Where opportunities come from
A tender tool can only show you what it can read. Most of them will not tell you what they miss. This page lists what we read and what we don’t, including the real gaps.
Four public sources, read every six hours
Each is published by government under a licence that lets us hold and re-use it. Nothing here is taken from behind a login. On 16 October 2026 we checked every province and territory and the larger cities: these four are the only tender listings whose terms allow it.
Every federal tender notice, plus the file of past awards. Read in full, every six hours.
Every Québec public body: municipalities, health authorities, school boards, transport. Published weekly in a standard public format.
Counts as at 20 October 2026. “Held” includes notices that have since closed. “Open now” means still accepting bids. When you are signed in, the same list shows how fresh each source is.
Every City of Toronto call for bids, proposals and quotations. Read every six hours.
Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Toronto.
Every open Government of Yukon tender: goods, services and construction. Read every six hours.
Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Yukon.
Development applications, building permits, and who won what
Development applications and building permits from 31 cities, regions and provincial project lists in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia show projects months before they are tendered, and who is building them: every one read from the place’s own open data, under a licence that allows it. Contract awards from Nova Scotia and the City of Toronto, beside the federal and Québec ones, show who is winning public work. Only company names are kept, never a person’s.
- Winnipeg building permits, under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg.
- Calgary building permits, under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
- Toronto building permits, under the Open Government Licence – Toronto. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Toronto.
- Halifax building permits, under the Open Government Licence – Halifax. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Halifax.
- Toronto development applications (rezonings, site plans, subdivisions), under the Open Government Licence – Toronto. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Toronto.
- Calgary development permit applications, under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
- Calgary land use redesignation (rezoning) applications, under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
- Winnipeg development permits, under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg.
- Winnipeg rezonings, subdivisions and variances (public notices), under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg.
- Edmonton major development permits, under the City of Edmonton Open Data Terms of Use. Contains information made available by the City of Edmonton under its Open Data Terms of Use (https://data.edmonton.ca/stories/s/msh8-if28).
- Vancouver building permits issued, under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver.
- Surrey building permits issued, under the Open Government Licence – City of Surrey. Contains information licensed under the Open Government License – City of Surrey.
- Victoria development applications (rezonings, development permits, variances), under the Open Government Licence – City of Victoria. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Victoria.
- Victoria building permits issued, under the Open Government Licence – City of Victoria. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Victoria.
- Coquitlam development applications, under the Open Government Licence – Coquitlam. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Coquitlam.
- Township of Langley development applications, under the Open Government Licence – Township of Langley. Contains information licensed under the Open Government License – Township of Langley.
- Prince George building permits, under the Open Government Licence – City of Prince George. Contains information licensed under the Open Government License – City of Prince George.
- Prince George rezonings, development permits and variances, under the Open Government Licence – City of Prince George. Contains information licensed under the Open Government License – City of Prince George.
- British Columbia (major projects) the Major Projects Inventory: the province's list of major proposed projects (its licensed feed was last refreshed December 2024), under the Open Government Licence – British Columbia. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – British Columbia.
- Regina building permits issued (weekly), under the Open Government Licence – City of Regina. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Regina.
- Manitoba (provincial projects) the provincial capital plan: highway, water and airport projects at design, under the OpenMB Information and Data Use Licence. Contains information from the Manitoba government, licensed under the OpenMB Information and Data Use Licence (Manitoba.ca/OpenMB).
- Halifax planning applications (development agreements, rezonings, variances), under the Open Government Licence – Halifax. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Halifax.
- Halifax subdivision applications, under the Open Government Licence – Halifax. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Halifax.
- Halifax development-only permits, under the Open Government Licence – Halifax. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Halifax.
- Saint John building permits, under the Open Government Licence – City of Saint John. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Saint John.
- Québec City permits for new multi-family, commercial, industrial and public buildings, under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0). Source: Ville de Québec, Données Québec, CC BY 4.0 (filtered by BidCaliper).
- Montréal permits for new buildings, and conversions creating four homes or more, under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0), with the Ville de Montréal's terms. Source: Ville de Montréal, CC BY 4.0 (filtered by BidCaliper).
- Montréal mixed-housing by-law agreements, signed before a residential permit, under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0), with the Ville de Montréal's terms. Source: Ville de Montréal, CC BY 4.0 (filtered by BidCaliper).
- Québec (provincial projects) public infrastructure projects of $20 million or more, under study or in planning, under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0). Source: Secrétariat du Conseil du trésor du Québec, Données Québec, CC BY 4.0 (filtered by BidCaliper).
- Edmonton building permits issued, under the Open Government Licence – Edmonton. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Edmonton.
- Strathcona County building permits, under the Open Government Licence – Strathcona County. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Strathcona County.
- Airdrie building permits issued, under the Open Data Licence – City of Airdrie. Contains information licensed under the Open Data Licence – City of Airdrie.
- Grande Prairie building permits issued, under the Open Data License – City of Grande Prairie. Contains information licensed under the Open Data License – City of Grande Prairie.
- Red Deer building permits, under the Open Government Licence – The City of Red Deer. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – The City of Red Deer.
- Ottawa building permits issued (monthly), under the Open Government Licence – City of Ottawa. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Ottawa.
- Ottawa development applications (rezonings, site plans, plan amendments, subdivisions), under the Open Government Licence – City of Ottawa. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Ottawa.
