The “Buy Canadian” policy of Ottawa will be presented in the Federal Autumn Budget and is expected to be completely in force for next spring, according to a federal senior source.
The source said that the initial elements of the policy must be in force from as soon as Novemberand will be fully applied in 2026.
The source, which CBC News agreed not to name because they were not authorized to share their knowledge of government plans, added that the details in the November budget would be key to advancing in politics. They said that new funds are attached.
“We are starting from scratch,” said the source, and the government is sailing how to implement an assertive policy, “while complying with our free trade agreements.”
It has not been resolved if the government can implement policy without separate legislation or new expenses, said the source.
The Minister of Finance, François-Philippe Champagne, the Minister of Industry, Mélanie Joly, and Procurement Minister Joël Lightbound is involved, said the source, and Lightbound is responsible for implementing the policy.
Prime Minister Mark Carney has announced new measures to make the Canadian economy more resistant to global clashes such as US tariffs.
The Prime Minister’s office declined to confirm the information shared with the news of CBC, but a spokesman said that more details will arise in the budget Scheduled to appear on November 4.
“As the Prime Minister announced earlier this month, new measures will be presented in November 2025 to ensure that Canadian suppliers and their products are prioritized in all federal expenses,” said Audrey Champaux, principal secretary of Prime Minister Mark Carney.
“The new Government of Canada will ensure that the public sector can serve as an anchor client for Canadian companies and move from an ‘best effort’ approach to a clear obligation to support Canadian industries.”
The Canada Government is the largest buyer of goods and services in the country, which buy around $ 37 billion worth every year. Public services and the acquisition of Canada and the shared services of Canada represent 75 percent of those purchases.
Earlier this month, Carney announced a range support for sectors strongly affected by China and the United States rates on canola, soft wood, steel, aluminum and vehicles.
It included a “require” package to train 50,000 workers, a fund of $ 5 billion to help companies dependent on “immediate liquidity relief and what it called a new Canadian purchase policy.
According to an antecedent of the federal governmentPolitics will make it clear that supporting Canadian industries is an obligation.
He adds that the policy will require “national and foreign suppliers that are hired with the federal government to obtain key materials from Canadian companies in defense and construction acquisitions that exceed a certain threshold.”
The government intends to extend this obligation to infrastructure spending, subsidies, contributions and loans, and apply it to federal agencies and crown corporations that were not previously subject to federal acquisition requirements.
The Canada’s steel industry has been asking for a formal policy of “buying Canadian steel”, since it says that thousands of jobs are at risk due to US tariffs.
Only one third of all the steel that Canadians buy comes from national sources. The rest, according to the Canadian Association of Steel Producers, comes from American sources and other foreign sources.
The CEO of the association, Catherine Cobden, says that Canadian producers have the ability to replace more than 80 percent of that imported steel, but producers have been undermined by “unfair merchants.”
Cobden wants the government to “take measures on the border to protect the national industry.”
Cobden said that a Canadian purchase disposition will not “compensate” the impact of the rates of US President Donald Trump, but would help.
According A report From BMO Economics in April, a change towards Canadian purchase between consumers and the government could add approximately $ 10 billion to the economy annually. But the report warns that this comes with higher costs.
Who can pivot?
Beyond spending, not all sectors can pivot to buy Canadian so easily. The national renewable energy sector is based on foreign components to build battery storage and the generation of solar and wind energy as demand grows.
“A clear requirement could add some complications and serious delays to the projects that promote the economy of Canada,” said Fernando Melo, senior director of federal policies and public issues of the Canadian Association of Renewable Energy, at a time when the Canadian industry faces a fierce global competition.
Melo said that, depending on how policy is elaborated, it could damage its members and 31,000 potential megawatts of renewable energy.
From wind turbine blades to solar panel shelves, Canadian companies depend on Colorado, Germany and Vietnam components.
Its association proposes incentives, instead of sanctions, to the companies that buy Canadian.
Risk of free trade violations
There are questions about whether this policy would violate trade agreements.
Mark Warner, a Canadian and American international trade lawyer from Maaw Law, said some of the Ottawa commercial agreements instead of Cusma have “long and technical” rules that often prevent Canada from blocking other foreign companies to offer for acquisition contracts above certain thresholds.
But Warner added that it will be difficult for Canada to have a Canadian purchase policy without looking like a hypocrite. The country, he said, has complained that other countries do the same.
“Once you go up this way, it is very difficult to stand up and complain about another person,” Warner said.
Warner also wonders what will happen if Canada and other countries move away in the free trade system.
“How long can that multilateral or multilateral system survive if countries like Canada, which were part of building it, get away from it?” said.
