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Why it matters: The federal procurement watchdog says Canada’s defence reforms show positive intent but will only deliver with clear accountability, disciplined implementation and oversight across the full contract lifecycle. Persistent delays and fragmented accountability, the report warns, threaten operational readiness as well as public funds. It echoes comments made by former defence minister Peter MacKay at DEFSEC Atlantic just days earlier.
Driving the news: Procurement Ombud Alexander Jeglic’s ninth annual report, covering April 2025 to March 2026, carries the theme Time for Results. It argues federal procurement has enough strategies and now needs measurable outcomes.
The details:
OPO’s two-volume study of major defence projects, Turning Complexity into Capability, maps the current system and its chronic problems: fragmented accountability, risk-averse decisions, weak data, gaps in contract administration and a mismatch between industrial policy and procurement execution.
The office has substantially completed a follow-up review of DND’s progress on earlier recommendations but will hold the results for next year’s report.
A government-wide chief procurement officer, which Jeglic calls the most critical fix, still doesn’t exist.
PSPC is expanding vendor performance scoring across the contracts it manages. Scores won’t count in bid evaluations until suppliers get at least 90 days’ notice.
By the numbers:
851: cases OPO received, a record and up 27 per cent from last year
150: times stakeholders cited complexity, the top complaint
127 per cent: jump in issues with e-procurement systems such as CanadaBuys and SAP Ariba
What they’re saying: “Moving forward, the success of procurement reform will be measured not by new initiatives launched, but by outcomes delivered,” Jeglic wrote.
What’s next: OPO will publish the DND follow-up results in its 2026-27 report. It will also formally assess the government’s progress on its five foundational changes, naming Treasury Board and PSPC as accountable.