- York Region development applications for Markham, Vaughan, Richmond Hill, Newmarket, Aurora, King, Whitchurch-Stouffville, East Gwillimbury and Georgina, under the York Region Open Data Licence. Contains public sector information made available under The Regional Municipality of York's Open Data Licence.
- Brampton building permits, from application, under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0). Contains information from the City of Brampton, CC BY 4.0.
- Brampton planning applications (plan and zoning amendments, subdivisions, site plans, pre-consultations), under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0). Contains information from the City of Brampton, CC BY 4.0.
- Kitchener building permits, under the Open Government Licence – City of Kitchener. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – The Corporation of the City of Kitchener.
- Kitchener active planning applications, under the Open Government Licence – City of Kitchener. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – The Corporation of the City of Kitchener.
- Waterloo building permits issued, under the City of Waterloo Open Data Licence. Contains information provided by the City of Waterloo under licence.
- Cambridge building permits issued, under the Open Government Licence – City of Cambridge. Contains information licensed under the Open Government License – City of Cambridge.
- Cambridge plan and zoning amendments, and site plans, under the Open Government Licence – City of Cambridge. Contains information licensed under the Open Government License – City of Cambridge.
- Oakville building permits, under the Open Government Licence – Town of Oakville. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Town of Oakville.
- Hamilton development applications (the city publishes the year only), under the City of Hamilton Open Data Licence. Contains public sector Data made available under the City of Hamilton's Open Data Licence.
- Kingston building permits, under the Open Data Licence – City of Kingston. Contains information licensed under the Open Data Licence City of Kingston.
- Greater Sudbury building permits, under the Open Data Licence – City of Greater Sudbury. Contains information licensed under the Open Data Licence – City of Greater Sudbury.
- Nova Scotia awarded public tenders, under the Nova Scotia Open Government Licence. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Nova Scotia.
- City of Toronto awarded contracts, under the Open Government Licence – Toronto. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Toronto.
Tenders from your own accounts
Forward a notice or a general contractor’s invitation to your company’s own forwarding address, or paste it in, from MERX or anywhere else you have access to. It is checked against your company, added to your deadline calendar and recorded in your bid history like any other.
It stays inside your company. It is never shown to another BidCaliper customer, never mixed with anyone else’s, and never passed on. An automatic test plants a dummy document in one company and fails if another company can ever reach it.
The portals we are not allowed to read
We last checked MERX on 25 August 2026. We last checked the others on 12 October 2026. This is what we found on those dates. It can change, so we check again.
The Province of Manitoba, Manitoba Transportation and Infrastructure and, since 1 March 2025, every open City of Winnipeg bid opportunity.
Their terms of use forbid copying any of it. We hold none of it.
Forward the notice from your MERX account to your company's forwarding address, or paste it in. It is checked like any other and stays inside your company.
Many municipalities, counties, school divisions and utilities, including the Manitoba Water Services Board, Saskatoon and much of Ontario.
Their terms forbid copying their listings for a commercial purpose without written approval. We hold none of it.
Their emails tell you when there is a tender. Forward it to your company's forwarding address.
Shared Health Manitoba and other public bodies' own portals.
Its terms forbid copying without a written licence, and its portals ask automated readers to stay out. We follow them.
Same: forward the notice, or paste it in.
British Columbia's provincial tenders.
The site tells automated readers to stay out, in the file websites use for that. We follow it.
Same as MERX: bring a notice in yourself.
Alberta's provincial tenders.
It gives the same instruction to stay out, and its search needs a login we are not entitled to.
Same as MERX: bring a notice in yourself.
Ontario ministries and the broader public sector.
Its rules keep automated readers out of the part of the site that lists the tenders. We follow them.
Same as MERX: bring a notice in yourself.
Government of Nunavut departments and agencies.
The site tells automated readers to stay out of all of it. We follow it.
Same as MERX: bring a notice in yourself.
Winnipeg's own bid opportunities, under a licence we could use and with plenty of detail.
It stopped publishing in 2023. The City moved everything to MERX on 1 March 2025.
Nothing to bring in. The dataset has no upcoming deadlines in it.
What we hold
Counted from the live database on 20 October 2026.
| Province or region | Read automatically | You can bring it in | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Federal (all of Canada) | Yes | — | CanadaBuys, under an open licence |
| Québec | Yes | — | SEAO, under CC-BY |
| Manitoba | No | Yes | MERX terms forbid copying it |
| British Columbia | No | Yes | BC Bid excludes automated readers |
| Alberta | No | Yes | APC excludes automated readers |
| Ontario, Saskatchewan, Atlantic, the territories | No | Yes | Looked at on 25 August 2026 and again on 12 October 2026. Nova Scotia and PEI don't forbid it and we haven't built them yet. The others forbid it, need your own account, or gave no answer |
Federal notices cover work in every province, so a Manitoba job bought by a federal department does reach you. What is missing is provincial and municipal buying outside Québec.
There is no Manitoba source we are allowed to read
The MERX terms forbid it. Know that before you buy any tool like this, including ours.
What works today is federal tenders, all of Québec, and anything you bring in yourself from an account you already have. If that is not enough for your company, better to find out here than after paying.
Not sure it covers your work?
Set your company up and look at what comes back. It is free, and it takes about three minutes.