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Sign one: you can’t tick every mandatory box<\/h2>\n
Most tenders list two kinds of requirements. Mandatory requirements<\/strong> (sometimes called "go\/no-go criteria") are pass-or-fail \u2014 miss one and your bid is thrown out before anyone reads the price. Rated requirements<\/strong> are scored on a scale, where a weaker answer still earns some points.<\/p>\n If you’re missing a mandatory item \u2014 a certification, a minimum number of years in business, a specific insurance level, a security clearance \u2014 that tender is not winnable this time, no matter how good your pitch is. There’s no partial credit. Read the full breakdown of how mandatory and rated requirements work<\/a> before you spend another minute on the document.<\/p>\n The trap here is optimism. Bidders read "must have five years’ experience delivering similar services" and think, "we’re close enough, we’ll explain it in the bid." Evaluators don’t take explanations for mandatory criteria. Close enough means disqualified.<\/p>\n Sometimes a statement of work<\/strong> (the section describing exactly what the buyer wants done) is so specific it only really fits one company \u2014 usually whoever is doing the work already. This isn’t always intentional; buyers often write requirements based on what they know, which is their current supplier’s exact approach. But the effect is the same: you’re bidding against an incumbent<\/strong> (the supplier currently holding the contract) who wrote the buyer’s mental picture of the ideal answer.<\/p>\n Look for clues: oddly specific technical requirements that only one product or process meets, a very short timeline that only a supplier already on-site could hit, or a scope that matches one company’s marketing materials almost word for word. None of this means don’t bid \u2014 sometimes incumbents lose. But it does mean you should check the buyer’s history first. Look up their past awards on a buyer profile<\/a> before you commit real hours to the bid.<\/p>\n Every tender has three numbers worth checking before you read a single page of the technical requirements: the contract value, your minimum viable margin, and the timeline. If any one of them is out of range, stop there.<\/p>\n A tender that pays less than it costs you to deliver isn’t a foot-in-the-door opportunity \u2014 it’s a loss with extra paperwork. A statement of work<\/strong> that asks for delivery in three weeks when your normal lead time is six isn’t a stretch goal, it’s a non-starter, unless you can genuinely compress it. Use live tender search<\/a> to filter by value and closing date so you’re not even looking at contracts outside your range.<\/p>\n Canadian government contracts are covered by trade agreements that set minimum dollar values before certain rules kick in, and those thresholds change what kind of supplier can realistically compete. A contract just above a major threshold often draws large national and multinational bidders who weren’t interested at a smaller size. A contract just below it may be restricted in ways that favour smaller, local suppliers.<\/p>\n Knowing where a tender sits matters more than it looks like it should. Browse opportunity landing pages by category and province<\/a> to get a feel for typical contract sizes in your sector before you decide where to focus your bidding effort.<\/p>\n Not every tender is open to every kind of supplier. Some are reserved for Indigenous businesses. Some sit inside a standing offer<\/strong> (a pre-arranged agreement for repeat purchases) that’s only open to suppliers already on the list. And under Canada’s new rules, some are only open to Canadian or trusted-partner suppliers at all.<\/p>\n Since December 2025, Canada’s federal Buy Canadian Policy<\/strong> has given Canadian suppliers an evaluation advantage on certain strategic-sector federal contracts, starting with large projects and expanding to more mid-sized ones through 2026. Separately, reciprocal procurement rules due in spring 2026 are expected to limit most non-defence federal contracts to Canadian and trusted-partner suppliers. If your business relies heavily on foreign-sourced materials or components, it’s worth understanding whether your business is tariff-exposed<\/a> before you assume a contract is open to you the way it might have been a year ago. A new Small Business Procurement Program is also rolling out through 2026 with rules designed to give smaller Canadian firms a fairer shot \u2014 worth checking if you qualify before you write off a contract as "too big for us."<\/p>\nSign two: the tender reads like it was written around one supplier<\/h2>\n
Sign three: the numbers don’t add up for you<\/h2>\n
Sign four: you’re below the trade agreement threshold \u2014 or badly above it<\/h2>\n
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Sign five: you don’t meet the eligibility rules for this stream<\/h2>\n
A quick reference: red flags and what they mean<\/h2>\n