Ontario: is your supplier a “US business”?
Since April 13, 2026, the Buy Ontario Procurement Directive excludes “US businesses” from new Ontario public-sector procurements of any value. Here is the two-part test, the two exceptions, and a checker that applies them the same way the level-assessor CLI does.
The two-part test
A supplier is a US business when both of these are true:
Limb 1
Headquarters or main office in the United States
Limb 2
Fewer than 250 full-time employees in Canada
So a Canadian subsidiary of a US parent counts as a US business unless it has at least 250 full-time staff in Canada itself. The parent's Canadian headcount is not the answer.
The two exceptions
A US business is excluded from new procurements unless one of these applies:
Sole viable source
The supplier is the only viable source of the good or service, and the procurement cannot be delayed. Both must be documented on the file.
90% Canadian delivery
The supplier commits to deliver at least 90% of the services through staff located in Canada. Make it a contract term, not just a statement in the bid.
Check a supplier
Enter the supplier's facts and the determination updates as you type. A missing fact leaves the result undetermined — it is never guessed against the supplier.
Determination
US business — permitted under the 90% Canadian delivery exception
Reasoning
- A "US business" both has its headquarters or main office in the US and has fewer than 250 full-time employees in Canada. Both limbs must hold.
- The restriction applies to procurements of any value, so no contract value threshold is applied.
- Headquarters or main office is in the US: the first limb is met.
- The supplier has 180 full-time employees in Canada, fewer than 250. Both limbs are met: the supplier is a US business and is excluded from new procurements unless an exception applies.
- 95% of service delivery is committed to staff located in Canada, meeting the 90% exception. The procurement may proceed; make the commitment a contract term, not a representation in the bid.
Reproduce with the CLI
level-assessor buy-ontario \
--hq-country US \
--canadian-fte 180 \
--delivery-in-canada 95Add --format json to store the determination on the procurement file. Runs entirely in your browser; nothing is sent.
Worked examples
| Supplier | Determination |
|---|---|
| Canadian-headquartered supplier | Not a US business — no restriction |
| US parent's Canadian subsidiary with 300 full-time staff in Canada | Not a US business — no restriction |
| US-headquartered, 180 staff in Canada, commits 95% Canadian delivery | US business — permitted under the 90% Canadian delivery exception |
| US-headquartered, 180 staff in Canada, 60% Canadian delivery | US business — excluded |
| US-headquartered, 40 staff in Canada, only certified supplier of an existing system | US business — permitted under the sole-source exception |
| US-headquartered, Canadian headcount unknown | Undetermined |
What still needs verifying
The thresholds — US headquarters, 250 full-time Canadian employees, 90% Canadian delivery — are stated consistently across reporting. The edge cases are not settled yet:
- Whose headcount counts — the supplier entity or the whole corporate group? The source fixes the date (the time of the procurement process) but not the entity.
- How is the 90% measured: by headcount, hours, or contract value?
- "Main office" and "full-time" are not defined in the source the rule set relies on.
- The rule set applies the restriction to procurements of any value. If the Directive sets a value threshold, the rule set will be corrected.