Canadian Procurement Pulse: Your Weekly Contractor Insider

February 23 - March 1 2026

This week delivered more procurement dollars in a single seven-day stretch than most fiscal years produce. Defence Construction Canada posted a $3.74 billion advanced procurement notice for military housing. Infrastructure Ontario awarded a billion-dollar Science Centre contract. We dug into the DCC contract data to figure out who's already on the ground at these bases and where the real openings are. If you are interested in what will be the biggest construction market in 2026, read along. If infra bores you, I apologize! Got to change it up sometimes. Hope you are surviving the winter my friends,

Source: National Defence (Canada.ca) | Date: 2026-02-24

What's Happening: Defence Minister McGuinty announced the second phase of Canada's military housing construction program, with approximately 7,500 new Residential Housing Units planned across all 25 locations where the Canadian Forces Housing Agency operates. Defence Construction Canada issued an advanced procurement notice for projects valued at approximately $3.74 billion.

The largest build-outs are planned for Valcartier, QC (1,000+ units), Petawawa, ON (1,000+ units), Edmonton, AB (1,000+ units), Kingston, ON (900+ units), and Gagetown, NB (500+ units). CFHA is partnering with Build Canada Homes to leverage Modern Methods of Construction, including modular and prefabricated building systems.

CFHA CEO Paola Zurro called it "our largest construction campaign since the creation of the portfolio in the post Second World War era."

What It Means For You:

Our thoughts: This is LONG overdue. Anyone in the military will tell you how required this is, given the quality of housing provided at bases today. With that being said, I do love the ‘military’ spending hack to meet our NATO commitments of using it to build housing.

The $3.74 billion Phase 2 military housing announcement is the headline, but the real question for contractors is: who's already on the ground at these bases, and what does existing DCC spending tell us about where the opportunities are?

We analyzed 1,091 Defence Construction Canada contracts totalling $831 million to map the competitive landscape at Phase 2 locations. Here's what we found.

DCC awarded $831 million across 1,091 contracts in 2025-2023. Of those, 81 contracts worth $39.7 million were specifically tagged as CFHA or RHU work, covering everything from foundation digs to full residential unit recapitalizations. That existing spend tells you exactly which contractors have the relationships, security clearances, and base access already in place.

But here's the thing: the Phase 2 program at $3.74 billion is roughly 94 times larger than the current annual CFHA renovation and maintenance spend we're seeing in the data. DCC is going to need capacity that doesn't currently exist in its contractor pool, especially with the emphasis on modular and prefabricated construction methods. Incumbents have an advantage, but there's room at the table for new entrants.

Current DCC activity: 70 contracts, $39.3 million

The Quebec base has a deep bench of regional contractors. Entreprises G.N.P. inc dominates the large-contract space with a single $21.7M award. For housing-specific work, the existing players are mid-sized Quebec firms: 9380-1645 Quebec inc (B2R) handles roofing ($1M), Levesque & Associes does foundation and waterproofing ($691K), and Germain Construction handles drainage work ($647K).

Key insight: Valcartier's existing contractor base is heavily Quebec-regional. With 1,000+ new units planned, this will be one of the largest single-site builds in the entire program. Expect DCC to need firms with apartment-scale construction experience well beyond what the current renovation-focused contractors typically deliver. Quebec-based modular builders should be paying very close attention.

Current DCC activity: 88 contracts, $38.6 million Housing-specific: 28 contracts, $16 million

Petawawa already has the most active CFHA renovation pipeline of any base in the dataset. The contractors with the deepest housing-specific track record here are:

Bird's presence here is notable. They hold a "Modified Design-Build" CFHA contract for the Ontario Region Residential Portfolio Capital Investment program, which is essentially the template for what Phase 2 will look like at larger scale. They also have the only modular accommodations contract in the entire dataset ($713K at Esquimalt). If any incumbent is positioned for Phase 2 new-build work, Bird is the one to watch.

Key insight: Petawawa is the base where DCC already has the most housing contractor relationships. Teaming opportunities here are real and immediate. The smaller firms (Saffco, Narcity, Ecowall) have proven CFHA track records but may need to partner with larger general contractors to handle apartment-scale new construction.

Current DCC activity: 158 contracts, $76.2 million Housing-specific: 30 contracts, $22.7 million

Edmonton has the highest volume of DCC contracts in the dataset. EllisDon dominates the large-project space ($33.3M across 2 contracts). For housing work, the picture is more fragmented: Trainor Mechanical ($11.8M HVAC), Value Master Builders ($2.7M across 5 contracts), and 16351867 Canada Inc. ($600K CFHA kitchen standing offer).

Key insight: Edmonton's contractor pool skews toward large nationals (EllisDon, PCL at $22.9M) and specialized mechanical/electrical firms rather than housing-focused builders. With Alberta's broader $28.3 billion capital plan also driving construction demand, labour availability will be the biggest constraint here. Firms that can bring their own workforce rather than competing for local trades will have an advantage.

