Québec public procurement strategy: 2026 review

The government's public procurement strategy, "Pour des marchés publics innovants" (For innovative public procurement), launched in February 2022 and ended on March 31, 2026. Four years, dozens of measures, and one central goal: to have the Québec state buy more from local businesses.

We dug through the official reports of the Secrétariat du Conseil du trésor to pull out what actually changed for SMEs, without the press-release gloss.

What moved: the numbers

The government had set ambitious targets. Some were met, others exceeded.

Québec purchasing on the rise. In 2019-2020, 78% of the value of public contracts went to Québec-based businesses. In 2023-2024 (the latest detailed figures published by the Conseil du trésor), that share climbed to 85%, for a total of about $27 billion out of $32 billion in contracts. The share of goods procurement sourced in Québec went from 38% to 52%.

The $1.5 billion target, exceeded. The strategy aimed for a $1.5 billion increase in Québec purchases by 2025-2026. That threshold was crossed by the third year. The 2026-2027 expenditure Budget (tabled in March 2026) confirms a total overshoot estimated at $2.2 billion. On a steady-state basis, the effect is estimated at an annual increase of $530 million in purchases of Québec-made goods.

The estimated economic impact. The government pegs the effect at $420 million per year in higher real GDP for Québec. Figures to treat with caution: these are simulations, not direct measurements, but the order of magnitude points to a real effect on economic activity.

The measures that mattered

Among the dozens of measures in the strategy, the ones that had a concrete impact for SMEs:

Bill 12 (Act to promote Québec purchasing). Passed in 2022, it gave public bodies the right to reserve contracts for Québec SMEs and to grant a preferential margin of up to 10% based on Québec value added. Before this law, favouring a local business on a public contract was legally risky.

The Supplier Directory. The government rolled out tools to help buyers find Québec suppliers. Useful for SMEs that had no visibility with public purchasers.

Regional workshops. Themed workshops in the regions to familiarize businesses with the bidding process. The intention was good. The real impact is hard to measure: the SMEs that need these workshops most are often the ones without the time to attend.

What didn't really change

Let's be direct: despite the strategy, the fundamental frustrations SMEs face with public procurement are still there.

Administrative complexity. Putting together a bid is still a heavy exercise. Tender documents often run to dozens of pages, the jargon is dense, and a single missing mandatory item can be enough to get a bid rejected, depending on the tender's compliance rules. The strategy didn't simplify the bidding process itself.

Past-experience requirements. Many contracts still ask for "3 to 5 similar contracts in the last 5 years". For an SME that has never held a public contract, it's a vicious circle the strategy only partly addressed.

Geographic concentration. The goal of 60% of contracts going to businesses outside Montréal and the Capitale-Nationale is commendable, but the big metropolitan regions still capture the majority of professional services and IT contracts.

The strategy's cost-effectiveness is also debated. The cost/benefit ratio of this Québec-preference approach draws criticism, notably from economic research circles and business associations: risk of higher costs for taxpayers, added regulatory complexity, benefits unevenly split between SMEs and large Québec firms. The debate remains open: the official figures measure the returns, not the opportunity costs.

The 2026-2030 strategy, now published

The 2022-2026 strategy ended on March 31, 2026, after a broad public consultation led by Minister France-Élaine Duranceau (sector tables with construction, information technology, health and agri-food, which alone account for more than 85% of the value of public contracts, and an online consultation that closed on February 9, 2026). The government unveiled the 2026-2030 Government Strategy for Public Procurement on June 23, 2026.

Two headline targets shape the new strategy:

Raise Québec purchasing from 50% to 60% by 2030. The government aims to lift the share of goods bought from Québec businesses to 60%, worth close to $1.9 billion in additional purchases from local firms.

Raise the share of contracts awarded on quality from 28% to 33%. More contracts evaluated on quality and value criteria, rather than on lowest price alone.

The announced levers: a preferential margin of up to 10% for a product made here, reserving some calls for tenders for small Québec businesses, Québec- or Canadian-materials requirements, and contract regionalization. For the first time, major public bodies must set their Québec-purchasing target in their strategic planning and report on it every year.

For SMEs, the signal is clear: they are placed at the heart of the strategy, with an explicit goal of better access and fewer irritants. The real test, already noted above, remains: measuring SME access specifically, not just that of "Québec businesses" in general.

To go further: the complete SEAO guide and Can you bid without experience?. You can also find all of Adjudica's analyses and data.

Sources

Publications of the Secrétariat du Conseil du trésor: 2026-2027 expenditure Budget (March 2026), Government public procurement strategy 2022-2026 "Pour des marchés publics innovants", Mid-term report of the strategy (2023-2024 data), Buy Québec dashboard. Public consultation on public procurement (November 2025 to February 2026). Critiques cited: IEDM, CFIB, CFCQ, opinion pieces 2024-2026.