Current DCC activity: 20 contracts, $17.1 million Housing-specific: $6.8M (DC&F Corp's CFHA 6-plex) + $2.1M (ETKA Construction RHU recapitalization)

Kingston's CFHA housing work is concentrated in two contractors. DC&F Corp holds the single largest housing contract in the entire DCC dataset: a $6.8 million CFHA apartment building 6-plex. This is significant because it's the closest thing to new-build multi-unit residential work in the current portfolio, making DC&F potentially the most directly relevant incumbent for Phase 2.

Key insight: Kingston's existing housing contractor base is thin but experienced in exactly the right kind of work. The JV between Fidelity E&C and Mark Colborne ($5.1M) also shows that joint ventures are already an established procurement model at this base.

Current DCC activity: 82 contracts, $22.3 million Housing-specific: 21 contracts, $5.5 million

Gagetown has a broad base of smaller contractors doing housing work. Pomerleau has an $855K CFHA Residential Portfolio Capital Investment contract here and a much larger $5M contract at Greenwood, making them one of the few national firms with multi-base CFHA experience. Wilson Builders ($1.3M across 2 housing contracts) and Heron Enterprises ($898K interior retrofit) are the key regional players.

Key insight: New Brunswick's construction market is smaller, which means the 500+ unit build will be a proportionally huge event for the local contractor community. Firms from outside the region partnering with established Gagetown-area contractors like Wilson Builders or Simpson Building Contractors would be a smart play.

Current DCC activity: 19 contracts, $69 million

Ottawa's DCC picture is dominated by a single player: Black & McDonald Limited, with $67.3 million across 3 contracts. They're the largest DCC contractor nationally ($82.4M total). However, their Ottawa work appears to be primarily facility management and maintenance rather than housing construction.

Key insight: Ottawa/Uplands has the least housing-specific construction activity of any Phase 2 location in the dataset. The 280 units announced (160 at Uplands) will essentially be a greenfield opportunity for housing contractors. The proximity to Ottawa's robust construction market means competition should be strong.

These contractors have the multi-location DCC experience and scale that Phase 2 will demand:

Pomerleau stands out as the only firm with both large-scale DCC construction capability ($72M) and direct CFHA housing experience across multiple bases. Bird brings the design-build and modular experience that aligns with DCC's stated Modern Methods of Construction preference.

The Phase 2 announcement includes mandatory Indigenous procurement targets aiming to exceed 5% of the program's contracting value. At $3.74 billion, that's roughly $187 million minimum directed to Indigenous businesses.

The DCC data shows Indigenous participation is still emerging. We found JV contracts with SP Indigenous Services (partnered with Strong Bros on RHU work in Ontario), plus a few smaller JVs. The gap between the 5%+ target and current participation levels means there will be significant demand for Indigenous-owned construction firms and meaningful JV partnerships.

A few important caveats:

This dataset captures DCC contracts, not all military housing procurement. CFHA also uses PSPC procurement vehicles, standing offers, and other mechanisms that won't appear here. The full incumbent picture is broader than what we can see.

Phase 2 is fundamentally different work. The existing contracts are predominantly renovations, recapitalizations, and maintenance. Phase 2 is new-build apartment construction at scale. The skills overlap but aren't identical. Companies that build multi-unit residential housing for civilian developers may be better positioned than some existing DCC renovation contractors, even without base experience.

The modular/prefab signal is strong but the market is thin. We found exactly one modular accommodations contract in the entire dataset (Bird, $713K, Esquimalt). DCC's partnership with Build Canada Homes and the emphasis on Modern Methods of Construction suggests they know the current contractor pool isn't deep enough in this area. If you're a modular builder, this is your signal.

Source: Infrastructure Ontario | Date: 2026-02-26

What's Happening: Infrastructure Ontario and the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Gaming awarded a $1.04 billion fixed-price contract to Ontario Science Partners to design, build, finance, and maintain a new Ontario Science Centre at Ontario Place. The contract includes a 30-year maintenance term.

The team includes John Laing Limited, Sacyr Infrastructure Canada Inc., and Amico Major Projects Inc. as applicant leads, with Hariri Pontarini Architects and Snøhetta on design, and Johnson Controls Canada handling facilities management. Construction is expected to start this spring.

The procurement process began in May 2024 and was overseen by a third-party fairness advisor. The contract cost is notably higher than Infrastructure Ontario's original 2023 business case estimate of $628 million for the relocation, including 50 years of maintenance.

What It Means For You:

Our thoughts: This better be an epic science centre. $1B is nuts when Ontario runs budget deficits and has growing emergency room wait times. However, what I cannot deny is that it will be an incredible Ontario landmark if it gets completed (on time). The Ford Family Science Centre has a nice ring to it. I don’t know if you have had a chance to ride the Eglinton LRT yet, but it is beautiful (and empty). Hopefully this is a bit quicker.